 The lovely Atomic Kitten will perform at the final |
Next time you go to a county championship match - that is, if you happen to be one of the endangered species of cricket spectators who indulge in such a pastime - have a look around the stands.
Yes, you may need to get your binoculars out to locate your nearest fellow fan, but I bet you anything it won't be a female.
But the domestic game is finally being advanced from the 18th century with the exciting Twenty20 competition just about on our doorstep - and guess what, women are involved.
No, they won't be playing the game, and there is no certainty they will even be watching it in vast numbers.
But the fairer sex will certainly be 'involved' in the action. Let me produce some examples.
Games hosted by Essex, Derbyshire and Warwickshire will all feature that most resilient of male fantasy objects - cheerleaders.
We know the ones at Edgbaston will be up to scratch, because they have been recruited from 'a local model agency.'
And there's further incentive in Birmingham. Your match ticket allows you to gain entry into Brannigans nightclub after the game.
Who knows? That could be where the cheerleaders will be planning to unwind afterwards.
 Cheerleaders are the order of the day at many games |
The 19 July final at Trent Bridge, meanwhile, will see more eye candy in the form of Liverpudlian all-girl trio Atomic Kitten.
But Nottinghamshire are also the only county who will also attempt to capture the female audience, promoting games as a 'girls' night out'.
To this end, a poster campaign is already underway in the city which focuses on the 'desirability' of the players.
Four of the team, who are appropriately nicknamed 'The Outlaws' are photographed stripped to the waist on these posters.
But in general, most counties are clearly aiming to make cricket sexier by using girls, rather than their own players, to pull in the punters.
Sussex, for example, say they have young women hawkers selling beer among the crowd, while Lancashire have girls handing out 'lick and stick' Twenty20 tattoos.
And the captain of Sussex, Chris Adams, thinks it's exactly what the game needs. "It's going to be a sexy game of cricket," he told BBC Sport.
All of this female entertainment is, of course, a shameful and cynical attempt to boost the crowds at these matches, and BBC Sport does not, in any way, condone the concept that sex should be allowed to sell cricket.
That said, it's all just a bit of fun, isn't it?
MMIX
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