Report: ICC Americas Women`s Cricket

Report: ICC
Americas
Women’s Cricket
By: Nadia T. Gruny, MBA, M.S. Sports Business
January 1
2014
Edited: January 5, 2014
It is alleged that the ICC Development Committee agreed with ICC Americas
to eliminate the lone international women's tournament in the region and
forego a spot at the World Cup Qualifier. To eliminate the tournament in a
region that has demonstrated steady, albeit small, growth in women’s cricket
over its seven-year history to only focus on men and youth cricket, is
discriminatory. A generation of women cricketers is wiped out prematurely;
the future players have nothing to aspire to achieve; and an entire region is
denied an opportunity to play in a World Cup Qualifier event.
Issue: ICC’s Decision
and Gender Inequity
ICC Americas’ Decision
It is alleged that the International Cricket Council (ICC) Americas Regional Development Manager (RDM), Mr.
Kavanagh, proposed to the ICC Development Committee to eliminate an ICC Americas Women's Qualifier
tournament and forego a spot for a regional representative at the next Women's World Cup Qualifier. The proposal
was approved. This regional qualifier event has been a fixture on the ICC Americas calendar since 2006. There will
be no Americas qualifier event for the next two years at least.
In 2012, Mr. Kavanagh replaced Mr. Martin Vieira as the RDM, and Ms. Anne Browne-John was released as the
region’s Women’s Officer with no replacement confirmed to date. Both Mr. Vieira and Mrs. Browne-John were
instrumental in igniting interest among women in the region to play cricket. To our dismay, since the changing of the
guard, there have been no women’s initiatives and more devastating, the anticipated tournament of 2014 was wiped
off the region’s calendar. Sources have confirmed that Americas is the only region to not participate in the next ICC
Women's World Cup Qualifier. I take this opportunity to express my strong disagreement and displeasure; and outline
some major implications for women’s cricket in USA and the Americas.
REASONS
The RDM identified reasons - which in my opinion are merely points, to justify his decision. More importantly, I
believe as long as there are women interested and capable of competing in the region, there is no reason that can
justify the absence of Americas’ representation at a World Cup Qualifier event. However, for the sake of argument, I
will explore the points communicated to me by various sources operating under the auspices of ICC:

There is no domestic structure in the US and Canada (strongest teams in the region) for women
RESPONSE: There is a lot to be desired in terms of infrastructure for women but there also has been no
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structure for men in the US , yet the women are being penalized. The last men's national tournament occurred in
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2010 while the women competed in a national tournament in 2011. Naturally, it is very challenging to create a
domestic structure in a country that spans over 3 million square miles with an interesting, poor and long cricket
history having recorded the oldest international sporting fixture (1844). The inability for the sport to take hold in
the US is an indication of the magnitude of the challenge. Furthermore, cricket became an option for women in
the US only four years ago courtesy ICC’s mandate that all Associate Members should establish a women’s
program by 2015. Women’s cricket has demonstrated progress over its four year history by increasing its number
of teams from two to eight and injecting the largest private (non-ICC) funding ever received by USA Cricket
Association (USACA). Such is the power and rich potential of women to the profile of cricket in the US.
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USACA reported earlier this year that ICC made a decision “to provide additional backing to help grow the sport
of cricket in the United States” but the 2014 USACA calendar released by our CEO, Mr. Darren Beazley, did not
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include any women’s activities . This leaves the women’s cricket stakeholders in a very difficult situation to
incentivize women’s cricket and grow participation among women.

There are only three women club teams in the US
RESPONSE: It is my understanding that the RDM was misinformed by someone within USACA who is unaware
of the scope of women’s cricket in the country. There are eight women's teams in the US - a 300% increase
since 2009. Unfortunately it means that the RDM's audit of cricket in the US and the information presented to the
ICC Development Committee was incorrect. Please see the table below of the history of our teams.
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Here is a breakdown of US women’s cricket activities over the past three years that may have been missed in the
RDM’s audit:
2013

Three US domestic teams and a Cayman Islands team participated in the 3rd Annual Atlanta T20 Women’s
Championship sanctioned by USACA. This was the same tournament for which West Indies Cricket Board
approved Stafanie Taylor’s participation as an ambassador for women’s cricket. Players and spectators
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were very appreciative of her presence and display . The US teams at the tournament were Atlantis Cricket
Club-NY, Atlantic Region Lady Eagles, and Atlanta Pearls. The tournament was limited to four teams at the
decision of the organizer due to limited funds and facilities.

