The ECB unveiled its formal response, which includes a series of commitments to address the issues raised in the ICEC report:

1. Investing £25 million annually above the revenue generated from the women’s game into expanding women’s and girls’ cricket across all levels.
2. Eliminating financial barriers in the talent pathway by 2025.
3. Developing action plans to tackle specific hurdles faced by state schools and black children.
4. Establishing an independent Cricket Regulator separate from the ECB, tasked with prosecuting disciplinary cases, by the 2024 season. Annual assurance checks will ensure the Regulator’s independence.
5. Enhancing EDI (Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion) standards for counties, setting more ambitious targets for gender and ethnic diversity.
6. Assessing counties’ performance against minimum EDI standards and having the authority to relocate matches from venues if non-compliance is detected.

Gould reinforced the ECB’s unwavering commitment to making cricket the most inclusive sport in England and Wales, urging collective efforts to achieve this goal. The response signifies a comprehensive set of actions aimed at intensifying and accelerating the work to make cricket a game accessible to all.

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) will issue a separate response regarding the ICEC recommendation to replace Eton v Harrow and Oxford v Cambridge matches at Lord’s with state school’s finals days.

England Women’s Captain, Heather Knight, welcomed the announcement and its implications for the women’s game. She emphasized the significance of creating a sustainable and appealing product that resonates with girls and young women, fostering their interest in cricket.

The positive strides made by the ECB toward gender parity demonstrate cricket’s commitment to equality and growth. As the sport continues to evolve, these progressive measures will undoubtedly contribute to a flourishing and inclusive future for women’s cricket.

The match was affected by rain, and the result was determined by the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, resulting in Australia’s first bilateral ODI series loss since 2013, despite being double white-ball world champions.

Sciver-Brunt’s exceptional performance saw her scoring 129 runs, making it her second century against Australia in just three days, after an unbeaten 111 in the second ODI in Southampton, although it ended in an agonizing three-run defeat. Her innings of 129 was instrumental in England’s total of 285-9.

Australia faced a revised target of 269 from 44 overs but fell short, getting dismissed for 199. England’s seamer Kate Cross played a significant role, taking 3-48.

However, Australia had already secured the Ashes with an 8-6 lead before the match, having won the lone Test in the series.

England’s Kate Cross expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance, believing they were closing the gap to Australia. The series ending in a draw was seen as a testament to England’s improvement.

Sciver-Brunt, who had consistently scored centuries against Australia but without securing a win before, was elated to see her efforts finally lead to an England victory.

Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner acknowledged England’s superior performance, highlighting their fearless brand of cricket, which Australia should take note of.

During the match, England lost early wickets but recovered well thanks to the partnership between captain Heather Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt. The latter scored a magnificent hundred, receiving cheers from the crowd.

After a rain delay, Australia needed to score at a brisk pace, but England’s bowlers, especially Kate Cross, kept the pressure on. Ellyse Perry played a fighting innings of 53, but her dismissal ended Australia’s hopes.

Despite the draw in the series, England showcased a strong comeback after falling 6-0 down, managing to level the score at 6-6 by winning four of the seven matches and both white-ball series.

While England couldn’t reclaim the Ashes from Australia this time, there were discussions about possible adjustments to the points system to avoid series ending in a tie in the future. England’s captain, Heather Knight, suggested the idea of having an odd number of points for certain aspects to prevent draws in long series. However, concrete decisions were yet to be made.

Pakistan and England meet in the 19th match of this season in Cape Town, South Africa on Tuesday (February 21). After winning the toss and batting in the game, England scored 213 runs losing 5 wickets in the scheduled 20 overs. In reply, Pakistan could score only 99 runs after losing 9 wickets in 20 overs. Only three English batsmen have achieved such a record number of runs on a day in World Twenty20. The rest soon returned to the dressing room. Nate Skiber Brant scored the highest run for the team. He scored an unbeaten 81 runs at a strike rate of 202 off 40 balls.

Among them 12 boundaries and 1 over the boundary. England opener Danny Watt scored 59 runs from 33 balls. And Amy Jones scored 47 runs off 31 balls. That’s why the team got the highest collection. Earlier, the highest run in this edition of the World Cup was 195. South Africa scored 195 for 3 against Thailand in 2020. On this side, Pakistan’s women cricketers are disoriented, batting against the record collection. 3 wickets fell for only 15 runs. After that, the batters entered the wicket in procession at regular intervals. In the end, Pakistan’s innings stopped at just 99 runs. England won by 114 runs.