Women's World Cup...

Stayed a couple of days with old friends, Gordon and Trish, in Taunton. Gordon and I went to watch West Indies Women v India Women at the County Ground. There are eight teams in the competition who play each other once, with the best four teams going forward to the semi-finals later this month. It was my second look at international women’s cricket ‘in the flesh’, and Gordon’s first.

The weather wasn’t conducive to exciting cricket (especially for two teams accustomed to playing in warmer climes) and seemed to get colder as the day wore on. West Indies batted first, but, after Hayley Matthews was out for 43, no one seemed willing or able to push the score along. The West Indies scored slowly and lost wickets regularly: a bad combination. Thanks to some big hitting from the lower order batters, they managed to reach a total of 183. But it was never going to be enough, and India knocked the runs off with ease.

The game was over as a contest after about ten overs of the first innings. Combine a predictable result with the cold weather, a sparse crowd and crap music belting out from tinny speakers to accompany every boundary and wicket… and the experience - for a couple of non-partisan spectators - was a bit grim. I don’t think I won Gordon over to the delights of women’s cricket. Anyway, I have a ticket for the game on Sunday - England v Sri Lanka - which, fingers crossed, should be more of a contest…