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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Well this got my attention… Holly Ferling says the ACA are pushing CA to explore “separate owners” for the men’s and women’s Big Bash teams 👀 (55:00 onwards) podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/w...

podcasts.apple.com

How will Big Bash privatisation impact the WBBL?

Podcast Episode · Wisden Cricket Weekly · 8 October · 1hr 16min

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Delighted that BBC TMS have released my interview with Dan Norcross & Alison Mitchell as a podcast. We discuss my book The Women in Whites - plus how I discovered the archive of the WCA in a cowshed... www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

bbc.co.uk

Test Match Special Podcast - The Women in Whites - BBC Sounds

Dr Raf Nicolson reveals the untold story of the history of Women’s Cricket in England..

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

That's true, but they shouldn't have signed off on the FTP in the first place. An FTP requires the agreement of all parties.

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Well, exactly. I appreciate that we've got lucky in England because our peak season just happens to not clash with India's... but also, we can all do the maths, folks! There is a very clear reason January is no longer available for you to play bilaterals!

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

This is an interesting one because it is so clearly linked to the rise of WPL, but no player is prepared to say the quiet bit out loud ("India run the global game & they shouldn't be able to run roughshod through our summer with their franchise comp, but CA refuses to stand up to them").

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Shame on you Ollie Pope, Luke Wood, Moeen Ali, Reece Topley, James Vince, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Laurie Evans for caring more about the money in your own pockets than the human rights of women and girls. This was a personal choice by you, and you chose wrong.

bbc.co.uk

England players told to think of 'daughters, sisters or mothers' before committing to Afghanistan Premier League T20 tournament

English cricketers aiming to play in a men's T20 franchise tournament organised by the Afghanistan Cricket Board have been urged to think about their "daughters, sisters or mothers".

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

We shoot ourselves in the foot, don’t we?

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

(Sorry, men of BlueSky. I'll balance this by saying I am married to a very kind man.)

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Women are kinder and more diligent. Who could have predicted this? 🤔

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Suspect this is self-non-selecting. She was offered a pro deal by several Tier 1 counties but doesn't want it.

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Yesterday honestly feels like a massive missed opportunity by Middlesex to cross-promote their men's & women's teams. Example: this was posted about 2 hours after Saskia Horley's century. I guess we can argue about the definition of "List A" cricket but still a bit galling?

Screenshot of a Middlesex_CCC tweet with a photo of Ryan Higgins. The tweet says: "His first white ball hundred. A first Middlesex hundred in a list A final. Superb, Higgo."

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Thanks for flagging, I hadn't seen that. There we go then. It's essentially a different team with the same name.

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

My understand is that at least half of the current squad are being moved on - either because they don't want to "go pro", or because they aren't considered good enough.

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Based on this chart... somebody needs to produce a pink-and-yellow kit next season please 🙏

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Nightmare! And every time they change sponsor, all the road signs to the ground have to change too 😂

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Which sports organisation would want to erase a team who have just swept the board in terms of trophies? And yet this, it seems, is the world we currently live in. Some thoughts from me following yesterday's One Day Cup final:

crickether.com

OPINION: The Blaze Is Dead. Long Live The Blaze

There was a certain irony in the result of Saturday’s One-Day Cup final. After beating Hampshire by 3 wickets, The Blaze now have their name carved on all three of the English domestic trophies &#8…

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

This has made me a bit sad. The Southern Vipers mural at the Utilita Bowl has been replaced by a Hundred mural.

Southern Vipers mural at the back of the Hampshire pavilion. Lottie is lifting the KSL trophy and other Vipers players are also visible. It's very orange.

Hundred mural at the back of the Hampshire pavilion. It says "2021 winners". Both men and women's teams are visible on the mural.

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I think that decision was a bit harsh on Ella Mac? Sadly not on telly, so 🤷🏼‍♀️

Ballinger bowls to Ella Mac, the ball has struck her on the pad but looks like it would be missing the stumps.

