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Smriti Mandhana bats for Women’s World Test Championship but England’s Tammy Beaumont says long way to go | Cricket News – Times of India



NEW DELHI: India’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana expressed enthusiasm for the proposal of a World Test Championship in women’s Test cricket. However, England veteran Tammy Beaumont raised concerns, stating that it would be unjust to organise such a competition when only three countries consistently participate in women’s Test cricket.
While the ICC‘s World Test Championship for men began its inaugural two-year cycle from 2019 to 2021 and is currently in its third edition, women’s cricket lacks a similar structure.
The existing disparity among women’s teams is evident in the infrequent participation in Test cricket, with only England, Australia, and India regularly engaging in the longest format, despite significant gaps between matches.
“I would love to be a part of the World Test Championship but that is for the boards and the ICC to decide,” Mandhana told the media ahead of India’s training session in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday.
“Having watched a lot of men’s Test cricket and championships, it would be really exciting to be a part of something of that sort. But as I said, that would be their (administrators’) decision,” she added.

India and England are set to clash in a one-off Test at the DY Patil Stadium starting this Thursday. This match marks the hosts’ return to Test cricket after a two-year hiatus.
As for England, it has been approximately six months since their last Test, where they faced Australia in the opening game of the Women’s Ashes, ending in a defeat by 89 runs.
Beaumont, a 32-year-old veteran with eight Tests under her belt since her debut a decade ago, expressed that the current period is not opportune for a women’s World Test Championship (WTC).
She highlighted the existing imbalance in the number of matches played by different teams as a factor that needs addressing before such a championship can be considered.
“I do not think it is quite the right time, if I am honest. At the moment there are only three or four nations that are playing Test match cricket regularly and potentially (there are) only three or four governing bodies that can afford to host women’s Test cricket,” Beaumont said.
The England batter said she does not expect ICC to be investing into any such tournament.
“That will have to be a very big investment from the ICC, I do not think they are probably willing to put in,” she said.
Beaumont advocated the countries to have more matches during a bilateral tour and get other nations like Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand playing more women’s Test cricket.
“They are still trying to develop the T20 game across the globe, the way you have seen Thailand and other countries come into T20 cricket. I think that should stay as a focus, however, I would love to see more nations do maybe a multi-format series like we do in the Ashes,” she said.
“So say, India come over and we do Test matches, ODI and T20Is and (get an) overall winner from that. We do that from South Africa and New Zealand and all those teams and build from there.”
“One day, I would love to see a World Test Championship but at the moment I do not think it would be fair when you have India, Australia and England have played a lot of Tests in the last four years but other teams like Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand have not played any Test cricket in the last 15 years,” Beaumont added.
“The imbalance is still there, we need to build it from the ground up a little bit longer and definitely have many Tests,” said the England opening batter.
(With PTI inputs)





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