NICK FRIEND: Buoyed by her experiences of winning The Hundred with Oval Invincibles in 2021, Wilson believes the time has come for England to be playing in front of similar-sized crowds more regularly
In the weeks before her international debut on an ODI tour of Sri Lanka 12 years ago, Fran Wilson represented Somerset at grounds as varied as Sonning Lane, North Parade, Lancing College, Wagon Lane, the Sim Iliffe Ground, Willis Lane, Elm Avenue and Holywell Meadow.
If you knew no better, you'd be forgiven for thinking the early days in Wilson's career had been played out entirely in a Jane Austen novel. But rather, that was domestic women's cricket a decade ago: trips to Reading, Bath, Lancing, Bingley, Kibworth, North Perrott, Newark-on-Trent and Upchurch.
And then, a first taste of international cricket in Colombo. Wilson struggled initially with the complexity of that transition: players were picked for England on the strength either of their county form or signs of youthful potential, which meant veering from almost no scrutiny whatsoever to playing for your country in front of television cameras and crowds that dwarfed any prior experience.
The difference now is stark: Wilson, who retired from international cricket over the winter, was speaking on the same day that Alice Capsey – a 17-year-old whose rise has collided with the total revamping of the women's domestic structure – recorded her first half-century in England colours. There is little doubting that her confidence in striding out at Edgbaston is the product of an altogether opposite preparation: she made fifty at Lord's last year for Oval Invincibles and is among a new generation of female cricketer who will have learnt the big stage before international cricket comes calling.
Wilson retired from international cricket over the winter (Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
"I'm not surprised at all because this is the generation that have been exposed to cricket and real quality coaching from the moment they started playing," said Wilson. "So, I think this is now going to be a trend. We're going to get youngsters now who are going to dominate on the domestic circuit and be ready to go [for England] straight away.
"Back when I started it was almost having to find your feet once you were picked, which is quite a hard thing to do unless you get a bit of luck or you're a once-in-a-generation talent. So hopefully this will now allow us to compete with the likes of Australia who've had this set up for five, 10 years."
Capsey made her England debut at Worcester in July, 12 months after walking out at the Kia Oval in front of a crowd at least six times larger on The Hundred's curtain-raising evening – a night that exceeded the expectations of even those in charge. It's a paradox relevant to several of the new guard used playing in front of bigger crowds in their domestic competition than when they represent their country.
They could be forgiven for anticipating more of the same with England, even if the national side has built up a loyal following at grounds like Chelmsford, where T20Is have been played annually since 2010.
"I hope the profile that the Lionesses have built and the success they've had will have an impact on other sports, including cricket"
"Yes, 100 per cent," said Wilson. "I don't think we'll know if we can fill these stadiums until we try. Hopefully we'll see that is the next step. We can see there's the appetite for it so I'm hoping next year they've got some things in the pipeline."
There is a landmark ODI at Lord's scheduled for September, when England will face India, returning to the ground for the first time since the World Cup final five years ago, and there is increasingly a sense – thanks to the evidence provided by last year's Hundred (the average attendance was around 8,000 when tallied at the innings break, nearer 11,500 in London) – that Test-hosting venues ought to be staging women's international cricket more regularly.
In the last decade, England Women have played just 12 games – six ODIs and six T20Is – at the traditionally larger venues where men's international cricket routinely takes place, and none since defeating New Zealand at Headingley in 2018.
The first week of The Hundred has been played out without the women's competition as a consequence of the clash with the Commonwealth Games, and there has been a general feeling that the sense of occasion has been partially lacking without the doubleheaders that typified the inaugural edition.
Wilson has swapped Oval Invincibles for Welsh Fire this year
Wilson, speaking at the launch of KP Snacks' summer cricket roadshow at The Black Prince Trust in Oval, is hopeful that the women's competition can benefit from the "wave of momentum" built by the Games and the European Championships to enjoy another successful year.
"I hope the profile that the Lionesses have built and the success they've had will have an impact on other sports, including cricket," she said.
"When I started out playing senior women's cricket, I wouldn't think I would have seen a day we would be playing at a sold-out Lord's for a domestic tournament. For that to happen is really incredible and that's the benefit of having these double headers, playing alongside the men, it's really led to that exposure. It's an incredible tournament for us."
Wilson, who has swapped Invincibles for Welsh Fire this year, added a more general word of warning in light of the international retirements of Lizelle Lee and Deandra Dottin, both world-leading stars of the women's game but within the last month ending their careers with South Africa and West Indies respectively, signing off with reference to internal issues.
"At the moment, there is definitely a divide in terms of the sport," she said. "You've got England, India and Australia who I feel support their women's teams really well and then the rest I feel are falling behind.
"So, there is definitely a lot that needs to be done otherwise those big-name players will be like: 'Hang on, I'm not getting supported here, I'm going to play franchise cricket and earn more money.'"
KP Snacks, Official Team Partner of The Hundred, are touring the country this summer to offer more opportunities for people to play cricket as part of their ‘Everyone In’ campaign. Visit everyonein.co.uk/about
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