Steve Waugh wants women playing in Big Bash

Alex Blackwell was recently awarded the Belinda Clark Medal for New South Wales’ best female cricketer

Sydney - Former Australian captain Steve Waugh wants to see women playing in the country’s premier Twenty20 event, the Big Bash League.

Though Waugh feels the idea is a bit “out there”, one female player should be added to each team in the Big Bash.

“I think it’s about time where we could have one female player per Big Bash side. Going forward, I can’t see why the girls can’t have representation in the Big Bash. It’s a bit out there, that thought, but I think it might be time,” Waugh was quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald.

His idea comes after Alex Blackwell was awarded the Belinda Clark Medal for New South Wales’ best female cricketer.

What Waugh has said is not new. A similar suggestion was made in 1994 when Zoe Gross played for Western Australia in a charity match at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The male players involved in the game were Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, Sunil Gavaskar, David Hookes, David Gower, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Barry Richards, Brian Lara and Graeme Pollock.

Zoe ended up scoring 29 and dismissed West Indies batting great Brian Lara, forcing the organisers to consider including one female in each state team.

However, the plan did not materialise as it was seen as a huge risk.