{"id":184810,"date":"2026-06-23T21:08:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T02:38:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=184810"},"modified":"2026-06-23T21:08:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T02:38:26","slug":"football-fever-cricket-buzz-england-juggles-two-world-cups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=184810","title":{"rendered":"Football Fever, Cricket Buzz: England Juggles Two World Cups"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The Women\u2019s T20 World Cup in England has competition. The football World Cup kicked off on the other side of the Atlantic a day earlier. Since England is playing in what is arguably the greatest sporting event on the planet, there is considerable interest across this football-mad nation. Home to the Premier League, England has fans all over the world, including India, where players from Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea are often more familiar to fans than those from local clubs like East Bengal or Kerala Blasters. You will find several fan organisations in places like Kerala supporting major English clubs.<\/p>\n
\"Theatrical<\/p>\n
Theatrical flourish:\u00a0The cast of\u00a0 Wicked<\/i>\u00a0brings a touch of Broadway magic to the opening ceremony ahead of the ICC Women\u2019s T20 World Cup clash between England and Sri Lanka at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
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\n Getty Images\n <\/p>\n

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Theatrical flourish:\u00a0The cast of\u00a0 Wicked<\/i>\u00a0brings a touch of Broadway magic to the opening ceremony ahead of the ICC Women\u2019s T20 World Cup clash between England and Sri Lanka at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
\n | Photo Credit:
\n Getty Images\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

So here in England, you come across fans assembling in pubs to watch World Cup action from the United States, Canada and Mexico. There are, however, plenty of takers for the Women\u2019s T20 World Cup too. I have met people who have driven for hours to watch matches at Edgbaston in Birmingham, for the opening match between England and Sri Lanka, and the India-Pakistan encounter the following day. One such fan is Hemal Kumar, an avid follower of women\u2019s cricket, along with his family and friends. They live in Leicester and are originally from Surat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI made plans as soon as the ICC announced the World Cup schedule,\u201d Hemal says. \u201cI started following women\u2019s cricket closely after Harmanpreet Kaur\u2019s 171 not out against Australia in the 2017 World Cup semifinal. I was heartbroken when India lost the final. It was great watching India beat Pakistan here at Edgbaston.\u201d Hemal was part of a large crowd made up mostly of people of Indian origin. Pakistan did not have as many supporters as one might have expected, given Birmingham\u2019s demographics.<\/p>\n

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Like India, another favourite, England, also got off to a strong start. Riding on opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge\u2019s 62-ball 105 not out, the host made 219 for one, the highest score in the tournament\u2019s history, and romped home by 87 runs.<\/p>\n

Cricket administrators believe an England triumph would be a big boost to the women\u2019s game in the country. Counties like Warwickshire, whose home ground is Edgbaston, are investing heavily in women\u2019s cricket. James Thomas (pic, below)<\/b>, who took over at Warwickshire as performance director from Gavin Larsen, a former New Zealand seamer and current selection manager of the Kiwi men\u2019s team, believes the women\u2019s game has the potential to grow further.<\/p>\n

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Thomas also has an interesting background. He moved to Warwickshire after serving as director of performance services at Manchester City Football Club. He has also worked in judo, gymnastics, rugby and athletics. \u201cCricket is a new, fresh challenge for me,\u201d he tells me. \u201cI think cricket will get a boost with the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The Olympics after that is going to be hosted by Brisbane, and that should help too, as cricket is big in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edgbaston is already looking forward to the Test against Australia next summer. Matthew Joule, Head of Media & Communications at Warwickshire County Cricket Club, says construction of the new hotel inside the stadium will be completed by then. \u201cIt will be a value addition to the ground,\u201d he says. \u201cWe will have 146 rooms, the half of which will have a view to the cricket on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Back to football once again. Larry Adeyemo (pic, below) <\/b>is an engineer with a railway company here, but he was once an aspiring footballer who had shown promise at school. His mother, however, wanted him to become a doctor or an engineer.<\/p>\n

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\u201cFootballers are lazy people,\u201d she used to tell him. \u201cNow she is taking my kids to football. Her views on the game have changed. And my son has represented Britain in powerlifting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Larry, who lives in London, is hopeful of a good showing from England at the football World Cup, especially with Thomas Tuchel as coach. He smiles broadly when you tell him that you interviewed Tuchel at an ayurvedic centre near Thrissur in Kerala a month after he parted ways with Chelsea.<\/p>\n

That was the first time Tuchel had spoken publicly about his departure from Chelsea.<\/p>\n

Larry has an Indian connection too. He was born in Chennai when his father, a Nigerian, was working in India as an engineer. \u201cMy father and I have been planning to come to India for a long time,\u201d he says. \u201cMaybe later this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

PODCAST | Watch Sportstar\u2019s Matchpoint Paradox where the team dissects India\u2019s loss to South Africa and how the semifinal race is shaping up in the Women\u2019s T20 World Cup<\/h4>\n
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