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

Jones said endorsement of a suitable trophy design could be the first step to such a perpetual trophy.

Jones said it would be magnificent to tell the history of the women's game between the two countries and those involved through such a trophy.

The series between Indian and Australian women should have a perpetual trophy named after legends of the women's game, like the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the men's teams, suggested former Australia player Mel Jones.

"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 said to 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," she added.

 

Jones, who played five Tests and 61 ODIs between 1998 and 2003, said the name(s) to adorn any such trophy might best be decided by public input via social media.

"To talk about Shantha Rangaswamy and Margaret Jennings and all those players from that first Test in Perth, to get those to the forefront again would be wonderful," she said.

 

The first women's international between the teams was a one-off Test at the WACA in January 1977 (which Australia won by 147 runs) and their inaugural limited-overs meeting came at the women's World Cup held in India the following year where the hosts lost by 71 runs at Patna.

Australia was captained in both those matches by opener-keeper Jennings, while India's skippers were Rangaswamy in the maiden Test and Diana Edulji at the World Cup which Australia eventually won.