New York Tri-State Lynx participated in a home and away series with the Superstars Cricket Club of
Canada. Former West Indies Assistant Coach, Stephanie Powers, assisted the Tri-State team on the tour to
Canada.

The New York Region hosted a summer league for both the New York and Atlantic Region women’s teams.
The league lasted several weeks.

The Northern California Cricket Association (NCCA) Women's team broke new ground by being the first
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female team in the US to play in a men’s league and to play a full season (14) of matches . The team is
also currently playing in the Winter League which started in November and will end in March 2014. As a
result of a player’s initiative, Stafanie Taylor provided a clinic for the NCCA women’s team and participated
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in the Atlanta T20 Women’s Championship .

Dallas Women's League started this summer with three teams (Royal Smashers, Chak de Dallas, and
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Dallas Queens) playing several games against each other in a summer and fall league .

Atlantis Cricket Club-NY hosted the Metallica Cup - a weekend duel between host and Atlanta Pearls .

All teams participated in training programs throughout the year. Programs were managed by the regions,
leagues, and clubs.

Four USA women participated in the ICC Level 1 Coaching Certification training administered by Cricket
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Australia and one Canadian obtained her ICC Level 3 Coaching Certification .
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x
2012

Three domestic teams participated in the 2nd Annual Atlanta T20 Women’s Tournament - Atlantis Cricket
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Club-NY, Atlantic Region Lady Eagles, and Atlanta Pearls .

USA finished second to Canada in the ICC Americas T20 Championship.
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
Three USA players were members of the ICC Americas Women’s team that participated in the West Indies
U-19 Women’s Regional tournament.
2011

Two domestic teams participated in the inaugural Atlanta T20 Women’s Tournament – an initiative of a
player.

USACA held its national women’s tournament in New York.

The USA team, via USACA, received a major grant.

USA participated in a 10-day camp funded by the grant and led by Andy Pick and ICC Americas.

USA finished 8th out of 10 teams in the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier and was the newest established
national team in the tournament. USA defeated a full-member nation despite sending a half-strength team
due to an impasse between players and administration.
Despite USACA’s unfulfilled commitments to women’s cricket initiatives across the country, 2013 has been the
busiest in US women’s cricket history. All activities were grassroots initiatives funded privately – and in many cases,
were the initiatives of players – and were a result of the buzz created by international tournaments in prior years and
in anticipation of USA women going back into action in 2014.

In countries such as Brazil and Argentina where there are domestic structures for women’s cricket,
the performance level is too low
RESPONSE: It is the purpose of a development region - to grow the sport and improve the performance levels.
Everyone has to start somewhere. In a developing region, focus should be placed on progress, rather than shortterm results. However, those who were present since 2006 can attest to progress across the region.
Similarly, the men of Americas Divisions 1, 2 and 3 do not perform to a high standard yet all are afforded regional
tournaments. In the context of international competition, the women’s teams in the Americas region are on par
with Americas’ men’s division 1 teams by virtue of international tournament standings. In the most recent men’s
ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier, Americas division 1 teams USA, Bermuda, and Canada finished 15th,14th, and
12th, respectively out of 16 teams. At the last two ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers, Canada finished 7th out of
8, and USA finished 8th out of 10. The corollary is that the Americas women’s teams are better performers in
international tournaments than Americas division 2 and 3 men’s teams given that they are not yet in the league
of teams like USA, Canada, Bermuda, and Cayman Islands. Americas division 2 and 3 men’s cricket will
continue to be supported while the Americas women’s teams will not.
Evidence-based proof indicates that participating in competitive fixtures is necessary for improving performance.
Therefore, participating only within our respective countries is insufficient. Also, participating in World Cup
Qualifier events gives us the only gauge to benchmark our standard against the rest of the world; and these
events reveal that competing against teams within the Americas region, is also insufficient. The damage
therefore of eliminating the Americas qualifier and denying a representative to participate in a World Cup
Qualifier event is not only stagnating, but it is decimating for an entire region.
Case in point: The West Indies Women's (WIW) team was once a weak team but with continued commitment and
exposure, they have risen to the top. At their first two World Cup outings in 1973 and 1977, WIW finished 2nd-to-last
both times. In the 1973 World Cup, they won two games and lost five. In the 1977 World Cup, they won only one
game - the 9th place play-off. Fast forward 40 years later to the 2013 World Cup, WIW finished second. Every
journey begins with the first step. Our players in the Americas region are asking only for the opportunity that is being
afforded to players in all other regions – the opportunity to compete.
Case in point: Associate Members, Netherlands, Ireland, and Scotland, have been playing international women’s
cricket since 1984, 1987, and 2001, respectively. After several poor World Cup showings, the respective boards
recognized the need to improve their performances by playing more competitive cricket. By 2009, each team joined
the England Cricket Board (ECB) Women’s County Cricket Championship.

