The vice captain of India, Smriti Mandhana, recently voiced her enthusiasm for the notion of a World Test Championship for women’s cricket. But with so few teams participating in women’s Test cricket, veteran English player Tammy Beaumont questioned its fairness. There isn’t a global competition comparable to the World Test Championship for women’s cricket, unlike men’s cricket, which is currently in its third cycle.
The disparity results from the fact that only a select few nations—mainly England, Australia, and India—regularly participate in Test matches. This difference shows how inclusive women’s Test cricket needs to be. The Women’s Ashes is still the dominant multi-format series at the moment; wins in Test matches are worth four points, while victories in limited-overs matches are worth two points each.
Only three or four countries regularly play Test matches at the moment, and it’s possible that only those three or four governing bodies can afford to host women’s Test matches as well. That would require a significant financial commitment from the ICC, which I doubt they would be willing to provide. The way you’ve seen Thailand and other teams enter T20 cricket, that should be the goal,” Beaumont stated, as cited by Cricbuzz. “They’re still trying to develop the T20 game throughout the globe.”
More countries ought to host multi-format series similar to the Ashes: Tammy Beaumont
Points are awarded for each game in an event like the Ashes, which encourages competition because the victor of the series is decided when all matches are finished. More multi-format bilateral series are needed, according to Beaumont, who also said that they may help teams adjust to the demands of Test cricket. The topic of creating opportunities for more teams to play women’s Test matches comes up frequently because so few countries routinely participate in this format.
“I would love to see more nations do multi-format series like the Ashes—say India comes over and we do Test matches, ODIs, and T20s and an overall winner from that—and do the same with South Africa, New Zealand, and all those and build it from there,” she said.