Raf Nicholson
@rafnicholson.bsky.social
Women’s cricket historian & journalist. Sports Journalism lecturer at Bournemouth University & writer for Guardian Sport. Vice Chair of The Cricket Society.
Must say it feels in desperately poor taste, in the middle of a cost of living crisis, for the wife of someone earning £140k for 4 weeks work to go on national TV complaining she has taken “a pay cut”. (Incidentally it’s also inaccurate given that the top salary band in the 2025 comp was £65k.)
Delighted that, as of today, my book The Women in Whites is on sale in the @kiaoval.com shop. Let me know if you spot it in the wild!
This is just survivor bias, surely? “Me and my teammates made it as pros having played boys cricket so surely there was nothing wrong with the system.”
The Cricketer@thecricketer.com · 2d ago"My view is that being 'the girl' in a boys' team isn't actually a bad thing. On the contrary, it is good for development."
It’s not been the best weekend in CRICKETher Towers... Featuring some interesting thoughts from Lisa Keightley! crickether.com/2026/08/02/t...
THE HUNDRED: MI London v Manchester Super Giants – That’s Not My London! Its Batting Is Too Terrible
It’s not been the best weekend in CRICKETher Towers. Syd was pretty scathing about yesterday’s Spirit v Brave shenanigans and I can’t say I departed The Oval today feeling much more positive, after…
crickether.com
Someone need to tell David Shepherd (senior lecturer at Portsmouth apparently) that this kind of valorisation of female athletes is incredibly patronising and unhelpful. From The Guardian: www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/a...
This is a fascinating - some would say desperate - attempt to try to make Birmingham Phoenix feel like an authentic part of cricket history in Birmingham. It's a lovely poem, & I actually think it's good they are trying to connect with county fans, but it just doesn't quite ring true?
Birmingham Phoenix partners with Poet Laureate on bespoke piece
The latest articles and stories from Edgbaston and Warwickshire County Cricket Club.
edgbaston.com
ONE DAY CUP (Tier 2): Kent v Middlesex – King Inspires Kent To Hard-Fought Win Over Complacent Middlesex
ONE DAY CUP (Tier 2): Kent v Middlesex – King Inspires Kent To Hard-Fought Win Over Complacent Middlesex
By Richard Starkie* Kent (309/8) beat Middlesex (306/7) by 2 wickets with 8 balls to spare Middlesex set a challenging 306/7, but innings tails off in final 5 overs Artemis Downer scores 67, one of…
crickether.com
OK apparently it started on time but for some bizarre reason the YouTube stream is broadcasting with a 15 min delay.
Raf Nicholson@rafnicholson.bsky.social · last wk.Errrrm. Anyone know why this game is starting 15 minutes later than the actual scheduled start time? #TheHundred
Errrrm. Anyone know why this game is starting 15 minutes later than the actual scheduled start time? #TheHundred
Absolutely extraordinary finish down in Tier 2. Leicestershire somehow tied their fixture v Northants despite needing 15 runs off the final over with just 1 wicket in hand! live.nvplay.com/ecb/?tab=m_s...
Live scores, live streams, video highlights and schedules from ECB Play-Cricket | powered by NV Play
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live.nvplay.com
The TV cameras didn’t show it, so it was tricky to spot at home, but do the at-ground Sky commentators not actually use their eyes between sets??
Women's Cricket Blog@womenscricblog.bsky.social · last wk.No-one seems to have noticed Elwiss was retired out & Emma Jones got out first ball!!
Warwickshire parting ways with Laura MacLeod over the winter suddenly doesn't look like such a great move. If you don't feel like your county cares about the women's team, you are unlikely to hang around beyond the duration of your current contract.
Global Cricket@somuchcricket.bsky.social · 2w agoEm Arlott moving to Yorkshire is exactly the sort of signing that Yorkshire need. Warwickshire have underperformed this season, and while they have plenty of talent, losing experienced players is not going to help the, especially if Georgia Davis is also on her way as the article suggests.
Baffled by the Women's Hundred so far. Entire teams seem to have forgotten how to bat.
Well, I found that entertaining, personally. Not sure about inspiring though. #TheHundred
Big headline for me is that the Women's Ashes Test next year will be 4 days. Trent Bridge 2023 set to remain a one-off experiment. Obviously we've had quite a few positive results in the last 5 years of women's Test cricket. However, we're also seeing a massive slow-down in the over rate.
"Money Makes The World Go Round" Raf muses on the first match in the Women's Hundred... and a lot else besides!
THE HUNDRED: MI London v SunRisers Leeds – Money Makes The World Go Round
Just three weeks ago (it feels like an eternity), Hayley Matthews was here at The Oval, playing in a World Cup semi-final and unleashing a brilliant, heartfelt critique of cricket’s financial inequ…
crickether.com
"Welcome Your... My... London" The ground announcer sounds a bit confused. Which are they - mine or yours?
Interesting decision by Sunrisers Leeds to open with Jess Jonassen. She hasn't regularly performed that role since the very start of her international career for Australia, in 2014-15.
Emily Windsor is out on the field at The Oval wearing a moonboot. Guessing she won't be playing in The Hundred (although for some reason we haven't had an official announcement).
As this year’s Hundred gets underway, worth remembering this presentation from our #CRN2026 conference which blew away the facade of gender equality surrounding the comp. In the era of new owners, this is the kind of thing to watch / listen out for.
Raf Nicholson@rafnicholson.bsky.social · 5mo agoOur 1st panel at #CRN2026 is on Gender. Two brilliant presentations first up centring on lived experience of female cricketers in franchise comps, including The Hundred. Huge contrast between hype of "equality" & persistent disparities in Georgia Norman's interviews with players. I gasped at this!
![Quote from an interviewee: "At [franchise], the men's team were getting food and we weren't. They were having their dinner cooked for them every night for free and we were going out or getting delivery. There was food in the team room, but it wasn't for us, it was for the men."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:qefnz7gxtoazw436ylnafygh/bafkreiattkezimkg4n3g7gghugnatuyxohmvtafa4pmcefrbnfeobpk6we)
Me on Finals Day for The Observer (£ but you get one free article view so might be able to read it for free): It has been a brilliant, record-breaking summer for women’s cricket – but it was a shame it had to end on a Friday to an empty Oval observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
Not a bang, but a whimper: T20 Blast finals day draws wom...
It has been a brilliant, record-breaking summer for women’s cricket – but it was a shame it had to end on a Friday to an empty Oval
observer.co.uk
Darren Lehmann says the quiet bit out loud re ECB coach hiring practices. Rooney Rule? Transparency? Nah!
!["I'm not sure my wife wants me to spend 300 days [a year] away again," Lehmann said, when asked if he would have any interest in the role. "I haven't spoken to them, so there's no point worrying about it. For me, if they've got rid of Brendon McCullum, they've already made the decision and got someone behind the scenes, because that's how it works."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:qefnz7gxtoazw436ylnafygh/bafkreibpe3kcscjng3cc2j73qh6hbtmdwun7iqvhdzhgd6fkeksf63hujm)
Put your hands together for today’s real winner: the chef who baked these stunning blueberry muffins at The Oval 👏 👏
Not sure that was in the script for the reigning champions... #105allout
Looked like Alice Monaghan had forgotten about the existence of reviews? Was walking off and then ADR stopped her on the way past and said "give it a go". Perhaps not the best idea having just seen the replay.
A fascinating situation where Blaze appear to be better supported at The Oval on Finals Day than Surrey.
