It has been a while since I posted anything on here. Not a deliberate or conscious decision not to, more that I simply didn’t have anything to say that I hadn’t said before. So it came as quite a pleasant surprise to be thinking about something this morning and feeling the need to post about it. You lucky people.

And it is this. The Women’s Cricket World Cup is on, and I am really enjoying it. A resounding “so what?” is an entirely fair response to that statement, so I shall qualify it and explain why. Perhaps it says more about me than anything else, and certainly I do not confuse my own response with anything wider, but perhaps I am not alone and others may have the same kind of response. You see, I didn’t say I am enjoying it, I said I am really enjoying it. And this is new.

Of course, the rise of women’s team sports in the last years can be viewed as a wonderful thing in its own right, both in terms of the profile and as a social good, but you cannot force people to truly want to watch, no matter how much they are harangued to do so, or if social acceptability depends on it. It is an emotional response, to move from “oh the cricket is on” to “ooh the cricket is on”, and that this time around seems to be the personal difference. It isn’t format, it isn’t location, it isn’t because England are especially good, meaning there is a supporter stake in it; it is because the sport, for its own sake, is generating a significant appeal and desire to watch it. I can tell myself I am a modern man, who passionately believes in the equality of opportunity for female sport, and my brain will insist that is true, but I cannot help the fact that I find women’s football unappealing (while absolutely enjoying women’s rugby immensely) as a spectacle. Sorry, it just leaves me cold. You can call me names for that if you like, but I don’t care, it just isn’t something I seek out particularly. Cricket on the other hand, I have most definitely watched and enjoyed for years. But this time around it is more. I am going out of my way to watch the games. All of the games. It has made a personal step up in my desire to see it.

Why that might be, well that is the reason for the post, and I am trying to rationalise it and in truth largely failing. Perhaps it is that familiarity has taken me to the point where I do care what happens, but it certainly isn’t that national pride from English success is raising it in my awareness, because for one thing it is not just their games I am seeking out, for another the flaws in the England team are irritating me and for a third England have won World Cups before. To have an emotional stake in what is happening to the point of irritation is the essence in caring about a sport. The reason I have zero interest in the Hundred is not the format, which is just a game of cricket whatever the attractions or otherwise of it, but because I don’t care who wins any particular game, let alone the competition. Same applies to the IPL. I have no emotional stake in it, male or female teams. International tournaments are in any case different, for you can identify with all the nations whichever of them you might support.

It is dangerous and also rather arrogant to assume that this personal response is shared widely, or indeed by anyone, so perhaps it is a me thing solely, and if so that too is fine. TV audience figures would show to some extent if this a growth area (I suspect so, just because it is growing anyway), but even those do not show the degree of engagement, only that the engagement exists. Caring about outcome, checking the table and working out scenarios, being annoyed that the rain is falling, laughing at how damn lucky England were (and feeling bad for Pakistan at the same time) that the rain did fall – all of these are examples of feeling a connection to what is going on that is greater than background passing interest, and it is a new sensation.

Does this even mean anything? Perhaps not. But it was put to me that A list of commentators – particularly the male ones – at the tournament is in itself an illustration of reaching maturity, that this isn’t a secondary women’s World Cup, it is a World Cup. Posting something like that is inherently risky, for it invites comment that this is how it should have always been, and I can accept that criticism, but I would refer again to the point that you cannot force engagement or interest, only hope that it develops. For me, it has done. And I am pleased. If it is the case for others too, I would be even more pleased.