Women shine on big stage

Having initially criticised the gender pay gap in tennis John McEnroe subsequently questioned the ability of female tennis players suggesting that even Serena Williams would struggle to break into the top 700 rankings of male players.

Fortunately not everyone shares such a narrow-minded view and women’s sport is enjoying being the centre of attention currently. The European Football Championships got under way in Holland last week with an expanded 16 teams competing.

Germany are the current holders having triumphed in Sweden in 2013. The tournament kicked off with the hosts facing Germany’s opponents in that final, Norway. The Netherlands could have opened the scoring in the first minute although Ingrid Hjelmseth repelled a shot from Arsenal’s Danielle van de Donk. They were able to secure victory and send their faithful orange-clad fans home happy when Lieke Martens crossed to Liverpool’s Shanice van de Sanden to nod home.

There was another high-intensity match between England and Scotland although the pre-match banter between both sets of fans failed to materialise as England completed a comfortable 6-0 victory. Jodie Taylor notched a hat-trick before being substituted on the hour.

The top two teams from each group of four with progress to the quarter-finals which will commence on Saturday with the final match of the 31 being played in front of a capacity 30,000 in Enschede (FC Twente) on August 6.

Germany, the favourites, started slowly with a 0-0 draw against Sweden although got their championship ambitions back on track with a 2-1 victory over Italy who cannot afford any more slip-ups if they are the progress.

Germany has dominated the European Championships for decades having won it six times in a row, dating back to 1995. They are also the reigning Olympic Champions. However, many of their established stars have retired meaning many teams now believe they have a chance.

French club football teams have been successful in Europe and will be hoping that they can now replicate at international level. England, who finished third at the World Cup, are also hoping for a strong showing and have been put through a particularly tough fitness regime by Head Coach, Mark Sampson. The Lionesses were unbeaten during qualifying.

While nowhere near the earnings of their male counterparts, the winners will earn £1m (compared to Portugal who won the men’s tournament earning £24m) with total prize money being shared equating to £7m.

Also kicking off shortly will be the Women’s Rugby World Cup which is proving to be the most popular in history with the hosts in Dublin and Belfast having to expand capacity.

Twelve teams will initially compete, spread across three groups, all in Dublin, before matches switch to Belfast for the knock-out phase.

The opening match will see defending champions England take on Spain before Ireland entertains Australia. England’s hopes are high having returned to being the top-ranked team, leapfrogging New Zealand after beating the Black Ferns recently.

Both competitions will be hoping to finish on the same high as the women’s cricket which witnessed the grandstand finish it deserved. Set 229 to win India was cruising towards a historic first World Cup title at 191-3 until Anya Shrubsole evoked memories of Ashes-winning Sir Ian Botham by taking five quick wickets to seal victory.

England had a scare when Jenny Gunn dropped a sitter with India needing only 11 runs to win with players later admitting it felt as though she had “dropped the World Cup”! Fortunately Player of the Match Shrubsole claimed the final wicket to send the 27,000 crowd at Lord’s wild and help England secure its fourth title.

India had lost their final seven wickets for only 28 runs although it was probably the third wicket dismissal of Harmanpreet Kaur, India’s match-winner in the semi-final with an unbeaten knock of 171, which gave England greatest hope.

Victory for England was revenge for an earlier defeat in the tournament’s opening match that India won by 35 runs.

England replicated their 1993 victory at Lord’s while India matched their previous best, finishing as runners up in 2005.

The last time England triumphed at Lord’s, women were not allowed to be MCC members, the doors only being opened in 1999, demonstrating the progress that is being made in the sport, although remarkably, the Women’s World Cup was created two years before the men’s, being the brainchild of Rachael Heyhoe Flint.

The winners receive £600,000 although the BCCI had already promised its players more than that in advance, win or lose!

However, the increased media exposure, securing an anticipated 100 million viewers, suggests that this competition is a mere stepping stone for future progress.

I can imagine McEnroe exclaiming in frustration: “You cannot be serious!”