5 cricket records which women achieved before men

Unlike a sport like tennis, where female athletes are well treated and as respected as the male athletes, cricket has been a predominantly male sport which hasn’t been able to take the kind of initiatives required in order to enhance women’s cricket. Despite the first ever women’s Test match taking place way back in 1934, the fact that they are still fighting for relevance and prominence is a sad reflection on the state of women’s cricket. The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB), to their credit however, took a giant leap for women’s cricket recently by announcing central contracts for their players, and we sincerely hope that other cricketing boards can follow suit in this regard in the imminent future.What must make it doubly frustrating for women is the fact that they have been able to achieve some outstanding feats in the game even before the men have been able to, and yet they have not able to draw the kind of attention they deserve for their ability.Here are five records which women cricketers achieved before men:

#1 Double hundred in ODI cricket

There was tremendous celebration when Sachin Tendulkar had smashed 200* in an ODI against South Africa at Gwalior in 2010, seemingly becoming the 1st ever cricketer to score a double-hundred in ODI cricket. But, in actual fact, Australian woman cricketer Belinda Clark had eclipsed the 200 landmark, well before Tendulkar, when she played an outstanding knock of 229* from a mere 155 balls against Denmark in the 1997 Women’s World Cup. Clark, who is one of the greatest women cricketers of all-time, also became the first female cricketer to be inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame during the 2014 Allan Border Medal Ceremony.

#2 Total of 400 in an ODI innings

Australia achieved what seemed a pretty unique feat back then when they notched up a total of 434/4 on the board against South Africa at Johannesburg in 2006. South Africa, of course, then went on to better Australia’s efforts by chasing down the record total from their 50 overs. Since then, many men’s teams have gone on to score totals of 400 and above in ODI cricket.

The distinction, however, of being the first ever team to score 400 in ODI cricket will remain with the Australian women’s team, as they had scored 412/3 from their 50 overs during a World Cup game against Denmark in 1997, the very game where Belinda Clark scored a double hundred.

#3 100 runs and 10 wickets in a Test match

Australian female cricketer Betty Wilson was the first ever player (man or woman) to score hundred runs and take 10 wickets in a Test match, scoring a total of 112 runs and having figures of 11/16 in a Test match against England in Melbourne in February 1958.

Wilson had a disappointing first innings with the bat as she made just 12 in Australia’s abysmal score of 38. But she made up for it with the ball with figures of 10.3-4-7-7, thereby playing a critical role in bowling England out for 35 and gaining a slender lead of 3. Dubbed as the “female Bradman”, Wilson then showed her class with the bat as she contributed 100 of the 202 runs that Australia made in the 2nd innings before following up with bowling figures of 4/9 to round off a magnificent all-round display from Wilson.

Alan Davison, who was the first in men’s cricket to achieve this feat, only did so a couple of years later in 1960. Ian Botham and Imran Khan are the other two male cricketers in Davison’s company, while Enid Bakewell is the only other female.

#4 Most consecutive wins in T20 internationals

Considering the unpredictable nature of the T20 format, it is quite an achievement for the England womens team to have won no less than 14 T20 games on the trot, with their unbeaten run having lasted from 30 October, 2011 to 15 September, 2012. Remarkably, almost all of these wins were by a comprehensive margin, which goes to show the dominant nature of the England women.

In mens cricket, the team with the most consecutive T20 wins is also England, having won 8 matches in a row in 2010. Their run lasted from 6 May, 2010 till 12 January, 2011, with 5 of those games coming during their victorious 2010 World T20 campaign.

#5 Number of ODI World Cups won

While the Australian men have won the ICC Cricket World Cup four times - 1987, 1999, 2003 and 2007 - which is the most in the men’s game, the women’s team has won it a staggering six times.

The first ever women’s World Cup was held in 1973 and since then, the tournament has been held at sporadic intervals. Australia won three of the first four editions in 1978, 1982 and 1988, and then followed it up with victories in 1997, 2005 and, most recently, 2013.