Mel Jones feels India-Australia women's series should have perpetual trophy

Indian women’s team will tour Australia for 1 Test, 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is in September-October this year.

By Salman Anjum - 23 May, 2021

Former Australia cricketer Mel Jones on Saturday (May 22) suggested that the series between Indian and Australian women should have a perpetual trophy named after legends of the women's game, akin to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the men's teams.

Jones’ comments came after it was confirmed last week that the Indian women’s team will tour Australia for one Test (day-night match), three ODIs and three T20Is in September-October this year.

"It's great to have something like Border-Gavaskar, but that's the men's lens of what's happened in the past. So we should do it our way for the women's game, and maybe can come up with something a little bit different," Jones was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

"Both the men's and women's games have got these magnificent storylines behind their Ashes trophies, and maybe we can create one just as special that is being talked about in 100 years' time with the same sort of reverence as the Ashes."

Jones, who represented Australia in 5 Tests and 61 ODIs between 1998 and 2003, said it would be wonderful to tell the history of the women's game between the two countries and those involved in such a trophy.

She mentioned the names of stalwarts Sanath Ragaswamy and Margaret Jennings from a historical context.

"To talk about Sanath Ragaswamy and Marg Jennings and all those players from that first Test in Perth, to get those to the forefront again would be wonderful," Jones said.

The first women's international fixture between India and Australia was a one-off Test at the WACA in January 1977 while the inaugural limited-overs match was played in Patna in 1978.

Australia was captained in both those historic games by Jennings, whereas India's skippers were Shantha in their maiden Test and Diana Edulji in their first ODI.

(With PTI inputs)

By Salman Anjum - 23 May, 2021

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