rickeyre.com

Made-for-television cricket. We've seen a lot of it in the past five years dished out in the name of "globalising" the sport. Televised but meaningless one-day matches dished up for an insatiable market from the "emerging" regions of world cricket. Singapore, Toronto, Kuala Lumpur, Kathmandu, and even a park in northern Los Angeles have all played host to an array of TV-oriented "spectaculars". Add to that list the name of Melbourne.

Former West Indian captain Ann Browne-John broke new ground this week when she was appointed to the Cricket Committee of the West Indies Cricket Board. She is the first woman appointed to a major role in the men's governing body in the Caribbean.

Joan Wilkinson, who played thirteen Tests for England between 1949 and 1958, has died. Her funeral was held at Foulridge, Lancashire, on Tuesday April 23, the town where she passed away at home at the age of 83.

A right-handed batter and occasional spin bowler, Wilkinson was chosen for England's tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1948-49, where she played all Tests except the opening game of the Australian leg. She was in the team which hosted Australia in the 1951 season, and was England vice-captain when New Zealand toured in 1954.

The Irish national women's team makes its debut in men's club competition on Saturday April 27. The women will be playing nine matches in the Leinster Men's Intermediate A League - effectively a fifth-grade club competition - and will take on the Clontarf fourth XI at Castle Avenue, Dublin in the opening game.

Australian all-rounder Karen Rolton dominated the South Australian Women's Cricket Association A grade grand final on 23 and 24 March as Port Adelaide won its second consecutive title.

Rolton, arguably the world's best female cricketer at this time, smashed 201 not out as Port crushed the Northern Districts Jets by the margin of 254 runs in the two-day season finale at the Women's Memorial Playing Fields, St Marys.

New Zealand umpire Kathy Cross achieved a new milestone in the men's game during the Second Test between the New Zealand men and England at the Basin Reserve, Wellington in March. The 44 year-old from Hutt Valley was appointed as fourth umpire for the Test, the first time that a woman has been included among the umpiring team for a men's international cricket match.

Tricia Langsford, captain of the Australian Under-23 women's cricket team in 1994, died in Sydney on March 16 following a long battle with multiple sclerosis. She was 30.

A promising all-rounder from New South Wales who was considered a future member of the senior Australian women's team, Trish Langsford was named Player of the Series in the 1991-92 national championships at the age of 20, having taken 17 wickets at 9.88 and scored 99 runs at 24.75. The 1992 edition of the "ABC Australian Cricket Almanac" named her as one of Australia's four women players of the year.

Australia Youth all-rounder Kris Britt scored an astonishing 344 not out in a 50-over match for Western District against North Canberra-Gungahlin in the ACT Women's Cricket competition on Sunday March 10. Her score is believed to be a world record for a limited-over game at senior club level or above, male or female.

South Africa has taken a 1-0 lead in their historic one-day series against India with a win in a rain-affected match at the North West Cricket Stadium, Potchefstroom, on Sunday March 11. The win, by 29 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method of calculating revised targets, follows the washout of last Thursday's historic series opener at Lenasia.

The Indian women's cricket team commenced its first tour to the African continent when it flew into Johannesburg on Monday March 4. The tour is, in fact, the first official visit by any international women's team to South Africa since 1972.