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

We've just had a rendition of God Save The King here in Southampton. My suggestion that they should also sing Flower Of Scotland for The Blaze was ignored 😂

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Yep! We’ve been put in the Hilton press box.

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Gearing up for our last (live) cricket of the season - Hampshire v Blaze in the One-Day Cup final. Should be a cracker!

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

She's already Overseas Star of the Year so maybe I need to spread the love!

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Please do come along to this webinar - we'd love to share our research into Scottish women's cricket with you. Registration link in the post below.

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Luff is in my list already - good shout!

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Seeking help from the hive mind 🐝 Doing some end-of-season awards for WCM mag. What's been your performance of the season with the bat, and ditto with the ball? (This is for domestic women's cricket only - internationals excluded!)

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I suspect Amy Jones is already in Australia (admittedly I don’t know for sure). So it’s the (likely) dishonesty about availability rather than the Blaze’s selection policy which is grating.

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

It was more because as it stands NSB is cross-formats captain so has to be selected. That may change, although the noises coming from Charlie Dean after the Ireland series suggests any change is not imminent.

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Don’t really agree with this. Nobody should be so much of a “dead cert” for England that they don’t feel the need to show up for their county in a crunch match. In fact one could argue that nobody (aside maybe from NSB as captain) should feel they are a “dead cert” anyway.

Speaking on Wisden Women's Cricket Weekly podcast, Winfield-Hill said: "I think if you're dead cert to be in [England] teams then fairplay - refresh, replenish, take your breaks. If you're somebody fighting for your spot, I'd be saying I want to play and I want to play in crunch times of the season. Every game counts when you've got finals rounds. You'd be wanting to knock the door down in high pressure games.”

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Delighted to be on the longlist for the Cricket Media Club’s Derek Hodgson Book Award, in very esteemed company! cricketmediaclub.com/longlist-ann...

cricketmediaclub.com

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

This isn’t right. If the Surrey-Somerset game was tied, Surrey would have 38 points and Warwickshire would have only 37. It’s down to Somerset v Surrey for the third qualification spot. bsky.app/profile/cric...

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The word “accountable” is perhaps the most interesting one in the ECB’s press release about Leah Poulton replacing Clare Connor. Accountability feels like something which has been lacking of late in England women’s cricket.

In her new role, she will be accountable for the performances of England Women, England Women A, England Women U19s, and the overall effectiveness and reputation of the women's high-performance system.

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I don't think Ireland will chase that, but it should be a real concern for England (and for Charlotte Edwards) that after looking on course for a record total, they then subsided to 291 all out. #ENGvIRE

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Slightly odd pre-match interview from TCC there - asked "what's next?" she said, "might be going back to county cricket, not sure". But isn't county cricket really important for England selection?

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

It did catch us out - fortunately we make sure to get to every match 1.5 hours early! 😬

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Dunno who is to blame, but pretty poor that Cricinfo are advertising an 11 o'clock start at Worcester when in fact it's starting at 10.30am.

Cricinfo banner - England Women v Ireland Women today at 11.00am.

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Incredible game yesterday! And thanks for the kind words about my book 🙏

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I was honoured to be invited onto BBC Test Match Special last weekend to talk about my book, The Women in Whites: A History of Women's Cricket in England. The interview is still available for a few hours, so do have a listen here if you missed it (3.29 onwards): www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Raf, Dan Norcross and Ali Mitchell in the TMS box at Lord's, with the pitch visible in the background. Raf is holding up her copy of The Women in Whites.

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Derbados living up to its billing ahead of ODI number 2. Sunhats on and jumpers off right now!

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

KSB perhaps a tiny bit biased, given that Amy Jones is one of her oldest mates!

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Raf Nicholson @rafnicholson.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Kathryn wasn't named in the Scotland squad and neither was Kirstie, but Sarah Bryce was. I assume there was some kind of conversation between Blaze (Notts) and Cricket Scotland and a compromise was reached, based on workload etc.

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