The ratio of the number of women playing in the US versus the size of a team, does not justify
expenditure for a tournament.
RESPONSE: The population size is teasing but establishing an office does not unlock the full potential of a
country automatically. This requires a long-term plan (at least 10 years) such as that undertaken by the United
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States Youth Cricket Association , and more funding. Until then, the US will remain a sleeping giant and if we
are judged by this criterion, it may take at least a decade if all things go exceedingly well, that USA women will
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be back in action.
US Soccer demonstrates the fact that a sport cannot be taught without some cultural context embedded into a
society - an evolution that can take decades. With millions playing soccer in the US and a rich history, in recent
years the association adopted the strategy of recruiting German-born and –raised Americans to fill its roster,
recognizing that with all of the richness of US facilities and resources, US men still cannot perform to the level of
countries where soccer is ingrained into the culture and fabric of the nation. Therefore, numbers do not always
equate to quality and should not be used as a reason to deny hosting a tournament if the required number of
players to participate is met.
Rather than denying women from participating, these are justifications to increase funding from ICC to the region.
Americas Women’s Cricket History
Since 2006, the ICC Americas Women's Championship provided a pathway for an Americas representative to
participate at ICC World Cup events. Former ICC Americas Regional Development Manager, Martin Vieira, and
Women’s Officer, Anne Browne-John, were great advocates for women's cricket. Under their stead, they provided a
very competitive environment by inviting Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) women’s teams. Such partnerships, if
maintained, would provide an enormous boost to the level of cricket in the region. Below is the Americas history of
hosted women's tournaments:

2006: 3-match 50-over qualifier: Bermuda and Canada

2007: Americas 40-over Championship: Bermuda, Canada, Argentina, T&T U-17

2009: Americas 40-over Championship: Canada, USA, Bermuda, Argentina, Brazil, T&T Development

