Raf Nicholson

Today’s match cancelled, otherwise similar - being monitored.

BREAKING: Due to the political situation, ECB are delaying England Women’s departure to Abu Dhabi for their scheduled training camp. It’s possible it may be called off altogether - that’s TBC.

Another potential blow to England’s WC preparation, given they have no bilateral cricket scheduled.

Fenners cricket ground, with the sun shining.

And that’s a wrap on #CRN2026

I’m shattered but my brain is buzzing with thoughts and ideas after so many great presentations today!

Safe journey home, everyone, and hope to see you all next year 🏏

Powerpoint slide: Cricket, climate justice & South Asian paradox “we can change as per the temperature – our body is wonderful” ”one or two degrees of temperature change doesn’t matter, it is all in the mind. You need to be strong to be in the field all day” extreme heat and erratic monsoons are “tests of resilience”, “badge of honour” and “rite of passage”

@shubhamjain224.bsky.social argues that cricket's "South Asian Paradox" - whereby players do not want to speak out because competition for places is so strong - is having a negative impact on player welfare. Nobody wants to complain about poor air quality or other environmental issues. #CRN2026

Powerpoint slide with a tweet from illegal betting company Babu88, announcing their sponsorship of England's tour of Sri Lanka. Brook is pictured trying to ground his bat, with the betting sponsors visible on the advertising hoardings in the background.

Our final #CRN2026 panel is focused on Governance and Sustainability.

@stevemenary.bsky.social shares worrying findings about illegal betting sponsorship, which doubled between 2021 and 2025.

Harry Brook, Steve argues, is (inadvertently) helping to promote illegal betting in the screenshot below.

TH?

Katy Perry during the 2020 T20 World Cup final, dressed in pink, with dancing pink and purple cricket bats.

Remember this?

Hannah Thompson-Radford at #CRN2026 gives us food for thought about whether Katy Perry performing at the T20 World Cup final was empowering, or whether this kind of 'hyperfeminisation' was actually just reductive / ‘gimmicky’.

a cricket game is being played on a field with a referee wearing a emirates shirt ALT: a cricket game is being played on a field with a referee wearing a emirates shirt

Some quite depressing findings from Richard Jones about cricket’s place in the sports news agenda, showing its decline.

His analysis of regional press, national radio & X posts suggests cricket is disappearing from some commercial media, and is heavily reliant on the BBC for prominence. #CRN2026

Powepoint slide: Why cricket fandom matters - Using Irish cricket to demonstrate the need for a new research agenda in sport fan studies.

And Kieran Holly talks about Irish cricket fandom.

His key conclusion is Irish men's cricket lacks a distinctive fan identity, partly b/c there is no permanent stadium & limited fixtures v major Test nations.

Would be fascinating to see an equivalent study of Irish women's cricket fandom. #CRN2026

Our Keynote panel focused on the #ICC Women's #T20WC2026, involving Laura Entwistle, Laura MacLeod & @rafnicholson.bsky.social moderated by Tanya Aldred. Fantastic conversation touching on legacy, pathways, counties, media, governance and hope for the game! @sportinhistorypod.bsky.social #CRN2026

Powerpoint slide: Volunteering among Ethnically Diverse Communities in English Cricket, with photos of coaches.

Following a delicious lunch, we've moved onto a panel about Inclusion.

Ross Ensor presents data showing that ethnically diverse volunteers face issues with racialised stereotypes ("they don't volunteer"), and cultures which force players to adopt a "white mask" to negotiate inclusion. #CRN2026

The Q&A was recorded and will be made available as a podcast via the @bssh.bsky.social podcast, so keep an eye out for that in the coming days! #CRN2026

Laura Macleod, Raf Nicholson & Laura Entwistle, next to a Hughes Hall podium.

Really enjoyed being part of a Q&A panel at #CRN2026 with Laura Entwistle (ECB) & Laura MacLeod.

We were meant to be discussing the World Cup & its (hopeful) legacies, but got a bit sidetracked into a debate about governance / women's cricket running itself (guess which side I was on)! 😂

No, but we'll be writing a summary of what was discussed and circulating it. DM me your email & I'll add you to our mailing list?

The last presentation, a triple act by Fiona Reid, Susan Warren & @rafnicholson.bsky.social on the fascinating story of women's cricket in #Scotland & the #Cambridge influence #CRN2026 @hugheshall.bsky.social

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Anand argues that West Indies Women's 2016 T20 World Cup victory had a “masking” effect which temporarily hid the structural issues. #CRN2026

WICB/WICF Merger / Integration / Takeover?

Panel 2 at #CRN2026 starts with Anand Rampersad (University of West Indies), who is working on the history of West Indies women’s cricket (hurrah!)

Same old story in terms of the "merger" of women's & men's boards in 2008. Men very reluctant to accept responsibility, women's autonomy lost. Sigh.

The last presentation in this panel is a discussion on state feminism, olympic status and gender relations in Chinese cricket delivered by Max He @lborouniversity.bsky.social #IOC #CRN2026

The first presentation is delivered by Akanksha Kohli & Dominic Malcolm who provide a powerful exploration of the experience of female cricketer's experiences of professionalisation @lborouniversity.bsky.social #CRN2026

The second presentation by Georgia Norman @durham.ac.uk who talks in detail about the lived experiences of women's cricketers in England after The Hundred #CRN2026 @crickether.com

Yes, a player in The Hundred. Not sure what year was being referred to but still - shocking.

Powerpoint slide: Group Charisma and Group Disgrace: Chinese female players: possess ‘group charisma’ as capable of: a) ‘defeating good associate nations such as Nepal and Thailand’ ; and b) demonstrating ‘medal-winning potential’ (Interviewee A, Chinese female player & coach) Chinese male players, on the other hand, possess ‘group disgrace’ stemming from international incompetence — ‘they never win a single match in the Asian Games’ (Interviewee B, Chinese female player) Consequences: resources tilted toward women's cricket (more turf practice, overseas training); official reports often refer to ‘Chinese team’ as women’s squad, while the men are specifically labelled “Chinese Men’s Cricket Team".

Chuckles in the room as Max He (Xi’an Jiaotong University) explains the Chinese women's team is institutionally prioritised over men’s, and a female cricketer in an interview told him she felt better after a loss when "a teammate told me, 'it’s alright, men cannot win a single game'". #CRN2026

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."

Our 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!

We are at the #CRN2026 Conference today at @hugheshall.bsky.social

Starting the conference now with a welcome address by our chair @rafnicholson.bsky.social @crickether.com

Also, controversial take but... in some ways SACA has itself been part of the problem. Institutional sexism was literally baked in and accepted by everyone for the first 4 years of their organisation existing. That's cricket's problem in a nutshell.

Great to hear from Odedra in this piece.

I am a bit puzzled as to why everyone seems so puzzled by the lack of South Asian representation in women's cricket, though. Women in sport are subject to racism too.

Combine that with sexism (in a little thing known as intersectionality), and here we are.

I couldn’t and I didn’t! 😁💛

Plus, as seeded, Bangladesh will be in Group 1, meaning they will play India. (We assume this is the reason the fixture list took so long to confirm!)

Group 1: Australia, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Netherlands

Group 2: West Indies, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Scotland

Just don’t mention the ingredients 😂

Mooney to take gloves with Healy in field for farewell She was always set to be the new permanent keeper, but the full-time change has been made early

“AAP has been told the decision was made to allow for continuity in the team, after she (Mooney) kept in the T20s.”

So… continuity of keeping is more important than continuity of captaincy. Ooookay then.