Vaneisa: Making a case for mixed-sex cricket

How about mixing it up a bit? Two West Indies cricket T20 encounters last Tuesday. The men played their second match against Sri Lanka, and the women challenged England for a semi-final spot in the World Cup.

At the tenth over, the women were 89-0, with openers Hayley Matthews and Qiana Joseph going guns in the chase for 142.

Far away, at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium in Sri Lanka, the men were also on 89—except they were all out. Every man jack gone in 16.1 overs.

Sri Lanka had reached 162 for five at the end of their 20, getting there largely through sloppy cricket by the West Indies men. In their turn at the crease, the captain’s 20 was the highest score.

The matches begun within half an hour of each other, and I tuned in to the men’s game while waiting for the women to start theirs at the Dubai International Stadium.

The uniforms were the same, but it was chalk and cheese all the way—switching channels was a jump between joy and pain. It ended up just being a matter of checking scores on the men’s end.

For the women, this was going to be a decisive match. The England team is ranked second in the international T20 format, with Australia sitting dominantly at the top.

It was never going to be easy. But from early in the play, the WI body language was telling. There was a tightness and a feel of joy on the field. Entirely reasonable given that they had England 34 for 3 by the seventh over.

Briefly, because scorecards are available, I will just mention that the openers were spectacular. Joseph made her first international 50 (52 for 38) and Matthews got to 50 off 38. They raced to 102 before the first wicket fell.

And then, and then, Deandra Dottin practically took it home with 27 off 19, including two mighty sixes.

If Hayley is all elegance and grace when she’s batting, Dottin is a formidable power. How fortuitous that she came out of retirement! She took three catches, effected a runout and took a wicket.

Did they win the match? They did so magnificently, and whatever happened at the semi-finals, this will be a performance to remember.

On Thursday, it was no surprise that the men’s team lost the third T20 in pretty much the same fashion as the second. It was a pleasant surprise though that the South African women convincingly throttled Australia. It should have made for an intriguing final today.

Watching these games, I couldn’t help but revisit an idea I had thrown out many years ago. Why don’t we have mixed teams? Not just in cricket, but in other sports?

Last year, Barbados prime minister Mia Mottley also doffed the idea at the Caricom Cricket Conference. I’d been so happy to hear it, though, like her, I know it will get no traction yet.

The very audacity of hope behind the idea would twist a lot of pantaloons, but think about it. Hayley Matthews is one of those cricketers who is an absolute joy to watch. The aura of greatness surrounds her as gracefully as it did Frank Worrell.

Deandra Dottin has always been a player who continuously astonishes. Her presence must be one of the most intimidating for any opposition.

Our West Indies women of the recent past: Stafanie Taylor, Anisa Mohammed, Merissa Aguilera, and the newer ones like Qiana Joseph, Afy Fletcher, the baby, Karishma Ramharack, would be wonderful components of any team.

Wouldn’t you be intrigued to see them coming up against their male counterparts? All those mega stars?

Not that I want to set up an opposition between our male and female teams, but it would be the handiest way to illustrate what I am talking about. Deandra against Nicholas Pooran, Hayley against Shai Hope or Shimron Hetmeyer.

Who’d you put the odds on? Which batters do you think would be on par in a match-up?

I suppose one of the arguments against mixed teams would be the notion that men are physically stronger. If a team is mixed, that would be negated.

I have been looking at cricketers for many years and I’ve always felt that the dressing room atmosphere has been strongest in a positive way on the women’s side. I’m confining this to the West Indies experience, because I don’t know about other team interactions.

I would say that it is only recently there has been some indication that there is more of a nurturing environment on the men’s side. That is partially due to the removal of some of the toxic egos that controlled the way our cricket was being run.

But for all the time I have been around women’s cricket (far more so in the past), it was obvious that the approach was always that of building family, community, between players and the administrators.

I remember the indefatigable Ann Browne-John telling me that when Anisa Mohammed was a teenager on the team, the manager used to do her laundry for her because she seemed such a baby.

To me, there is far more value to be added to the game (especially in a time of waning interest for all but T20s) to consider mixing it up a bit so we can see what can possibly happen next.

The worst thing might be bruised male egos.

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Vaneisa Baksh

Vaneisa Baksh is a columnist with the Trinidad Express, an editor and a cricket historian. She is the author of a biography of Sir Frank Worrell.