2010: 3-match 50-over qualifier between USA and Canada

2012: Americas T20 qualifier: Canada, USA, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Argentina, Brazil
Without the tournament, there would be no incentive to play. A generation of cricketers is wiped out prematurely; an
entire region is denied an opportunity to play in a World Cup Qualifier event; and the future players have nothing to
aspire to achieve. Further, to eliminate a tournament in a region that has demonstrated steady, albeit small, growth in
women’s cricket over its seven-year history to only focus on men and youth cricket is simply discriminatory.
Sports Development
To understand the severity of ICC and ICC Americas’ planned cricket activities for cricket in the region (US) or lack
thereof, and the strength of the United States Youth Cricket Association’s model for development, one must first
understand the underpinnings of Sports Development. According to the Sports Council, North West Region of the UK,
“Sports development is a process by which interest and desire to take part in sport may be created in those who are
currently indifferent to the message of sport; or by which those now not taking part but well disposed may be provided
with appropriate opportunities to do so; or by which those currently taking part may be enabled to do so with
meaningful frequency and greater satisfaction, thus enabling participants at all levels to achieve their full potential”.
Alternatively, according to toolkitsportdevelopment.org, development is a process of enlarging people's choices and
increasing the opportunities available to all members of society. Based on the principles of inclusion, equity and
sustainability, emphasis is on the importance of increasing opportunities for the current generation as well as
generations to come. The diagram below illustrates the Sports Development Continuum.
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The Sports Development Continuum (Casey, 1998)
Excellence
Performance
Participation
Foundation
Foundation: Young people participate in various physical activities to develop motor-skills such as hand-eye
coordination. This development begins in the home and is built upon in school and community physical education
activities that focus on healthy active lifestyles rather than adopting a specific sport.
Participation: Opportunities for all members of a community to participate for any reason whether it be for
enjoyment, health, socializing, or competition.
Performance: Opportunities for those already participating to improve their performances regardless of their current
level.
Excellence: Opportunities for those who are competitive to achieve success recognized on a public level.
In the context of cricket as prescribed by the ICC Americas regional office and approved by ICC in November 2013,
the following is the resultant model for growing the sport in the Americas region. In fact, it has been in effect this year
and will continue to be, for at least three more years.
Provided by ICC, ICC Americas,
and national governing bodies
Limited: Provided by local
academies, clubs, leagues, and
coaches
Provided by local academies,
clubs, and leagues
Provided by local academies,
school, and community activities
If the de-prioritizing of women’s cricket by ICC Americas is sustained, the hierarchical relationship of the sports
development levels dictates that the impact will permeate the lower levels, ultimately killing cricket in the region. The
impact is already felt one month after the decision was made. USACA’s CEO released the 2014 calendar of events
without inclusion of any women’s cricket initiatives. The following is the forecast model of the final outcome.
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Provided by ICC, ICC Americas,
and national governing bodies
Limited: Provided by local
academies, clubs, leagues, and
coaches
Provided by local academies,
clubs, and leagues
Provided by local academies,
school, and community activities
From 2006 to 2012, the ICC Americas’ Sports Development model provided women opportunities to play at an elite
level while the national associations played catch-up to build pathways. Though not ideal, this has been a common
approach for most national associations and their women’s programs including full members. Today, the standard of
women’s cricket at the World Cup level is higher due to increased playing opportunities.
The new model is inadequate for sports development as it does not provide increasing opportunities much less any
opportunities for the current generation of women players. ICC Americas holds the key to unlock the level of
excellence while the domestic associations facilitate the development to that level. With this model, there are no
incentives for national and local cricket organizations to invest in the development of the sport among its female
members. And similarly, there is no target for young female cricketers to aim for and therefore no reason to commit
and invest to become elite athletes. As it stands today, parents in the US are dissuaded to push their kids into cricket
because they see no future in the sport. At the very least, most sports in the US offer athletic scholarships to
universities. Currently, the major and only selling point of women’s cricket to an American or any cross-over athlete is
the strong possibility of ascending to the national team. With the carrot taken away, the task of growing the sport
among women and girls becomes exponentially harder. It will not be long before interest wanes among current
players in the absence of substantial opportunities to compete.
In a recent article, ICC Women’s Committee Chairperson, Clare Connor discusses the growth of women’s cricket in
England and provides testament to the importance of major events and the growth spurt of participation if a team is
successful.
"Three of our spikes in female participation have come after the Ashes win in 2005, the two World Cup wins in 2009
and, according to the most recent Sport England participation figures, on the back of last summer's Ashes victory,"
explains Clare Connor, head of women's cricket at the ECB. "We believe that creating role models alongside well
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celebrated success in major events creates the opportunity to grow the game."
It is no secret that ICC is steadfast in its hunt to capture a piece of the American Pie - a multi-billion dollar sports
industry. Unfortunately, there is no fast track to the real potential of the US sports industry. It makes the Sports
Development model quite interesting and raises the question, what long-term benefit can ICC achieve by canceling
the only women’s tournament that happens once every two years? Costs and benefits would have been weighed in
making this decision; therefore, what did ICC Americas and the mothership deem as more important uses for the
money saved from not having the qualifier? With no indication of women’s initiatives and further evidenced by the
USACA CEO publishing of a 2014 cricket calendar with no women’s activities, there are a few logical ideas:

Men’s competitions at Americas Division 1, 2, or 3 levels.

