Beyond the big three – doing it despite 'not having it like others'

The Sharjah outfield received a hard blow Zaida James' bat as she walked away, with the West Indies 11 runs away from the T20 World Cup final. James, eleven days away from his twentieth birthday, contributed 14 runs off eight balls batting at number 9 and had believed she could “bring it home”. Asmini Munisaronly a year older than James, he came in next and gave James a reassuring pat on the helmet as they switched places. Munisar would do her job and call off the strike, but had to watch from the other side as the match was lost.

That West Indies' last hope rested on two of the youngest players in their squad spoke volumes about what they were missing in this tournament, and also what they could look forward to. There is talent, but it needs to be nurtured and more of it found in a region where resources remain scarce. All this makes the West Indies' last four finish that much more remarkable.

“To be honest, we probably don't have it like a lot of the rest of the teams,” Hayley Matthewsthe captain had said after West Indies knocked England out of the tournament on Tuesday. “Back home in the Caribbean we sometimes don't have facilities and many of our girls come from very humble beginnings. To have this opportunity to come out, represent your country and make a living from it, for every person, it changes their lives.”

While the West Indies have central contracts for the women's team, the regional system is only on the cusp of professionalization. Creating a high-performance system that works all year round remains a challenge. Before international assignments, players are taken to centralized camps, which Matthews says are “really difficult for the girls because they can't stay in their homes with their friends and their families.” She would like them to be able to “just get some good cricket training while they are at home” because “we have enough good coaches in the Caribbean that something can be done or set up so that everyone can stay. on their own territory and in a good system where they can continue to improve.”

Leg spinners Afy Fletcherwho is currently the second highest wicket-taker at the T20 World Cup is a case in point. She is the only player on the West Indian team from Grenada, an island whose players compete alongside four others as Windward Islanders. When she is not on regional or national duty, she practices with her partner, a former club cricketer, as it is her only option.

“Fletch just goes to the nets with someone she knows, maybe her partner, and he throws balls at her a lot, so it's great for her to be able to come out here and perform the way she does,” Matthews said. . “For all of our players to come out and perform the way they do, that's why I feel like you can never really be too hard on them because I often think about what we get and what they get.” as we continue to exceed expectations every time.”

Although Matthews has experience in the WBBL, the Hundred and the WPL, where she plays alongside other internationals, most of the players in her West Indies team have to “learn on the international stage and that can be so difficult”. She would love a system as advanced and professional as Australia's, for example, which is designed “to create players ready to take to the big stage”.

'I look at the T20 Spring Challenge Right now in Australia I see 13 and 15 year old girls doing crazy things,” Matthews said. “I would absolutely love it if we had a system like that where our girls could come out. regional system and at a certain level.”

The challenges for the West Indies lie in creating this, from the geographical spread of the islands to their economies, but they will get a big boost from this T20 World Cup. As the losing semi-finalists, the West Indies will take home $675,000, some of which may be reinvested in the women's game. That thought won't wipe Matthews' tears on a night when she thought her team had a World Cup final in store, but as someone who, in the words of team coach Shane Deitz, “is really the driving force” behind the build of an inheritance. aspect of the women's game, it may provide some comfort in the coming days and weeks.

Then perhaps Matthews and the West Indies will be able to look back and appreciate the significance of what they achieved by reaching the semi-finals at a World Cup where better-resourced teams like England and India did not. New Zealand, who reached their first final in fourteen years, already know that, especially after identifying a lack of depth as their main concern despite a developed domestic system.

In March, their captain Sophie Devine said ESPNcricinfo's Powerplay podcast that “there's not much depth coming through” in a country with a small population. After reaching the semi-finals by beating Pakistan in the UAE, she reiterated and expanded: “We are not India, we don't have a billion people to choose from.”

But they do have some, and Devine saw that as a start. “Look who's on the bench. Molly Penfold has been excellent over the last 12 months, she's improved by leaps and bounds and you've still got the likes of Jess Kerr, Hannah Rowe and Leigh Kasperek. It's those little, little things where it's going.” We need to take the time to build depth, especially in a country as small as New Zealand. It won't happen overnight for us.”

New Zealand does not suffer from poor finances like the West Indies and was the first country to introduce this equal competition costsbut face several other competitive sports that attract some of their best athletes. Korfball is their most popular women's sport, followed by rugby. But cricket is gaining ground.

That is quite similar to the situation that their opponent in the final, South Africa, will face. Korfball is also the most popular female sport in South Africa in terms of participation numbers, but cricket is growing. South Africa is the third country of the four to advance from the group stage, where the players have endured personal and structural hardships to beat the world's best.

Almost every one of them has a story, but Ayabonga Khakawho was born in the small town of Middledrift in the Eastern Cape two years before democracy came to the country in 1994, is a striking example. Khaka was born into “poor circumstances,” as CSA trajectory manager Eddie Khoza told ESPNcricinfo. She became one of the first women at an all-boys academy when she joined the University of Fort Hare under the guidance of former international Mfuneko Ngam. She has a degree in kinesiology, invests in agriculture in her community, and Khoza calls her “a living example and an icon who has achieved things both on and off the field and could inspire the next generation of cricketers”.

In Khaka, South Africa have a player whose quiet consistency and confidence have proven how much is possible. She has played in two ODI World Cups – reaching the semi-finals both times – and four T20 World Cups and has lived and tasted the wins and misses of each of them. Her message to “people from the parts I come from” is “anything you want, you can do.”

That sums up what this World Cup has said for the progress of women's cricket. Two of the Big Three – England and India – failed to reach the semi-finals and Australia's hold on the trophy was gone. Three of the four semifinalists come from places where their players put their passion above competition, even when it seems the odds are against them. They know that desire alone does not win a world championship. It's a combination of planning, luck and the muscle memory of dealing with pressure and if nothing else, they now know a bit about it. As James said, “I'm looking at this as a learning experience,” which may mean next time will be better.