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Thank you, Prime Minister

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Alison Mitchell | 17:00 UK time, Thursday, 16 July 2009

From: the Ashes 'Ball'
To: The Prime Minister, the

Dear ,

Thank you so much for , their guests, the World Cup, the World Twenty20 trophy and myself to a reception at Downing Street to celebrate their recent triumphs.

Charlotte Edwards holds the women's Ashes Ball in the Downing Street garden

It was immensely exciting to be carried across the threshold of that famous front door, through the entrance hall with its red carpet, down the grand staircase with its wrought iron railings and out into your spacious garden. - although the lawn could do with a teeny bit more work if you want .

I was last in your humble abode for the first time since 1963 and . My illustrious older cousin, , was too frail to come in person, but his proxy hopes to receive another invitation later this summer, have sent the current crop of Aussies on their way. They've told me there'll be this time, as long as you promise to provide some champagne.

I must admit that in the last few days I've been a little upset by a number of people questioning . I didn't get the chance to speak to you in person at No 10 (although I appreciated the admiring glance you directed my way as you strode over to shake hands with ) so I feel I must take this opportunity to explain how I came into being.

The first women's Test between England and Australia , long after was presented with the tiny urn that sits proudly in the MCC Museum. I'm the product of a ceremony in 1998, whereby the women's teams from both England and Australia signed an autographed bat and ceremonially burnt it in the gardens behind the pavilion at Lord's. They took the ashes, placed them inside yours truly (a hollowed out oak cricket ball) and I now sit atop a small oak plinth. So whilst nobody tries to pretend the women are playing for , they do have a genuine version of their own.

Once again, many thanks for hosting us in your back garden, and even more thanks for not mistaking me for a paper weight.

Yours sincerely,

The Ashes Ball

Alison Mitchell outside No.10 Downing Street

Alison Mitchell was delighted to join the England women's cricket team at a Downing Street reception to celebrate their victory in the World Cup, the World T20 and the Ashes.

Comments

  • Comment number 1.

    What's happening in women's cricket this winter? I think there's a tour, isn't there? Notice on the list of women's fixtures plus a squad announcement when it becomes available would be appreciated.

    And isn't it worth at least a short piece that both Charlotte Edwards and Claire Taylor are on the short list for ICC women's player of the year? My vote would go to Edwards. By her own high standards Taylor did not have a dazzling summer, although the run chase with Morgan v the Aussies at the Oval was perhaps the highlight of the women's international season.

  • Comment number 2.

    Many thanks for the article on our team's schedule. Those two weeks in November will be interesting indeed without our two star Taylors. I'm glad to see Shrubsole back after her injury. Maybe Hazell & Shrubsole will come through as our pace attack of the future. Without S.J. Taylor, I'm guessing that Rainford-Brent will be tested as opening bat (with Atkins?) - and maybe we'll see Shrubsole, Hazell and Beaumont forming a new triangle of understanding. Good luck to that other triangle - Lane, Connors & Edwards. Where would we be without them?

    I do so hope we're going to be kept up to date with matches in St Kitts.

  • Comment number 3.

    Fat lot of interest the public is shewing in the tour of St Kitts. I posted an article on 606 - ZERO comments. MM failed to mention it at the end of his live-text on the Final of the Champions Trophy, although he did publicise the men's upcoming tours. I would add that MM is a staunch supporter of our women's team and the oversight was probably due to the excitement of the moment.

    It falls to the ´óÏó´«Ã½ to publicise this tour on the main cricket page.

  • Comment number 4.

    Who says Taylor is "West Indies best," as suggested by the picture caption in your (´óÏó´«Ã½'s) report from Paarl? I would think Dottin might want to lay claim to that "title."

    For some time now, I've had a vague feeling that Windies women's cricket is on the way up. We'll see next month in St Kitts. If I'm right, it can only be good for the women's game, too long dominated by the 'big four:' England, Australia, NZ and India.

    On a much lighter level, do you have to be called "Taylor" to succeed in women's cricket?

  • Comment number 5.

    One week to go till the first ODI in St Kitts. Oh, how I love talking to myself about it. Come on, Aunty! Do your best to stir the troops. This must be the first England double-World Champions side to leave Heathrow (?) in a blaza of no publicity.

  • Comment number 6.

    Why oh why is it impossible to find any ball-by-ball updates / live scores on this series? Are none of the British media or the ECB covering it? If so then this is disgraceful - surely World Cup winners and T20 World Cup winners deserve the country's support...Come on ´óÏó´«Ã½, lead the way...

  • Comment number 7.

    18 months ago I watched England completely destroy the West Indies at Loughborough and the gap between the teams was huge. This year, save for the 1st 6 overs against Australia in the T20 World Cup (when Dottin annihilated the Aussie attack), there was little evidence of significant advancement. The middle lower order was, well, fragile, and the bowling was very average. They even lost the recent ODI series to South Africa. Against this backdrop I think most media organizations felt the trip to the WI was going to be so one sided even without the Taylors that it would be no more than a training trip for the T20 in the WI in 2010 – and to be honest so did I. Oops.
    I could have accepted the loss of the first ODI as a fluke but not the 3rd and the 1st T20. The WI have clearly made massive strides forward and must be about the join England, India, Australia and NZ as serious contenders for honours (bad news for England on this tour but great news for women’s cricket). The 2010 T20 World Cup group (Eng, Aus, WI, SA) is now looking like the group of death.
    Without the Taylors and with Greenway injured for 2 of the games so far, England’s batting has under performed. Even batters with a track record of success such as Atkins (60 runs from 4 innings) and Morgan (17 runs from 4 innings) haven’t fired. In a way getting beaten by the WI might be a blessing in disguise – rather have a reality check now than in the 2010 T20 World Cup and now’s the time to give new players some experience.

  • Comment number 8.

    There are lies, damn lies and statistics but perhaps occasionally they tell a story.
    If you add up the international career T20 batting average for each England players in the 2nd T20 against the WI you get 129. If you do the same with the team that played in the T20 W-Cup Semi & Final you get 205. No surprise then that we struggled with the batting somewhat.
    In the 3 ODIs against the WI we yielded 56 Wides and 7 No Balls. In the 4 completed ODIs against Australia in the summer we yielded 24 Wides and 2 No Balls.
    In the T20 W-Cup Semi & Final, the T20 against Aus and the 4 completed ODIs against Aus we suffered 4 run outs. In the 5 games against the WI we suffered 10 run outs.
    Still, with 2 World Cup victories this year I think the team can be forgiven for losing a bit of discipline, perhaps even focus, on this tour. It’s the next one to the WIs that really matters.

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