Establishing schools cricket

New staff salaries

Under 19 boys development

Coach education
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
Marketing
At best, the dollars saved may fund any of the programs above for one year. Is it sustainable? Is women’s cricket
considered a core program or an afterthought? Unfortunately, even if the money saved funded any of these programs
for 10 years, denying women access is discriminatory.
BEST PRACTICES OF ASSESSING PROGRESS AND REFORMING TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS
Sources have indicated that there is a consensus at ICC that not many women are playing cricket among Associate
Members and therefore, ICC has relaxed on its mandate to Associate Members to have an established women’s
program by 2015. What is likely to be a plausible plan of action? ICC chose to press the pause button - a tactic used
by organizations revisiting their mission and goals. Was there consideration to commit more resources into growing
the sport among women and/or extend the goal to beyond 2015?
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) exemplifies the management of similar goals, for example, 31 years ago
the IOC opened its membership to women, and 17 years ago the IOC implemented programs and processes for
helping women to access higher levels of sports administration and competition, systematically. Since then, the
number of female participants have grown exponentially but the number of women being elected to leadership
positions have not increased at the same rate; therefore, more resources would be dedicated to developing women’s
skills in management and leadership, and the IOC would revisit and review the minimum number of women to be
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included in leadership roles which it sets for its constituents .
BEST PRACTICES OF SPORTS DEVELOPMENT
Keeping the focus on the US market because it is the most sought-after target market in the Americas region,
consider the timelines reasonable for growth of emerging women’s sports. The largest governing body for collegiate
sports, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), requires at least 28 schools to sponsor varsity teams for
men and 20 schools for women in order to sanction the sport as an NCAA sport. In recognition of the challenge to
develop emerging women’s sports, the NCAA gives a national sports governing body a probationary period of 10
years to gain eight more varsity women’s teams to advance to championship status i.e. the NCAA would sponsor a
national tournament. This leniency is extended to universities’ which receive federal funding and whose division 1
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athletic budgets range from $4 million to $133 million with an average budget of $30 million, as of 2011. These
emerging sports usually have established school programs and a database of hundreds of thousands yet, the NCAA
exercises a great level of patience toward women’s sports development.
Women’s Sports and Gender Inequity
For decades women athletes, supporters, and women advocacy groups have fought for access to sports events and
activities for women, recognizing the social, economic, political, and health benefits of such. Major policy
development in gender and sport began earnestly in 1949 with the establishment of the International Association of
Physical Education and Sport for Girls and Women (IAPESGW). Other major highlights in policy development of
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gender and sport include :

1979 – UN General Assembly adopts the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW)

1981 – two female members were elected to join the International Olympic Committee (IOC)

1994 – the first World Conference on Women and Sport and the signing of the Brighton Declaration, signals
the ‘women in sport’ movement taking on an international dimension.

1995 – the International Working Group (IWG) on Women and Sport was formed and received the status of
official IOC commission

1996 – the promotion of female sport was added to the Olympic Charter

1996 - the first IOC World Conference on Women and Sport, Lausanne, Switzerland. A resolution on women
and sport was passed.
IOC W ORLD CONFERENCES ON W OMEN AND SPORT
The IOC is a leader in advocating for gender issues. At present, there are 21 women out of 101 active members; and
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three women are members of the 15-person-strong IOC Executive Board . Since 1996, the IOC has hosted world
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conferences on women and sport with the aim of assessing the progress made in advancing the cause of gender
equality within the Olympic Movement and to define future priority actions to improve and increase the involvement of
girls and women in this framework. In 2012, the most recent edition of the conference, more than 800 delegates of
the Olympic Movement representing 135 countries, participated. Members of the Olympic Movement include IOC
Members, Commissions and Committees, National Olympic Committees, International Federations, governments, the
United Nations system, and civil society. All participants agreed on the “L.A. Declaration” which includes some of the
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following recommendations :

Consistent with the resolutions of the 4th IOC World Conference on Women and Sport at the Dead Sea,
Jordan, more resources should be dedicated to developing women’s skills in management and leadership;

The IOC should revisit and review the minimum number of women to be included in leadership roles which it
set for its constituents, and set up a mechanism to monitor and ensure that this minimum number is being
respected. Recognising the importance of gender equality in sport, each International Federation should
review its programmes for the Olympic Games and ensure that equality in participation is achieved;

The IOC and all the constituents of the Olympic Movement, especially the NOCs, International Federations
and national federations should ensure that for the 2012/13 and all future election cycles, they achieve a
more equitable representation on their Executive Committees;

The promotion of women’s participation in sports activities, management and administration should, and
must, serve the wider goal of supporting the international agenda of gender equality and the empowerment
of women and girls.
IWG W ORLD CONFERENCES ON W OMEN AND SPORT
The International Working Group on Women and Sport is guided by the vision of attaining a sustainable sporting
culture based on gender equality that enables and values the full involvement of girls and women in every aspect of
sport and physical activity. Its mission is Empowering women - Advancing sport. Similar to the IOC World
Conference, the IWG hosts a World Conference every four years to create positive change for women and sport on
and off the field.
In 1994, the IWG created the Brighton Declaration on Women and Sport and has since garnered the endorsements
of more than 400 organizations worldwide. Endorsing the declaration affirms an organization’s acceptance of the 10
principles of the declaration and its commitment to gender equality. As of December 13, 2013, the International
Cricket Council (ICC) has not endorsed the declaration though it claims to have done so. However, the ICC
participated in the past two IWG Conferences and the following developments have been recorded by the IWG:

