Now that England have won the Euros, it seems a good time to compare them with the two other leading sides in team sports, rugby and cricket.
All three are in the news, though rugby’s Red Roses don’t get into action till 22 August when the World Cup starts in Sunderland.
They are hot favourites to win; but have yet to prove themselves.
The cricket squad has been engaged in a tough struggle at home to India.
Let’s look at a few points of comparison. For the sake of brevity I’ll use F for football, R for rugby and, you guessed, C for cricket.
Popularity
F is the true global game, far and away the most popular team sport.
R is much smaller, but likes to claim it’s the fastest growing aport for women and girls.
C is disgracefully limited. (I won’t delve into my reasons here, because they are lengthy and complicated.)
World Rankings
F (pre-the Euro final) 7th – 196 nations listed with points.
R 1st – 66 nations listed with points.
C 2nd in ODIs and T20s (but not for much longer?) – out of 16 top-tier nations only.
Head coach
F Sarina Wiegman, Dutch, 55, female
R John Mitchell, New Zealander, 61, male
C Charlotte Edwards, English, 43, female
A strange mixture: two women, one man; only one native-born and the only one to have played for England.
That indicates England’s long-term failure to create successful coaching paths for women; a feature not confined to F, R and C.
Captains
F Leah Williamson (Arsenal); age 28. Achievements: OBE, captained England to Euro victory in 2022. This week’s victory the latest in a string of triumphs.
R Zoe Aldcroft (Gloucester-Hartpury); age 28. Achievements: World Player of the Year 2021. Several Grand Slams.
C Nat Sciver-Brunt (Trent Rockets, The Blaze); age 32. Achievements: one of the 5 Wisden Players of the Year 2018; formerly top-ranked all-rounder in the world.
Currently facing:
F A well-earned holiday.
R Two warm-up tests against Spain and France, then a home World Cup.
C The 50-over World Cup in Sri Lanka in October.
Fans’ reactions
F After the victory in Switzerland, total glory. The only questions: “Why do you keep us on edge like that?” “Any chance of a simple win?”
R Full of praise after a second long unbeaten run, but nerves still jangle.
C Very different! Adverse critics everywhere you look. Targets aimed at include: the ECB, the head coach, the assistant coaches and then the players – in particular their attitude, performance and fitness. It makes a striking contrast with the other two squads.
Attendances
An obvious reflection of success.
F Wembley sold out! No more proof needed.
R 58,498 at Twickenham, though numbers have fallen since. 338,000 tickets thus far sold for the home RWC.
C Still a long way to go. Hopes were raised by a “full house” at Lord’s for the last World Cup held there, but I wasn’t convinced.
Over 5,700 at the Oval finals on Sunday, but reports from Northampton for the tier 2 finals the day before reflected the lack of proper preparation, publicity and management for a big event.
A Batting-order
Looking at the organisations in charge, the FA, the RFU and the ECB, we can compliment the first two on backing the women’s sector so well. The two squads have produced the goods. The fans have flocked to support.
To me the ECB looks more like an HQ that has suffered a bomb-blast. The structures change from season to season. It’s hard even to know who’s playing for whom, and which format of the game is coming next: a 4-day test, a 50 or 20-over game or the Hundred (get it over with quick!)?
Summary
The overall picture is very encouraging. An enormous increase in public interest (and acceptance by former sceptics – all male?).
The provision of contracts has helped enormously, but still leaves tricky questions for the future.
Lead photo shows England’s Class of 25; cricket star Sarah Glenn, footballer Niamh Charles and rugby international Ellie Kildunne together at The Kia Oval, London, to celebrate a huge summer of women’s sport. The trio, who all turned 25 in 2025.
