In a series of interesting events England's former cricketer Alex Hartley expressed her disappointment on the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announcing Brendon McCullum's sacking from the men's head coach position during the ongoing historic women's Test at Lord's. The ECB announced McCullam's departure during the third innings of the Test between India and England, which turned out to be the first women's international red-ball game at the Mecca of Cricket.
Alex Hartley fumes at ECB
Hartley argued that the timing of the announcement could have been better, as it would take all the focus away from the historic clash which needs maximum attention from the cricketing fraternity. She questioned the board's commitment towards the women's game, saying the update could easily have been delayed until after the four-day Test, which has attracted huge crowds and managed to create significant buzz among the fans across London.
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"It just doesn’t make sense. Wait till Tuesday. This game is done in the fact that England aren’t going to win this Test match, but there’s a Test match to save. It’s historic. It’s a historic moment within itself," said Hartley.
While continuing, Hartley admitted that from Tuesday England's men's team will lock horns against India in a three-game ODI series, so an announcement had to be made before that but the ongoing Test is literally the most important thing going on in Women's cricket.
There’s an ODI series starting Tuesday (against India’s men’s team). I completely understand that they want to get the news out before then, but I’m sorry, [this Test is] something more important for me and women’s cricket. If you say you respect the game and you want the game to improve, then don’t just pay it lip service; actually prove it and say, ‘We’ll hang on to this news until Tuesday morning or 7 pm on Monday," added Hartley
India's dominance in the historic Test against England
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side produced a commanding show at Lord's, leaving England with a mammoth target of 457 in the fourth innings. The visitors then tightened their grip on the game by reducing the hosts to 130/6.
On the other hand, McCullam will continue in the role in the ODI and T20I side. Meanwhile, the ECB has already kicked off the hunt for a new men's Test coach, with Andy Flower and Rahul Dravid being the front runners.