2006 - Taken over women's cricket (2005) and appointed a Women's Project Officer, increased exposure
and promotion, resources, established Women's Committee (2005 - future plans inc worldwide promotion,
enhancing playing standards, increase participation, programmes, resources, catalyst to improve health),
women's Ashes televised, improved professionalism and standard and awareness of women's cricket.
Challenges - funding and resources, gap in playing standards, changing perceptions. Issues - funding
options, promotion, improving playing standards and numbers of comps. Supports women's events but has
not created new ones, aims to create leadership coaching and refereeing roles, grants offered. Nominations
for Women's Cricket Champions throughout the ICC, woman appointed head of Cricket Australia Centre for
Excellence.

2010 - Significant progress for women's cricket - growing representation and inclusion of the game among
cricket member federations, 1st ICC Women's World Cup (2009) and 1st men's and women's simultaneous
ICC World Twenty20 (2009) (both increased exposure, bundled with men's cricket in media package,
commercial partners, winning teams pictured together for media use), highlighted quote from President
regarding the importance of women's cricket.
Indeed there have been developments for women’s cricket since 2010 including T20 tournaments, more live
televised games courtesy a new agreement with ESPN, and a closing of the gap in playing standards among
the top 10 countries as well as overall visible improvements in the standard of play; however, amidst the
fanfare of these major accomplishments, other integral aspects of advancing the sport among women go
unnoticed. They are just as important because they represent the building blocks for tomorrow’s success:

Ten days before the start of the 2013 Women’s World Cup in India, all scheduled World Cup matches were
xx
moved from the premier Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai to accommodate the men’s domestic state final .
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
During the 2013 Women’s World Cup, the official ICC website often featured men’s cricket match reports as
the leading news items on the homepage with the women’s World Cup match reports occupying smaller
headlines. A new visitor to the website may have had difficulty realizing a World Cup was happening.

Eliminating the lone tournament for the Americas region and killing the chances at participating in a World
Cup Qualifier.

Though a very nice person, Mr. Beazley, USACA CEO, continues to communicate publicly that 2013 was a
year of “significant cricket achievements”, building a “solid foundation”, and considers 2013 a “year of
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positive change for cricket” -- with no action or responsibility taken for no women’s cricket initiatives . Early
in 2013, he held discussions about women’s cricket and USACA’s website published that investments would
xxii
be made to support women’s cricket initiatives across the nation but the USACA CEO did not deliver and
did not address what action would be taken to rectify this issue in 2014.
OTHER NOTABLE DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE COMMITMENT TO W OMEN’S SPORTS
Organizations at all levels have showed that breaking gender inequity is not a process that evolves. Rather, it is a
task that requires a proactive approach to reform and advance the cause of women on and off the field. Here are
other examples of organizations leading the cause of women:

The US Government enacted Title IX, a federal law that requires that male and female athletes of federally
funded programs receive the same benefits of athletic participation including but not limited to same quality
coaches as boys’ teams, equal access to practice and training facilities, and the opportunity to play the
same quality opponents. Also under Title IX, an economic reason cannot be used to justify male athletes
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being treated better than female athletes .

In 2012, two teenage female athletes from Saudi Arabia failed to meet the Olympic qualifying standards in
their respective events but the IOC mandated that the country send the athletes to ensure every country was
represented by female participants.

