By Clare Connor Captain, England women's cricket team

On a sodden outfield on the morning of England's first ICC Champions Trophy match, I made my debut as the roving reporter for the BBC's Test Match Special.

There is a problem with the timing, marketing and structure of the competition

By 2.00pm the following afternoon, when England finally sealed victory over Zimbabwe by a massive 150-run margin, however, 'raving reporter' might have been a more accurate description of my mental state.

Yes, the predictable happened, rain interrupted proceedings and the reserve day came into play.

Whilst I fully enjoyed my debut, I did feel slightly deranged as I hit the M40 southbound.

Time seemed to have dragged, my Birmingham accent was coming on nicely, and I felt like I had been in the city for a couple of weeks rather than just a few days.

I could almost have described each of the 200 anoraked fans dotted around Edgbaston's seats individually, so long did I scan the ground for inspiration.

During one of my interviews on the first morning, Michael Vaughan spoke sincerely about his players' thoughts on the tournament, their ambition to win it for the first time and in so doing, continue their recent winning habit.

He described it as "the mini-World Cup" and convinced me that the team were fresh and "up for it", despite their hectic schedule of late.

Then, when they delivered a fairly ordinary performance, the press were ready to pounce.

And yet, how could we realistically expect more of them?

The weather was foul, the stadium was nigh on deserted, the opposition were poor.

The public stayed away in their droves at Edgbaston

They did as clinical a job as could be expected in totally uninspiring circumstances.

What is true however, is the match between England and Zimbabwe did nothing, absolutely nothing, for cricket in this country.

India v Pakistan at Edgbaston on the 19th is a sell-out, and New Zealand v Australia two days earlier at The Oval almost one, yet public awareness of this tournament among England supporters is low.

If only 200 shivering fans could find their way to the first match, with Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff both playing, there is a problem with the timing, marketing and structure of the competition.

If the players genuinely see it as a "mini-World Cup" then they are in for a disappointing ride, until they make the semi-final perhaps.

The weather is set to worsen, let's hope it doesn't.

Clearly the public, or should I say England fans, barely acknowledge the cricket season is still under way, notwithstanding that there is a significant trophy at stake.

Let's hope, for the sake of the players, public and roving reporters, that the future of this tournament is carefully considered.