France women's national cricket team

Summary

The France women's national cricket team is the team that represents the country of France in international women's cricket matches. They became an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1998, having previously been an affiliate member since 1987.[5]

France
AssociationAssociation France Cricket
Personnel
CaptainEmmanuelle Brélivet
International Cricket Council
ICC statusAssociate member (1998)
Affiliate member (1987)
ICC regionEurope
ICC Rankings Current[2] Best-ever
WT20I 36th 30th (2 Oct 2020)[1]
Women's Twenty20 Internationals
First WT20I Jersey at Parc du Grand Blottereau, Nantes; 31 July 2019
Last WT20I Scotland at Desert Springs Cricket Ground, Almería; 12 September 2023
WT20Is Played Won/Lost
Total[3] 35 16/19
(0 ties, 0 no results)
This year[4] 0 0/0
(0 ties, 0 no results)
As of 1 January 2024

In April 2018, the ICC granted full Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all Twenty20 matches played between France women and another international side after 1 July 2018 were a full WT20I.[6]

In December 2020, the ICC announced the qualification pathway for the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup.[7] The France women's team made their debut at an ICC women's event when they played in the 2021 ICC Women's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier group.[8]

History

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In May 2011, "Coupe de France Féminine" was established as part of a continuing commitment to the women's game in France. The first ever representative France women's team, les "Dames de France" played against Jersey Ladies (2011, Saumur and 2013, Jersey).[9] Creation of an Indoor Women's National Championship is the newest development, involving four teams over four tournaments in 2013.

Older women too play in some clubs alongside their male counterparts, but efforts are now being specifically directed to involving women of all ages in the sport as part of the high priority being given to the development of women's cricket.[10]

Fraud allegations and squad disbandment

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In November 2023, France 24 reported that the Association France Cricket had allegedly overexaggerated the popularity of women's cricket to access additional funding from the ICC, including by reporting results from "ghost matches" which did not actually take place. It was also reported that France may have failed the eligibility criteria for the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier, which required a minimum of eight domestic women's teams playing at least five hard-ball matches each year. An ICC spokesperson stated that "France's entry into the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup Qualifiers was determined by domestic activities that took place in 2021 and 2022 and pre-Covid", but that "members are also obliged to confirm to us that the information they provide to us is true and accurate".[11] In response, the Nantes Cricket Club reportedly "sent a request to state prosecutors and police asking for an investigation into alleged fraudulent activity by the association".[12]

Following the publication of the allegations by France 24, seventeen members of the French women's national squad signed an open letter calling for an official investigation into France Cricket's conduct. According to national team player Alix Brodin, some of the signatories to the letter received pressure from France Cricket not to proceed with publication. On 16 November 2023, France Cricket's sporting director Saravana Durairaj informed Tara Britton that she and her teammates would be suspended for breaching the organisation's code of conduct, which banned public criticism of the organisation. The French national team was subsequently withdrawn from the inaugural T10 Women's European Cricket Championship in December 2023. Players were asked to return their uniforms and were reportedly informed by France Cricket that they could only return to national selection if they apologised for the letter.[12]

In April 2024, France 24 published further allegations of misconduct, documenting that three matches in division two of the women's national league supposedly held in April 2023 did not take place. It was additionally reported that, following the disbandment of the existing women's squad, that France had sought to incorporate members of the New Caledonia women's national cricket team into its national squad in order to meet eligibility requirements for the 2025 Women's Cricket World Cup qualification process.[12]

Tournament history

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ICC Women's World Twenty20 Europe Qualifier

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ICC Women's World Twenty20 Europe Qualifier Division Two

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Current squad

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This lists all the players who were named in the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier squad.

Name Age Batting style Bowling style Notes
Batters
Ines McKeon 17 Right-handed Right-arm off break
Lydie Wykes-Templeman 20 Right-handed Right-arm medium
Ganesh Pooja 37 Right-handed Right-arm off break
All-rounders
Marie Violleau 27 Right-handed Right-arm leg break Captain
Amy Seddon 17 Right-handed Right-arm medium
Poppy McGeown 33 Right-handed Right-arm medium
Wicket-keepers
Tara Britton 32 Right-handed
Maëlle Cargouët 49 Right-handed
Spin Bowler
Prabhashi Mahawattage 29 Right-handed Right-arm off break
Pace Bowlers
Anika Bester 30 Right-handed Right-arm medium
Emma Patel 17 Right-handed Right-arm medium
Thea Graham 33 Right-handed Right-arm medium
Blandine Verdon 24 Left-handed Right-arm medium
Magali Marchello-Nizia 40 Right-handed Right-arm medium

Updated on 12 Sep 2023.

Records and statistics

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International Match Summary — France Women[13]

Last updated 12 September 2023

Playing Record
Format M W L T NR Inaugural Match
Twenty20 Internationals 35 16 19 0 0 31 July 2019

Twenty20 International

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T20I record versus other nations[13]

Records complete to WT20I #1661. Last updated 12 September 2023.

Opponent M W L T NR First match First win
ICC Full members
  Ireland 1 0 1 0 0 29 August 2021
ICC Associate members
  Austria 8 8 0 0 0 1 August 2019 1 August 2019
  Germany 7 1 6 0 0 8 July 2021 2 June 2023
  Italy 3 0 3 0 0 29 May 2023
  Jersey 5 2 3 0 0 31 July 2019 31 July 2019
  Netherlands 3 0 3 0 0 26 August 2021
  Norway 2 2 0 0 0 31 July 2019 31 July 2019
  Scotland 3 0 3 0 0 30 August 2021
  Spain 1 1 0 0 0 8 May 2022 8 May 2022
  Sweden 1 1 0 0 0 30 May 2023 30 May 2023
  Turkey 1 1 0 0 0 1 June 2023 1 June 2023

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Australia Women remain No.1 in ODIs, T20Is after annual update". ICC. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  2. ^ "ICC Rankings". International Cricket Council.
  3. ^ "WT20I matches - Team records". ESPNcricinfo.
  4. ^ "WT20I matches - 2024 Team records". ESPNcricinfo.
  5. ^ "Cricket France". Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  6. ^ "All T20I matches to get international status". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Qualification for ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023 announced". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  8. ^ "ICC announce qualification process for 2023 Women's T20 World Cup". The Cricketer. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  9. ^ "JERSEY WOMEN IN FRANCE 2013". CricketArchive. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  10. ^ "Women's Cricket in France". Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  11. ^ O'Brien, Peter; Thompson, Gregor (7 November 2023). "Allegations of fake matches, murky finances plague cricket in France". France 24. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  12. ^ a b c O'Brien, Peter (12 April 2024). "French women's cricket team disbands after probe into fake matches". France 24. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Records / France Women / Twenty20 Internationals / Result summary". ESPNcricinfo.
  14. ^ "Records / France women / Women's Twenty20 Internationals / Highest totals". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  15. ^ "Records / France women / Women's Twenty20 Internationals / Top Scores". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  16. ^ "Records / France women / Women's Twenty20 Internationals / Best Bowling figures". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
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  • Official site
  • FemaleCricket-France
  • Cricinfo-France