Recognizing the value of women’s sports, David Stern of the National Basketball Association (NBA) has
been the major advocate and supporter of the Women’s NBA (WNBA) league despite its annual loss to the
NBA.
The decision to not have an Americas representative at the next ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier negates the
principles of the ICC; the development of women’s cricket in the region; and the overall positive direction the rest of
the world has taken regarding women and sports.
Samples of US Women's Cricket Initiatives in 2013
Missouri: Missouri Youth Cricket Association spent a full day
introducing 2,000+ Girls Scouts to cricket
Georgia: The brainchild of a woman cricketer, Georgia Women's
Cricket Association taught a girls High School Softball team how
to play cricket
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Texas: One of three new teams in the Dallas Women's Cricket
League
California: A player-initiative, Stafanie Taylor led a cricket clinic
for current and future US national players
California: Courtesy the NCCA, a women's team receives full
sponsorship to play in the men's summer and winter leagues
New York: Tri-State Lynx played a home and away series against
a Canadian club team
California: US women's national player helped coach at a local
cricket festival
Georgia: Stafanie Taylor played against Atlantic Region in a T20
exhibition game
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i
ESPNCricinfo (January 10, 2013), No Path from League to Country, at
http://www.espncricinfo.com/blogs/content/story/622496.html
ii
ESPNCricinfo (June 15, 2013), USACA Plans to Resume National Tournaments, at
http://www.espncricinfo.com/usa/content/story/642169.html
iii
USACA (June 14, 2013), News Release: USACA Announces Indianapolis as Site for 2014, 2015, and 2016 National
Cricket Championships, at
http://usaca.org/images/documents/6_14_13%20USACA%20US%20Amateur%20National%20Cricket%20Tournament.pdf
iv
USACA, 2014 US Cricket National Events Calendar, at
http://usaca.org/images/documents/131203%202014%20usaca%20annual%20calendar-final1.pdf
v
Wisden India (June 25, 2013), The Brutal Elegance of Stafanie Taylor, at http://www.wisdenindia.com/cricket-article/brutalelegance-stafanie-taylor/67432
vi
NewYorkCricket.com (June 3, 2013), Tristate Lynx Gets First Lien in Clash with Canadians, at
http://newyorkcricket.com/news/2013/06/tristate-lynx-gets-first-lien-in-clash-with-canadians/
vii
Dreamcricket.com (September 27, 2013), NCCA Women Push Boundaries, at
http://www.dreamcricket.com/dreamcricket/news.hspl?nid=17083&ntid=4
viii
Dreamcricket.com (June 5, 2013), Stafanie Taylor is Ultimate Ambassador for Women’s Cricket, at
http://www.dreamcricket.com/dreamcricket/news.hspl?nid=16988&ntid=4
ix
DallasWomensCricket.com, Dallas Women’s Cricket League, at http://dallaswomenscricket.com/default.aspx
x
NewYorkCricket.com (September 6, 2013), Women’s Cricket Unmasked in Brooklyn, NY, at
http://newyorkcricket.com/columns/john-aaron/2013/09/women%E2%80%99s-cricket-unmasked-in-brooklyn-ny/
xi
IndianaCricket.blogspot.com (December, 2013), Canada's Cricketer Monali Patel becomes 1st female Instructor to
facilitate ICC/Cricket Australia Level 1 courses in North America, at http://indianacricket.blogspot.com/2013/12/canadascricketer-monali-patel-becomes.html
xii
DreamCricket.com (May 31, 2012), Atlanta Women’s T20 Tournament a Hot Success, at
http://www.dreamcricket.com/dreamcricket/news.hspl?nid=16560&ntid=4
xiii
Dreamcricket.com (May 16, 2010), Six Stages of US Youth Cricket Development, at
http://www.dreamcricket.com/dreamcricket/news.hspl?nid=14288&ntid=3
xiv
ESPNCricinfo (January 3, 2013), Women’s Game Grows Under the Glass Ceiling, at
http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/706125.html
xv
International Olympic Committee (February 18, 2012), The Los Angeles Declaration, Background, at
http://www.olympic.org/Documents/Commissions_PDFfiles/women_and_sport/Los-Angeles-Declaration-2012.pdf
xvi
USA Today (May 14, 2012), Sports' College Athletics Finances, at
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/story/2012-05-14/ncaa-college-athletics-finances-database/54955804/1
xvii
SportandDev.org, Policy Development in Gender and Sport, at
http://www.sportanddev.org/en/learnmore/sport_and_gender/policy_development_in_gender_and_sport/
xviii
International Olympic Committee, Women and Sport Commission, at http://www.olympic.org/women-sportcommission?tab=advocacy
xix
International Working Group, The Brighton Declaration on Women and Sport, at http://www.iwggti.org/@Bin/22427/Brighton+Declaration_EN.pdf
xx
ESPNCricinfo (January 21, 2013), Women’s World Cup Moved Out of Wankhede, at
http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/story/601635.html
xxi
USACA, Reflections on US Cricket in 2013, at
http://usaca.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&layout=edit&id=73
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xxii
USACA, USACA to Invest in Women’s Cricket Initiatives Across the USA, at
http://usaca.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=160&catid=8&Itemid=228
xxiii
Women Sports Foundation, A Title IX Primer, at http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/home/advocate/title-ix-andissues/what-is-title-ix/title-ix-primer
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