A defeat for the remade women's national team in New Caledonia

It was a thrilling finish at N’Du Stadium in Nouméa on Friday.

The French national women’s cricket team slipped into last place by the slimmest of margins at their home tournament in the Pacific Ocean territory of New Caledonia, their fate sealed by two wide balls bowled by Kamea Moingoto.

The final deliveries of the match came in a second “Super Over”, an extremely rare occurrence that only happens when a game ends in a tie and the resulting tie-breaker also ends in a tie.

The defeat by Fiji means France has lost each of its matches in the inaugural Pacific France Women’s T20I Championship, which also featured Samoa and Vanuatu.

With an average of just 53 runs per match, it might look like a resounding failure for the French. Yet speaking to local public television – which broadcast the match live – France Cricket chairman Prebagarane Balane focused on the positives.

“We can see the French team getting better,” he said ahead of the final Super Over.

“Next year in the same tournament we’ll be the team to beat.”

These were not, however, the same players that cricket fans are used to seeing in French colours.

As FRANCE 24 reported in April last year, the French women‘s national team was disbanded after they called for an investigation into allegations that France Cricket was faking women’s matches to get more funding from the International Cricket Council (ICC).

France Cricket was also looking to build a new squad made up of players from New Caledonia, where a traditional form of cricket is popular among women of the indigenous Kanak community.

And the newly overhauled team is just that. Marie-Hélène Konhu, secretary-general of the National Cricket Committee of New Caledonia, told local media ahead of this week’s tournament that the new French squad was “entirely made up of Caledonian players”.

Initial team sheets published by cricket websites appeared to name the former squad in error, prompting Poppy McGeown, who played 27 matches for France, to take to social media with a dig at the French national cricket body.

“Thank you for this opportunity [France Cricket]!! You truly promote women’s cricket with fairness and ethics,” she wrote.

Missing teams, invalid matches

Cricket is said to have been introduced to New Caledonia by English missionaries in the 19th century, with its Kanak form evolving from there. It diverges significantly from regular cricket, with a different bat, ball and stumps. Women overwhelmingly practice the traditional format in the archipelago, so players recruited for the French national team must convert to a new sport and face off against sides already well versed in it.

“They already have 90 percent [of the skills],” Balane told French television. “What remains is the last 10 percent.”

“Our traditional cricket is the soul of our committee and of those passionate about this sport,” Konhu said in her interview. “Traditional cricket is the talent pool, and international cricket is an added value.”

If France starts to win matches in ICC-recognised tournaments such as this one, they will climb the international rankings and could access more prestigious and lucrative tournaments – with the ultimate goal being the Olympic Games, where cricket is being reintroduced for LA 2028.

But coming to New Caledonia has more immediate benefits for France Cricket, too.

An agreement signed a year ago between France Cricket and the New Caledonian cricket committee requires the latter to ensure all of its members sign up with France Cricket. Categories used by the ICC to decide how much funding to grant associate members like France include the number of women and men signed up to play.

The New Caledonian committee reports around 2,800 total cricketers on its books, slightly more than France Cricket says it has. If they all receive France Cricket licences, it could mean a funding bonanza.

In September last year, the France Cricket website claimed it had registered upwards of 278 women. Now it says there are more than 881 – more than triple the previous number.

But no matter how rosy the numbers may appear on paper, women’s cricket is still struggling in France.

Out of 27 matches officially recorded by France Cricket last season, 10 were declared invalid. Five were missing teams, four had improper paperwork and one had no pitch available.

One participant, who requested anonymity, recounted how one team turned up to their semi-final with only two players and had to borrow players from their opponent. Another team did not show up at all. The source said that one of the squads playing in the final included minors, despite it being an adult league. No France Cricket officials were in attendance, the person added, and trophies had to be handed out by the umpires.

France Cricket did not respond to a request for comment on these irregularities by press time.

The sport is facing yet another threat in France, this one existential.

France Cricket only has government approval – and therefore the ability to field national teams – because of an agreement with the French baseball and softball federation that is set to expire this year.

To avoid losing official recognition, and potentially its ICC associate member status, France Cricket is seeking to become a federation in its own right.

But it’s anyone’s guess as to how the Nouméa tournament – and the future performance of the overhauled Les Bleues team – might help in that mission.

France24