England women's keeper Taylor eyes men's match

LONDON: England women's wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor is holding talks about the prospect of playing for Sussex's men's 2nd XI in the upcoming domestic season, The Guardian newspaper said on Monday.

Taylor, one of the leading players in international women's cricket, is set to travel to India later this week as a member of an England squad who will be defending the 50-over World Cup title they won in Australia.

The 23-year-old played her school cricket for Sussex-based Brighton College, where former pupils include ex-England women's captain Clare Connor.

Now Taylor is being championed in her quest to play men's county 2nd XI cricket -- just one rung below first-class standard -- by England women's coach Mark Lane.

Former England seamer Mike Selvey, now a cricket correspondent at The Guardian, has suggested Taylor is the one woman whose skills as both a wicketkeeper and batsman could conceivably allow her to play first-class cricket.

Many women who have been dominant figures in gender-segregated sports have been attracted to the challenge of competing against men, whose generally greater physical strength is reckoned to give them a huge advantage, after sweeping all before them in women-only events.

For example four-time overall women's World Cup skiing champion Lindsey Vonn is trying to persuade officials to let her race against men.

But US golfer Michelle Wie's forays into male tournaments have been largely unsuccessful, with the 23-year-old making only one cut in a men's event.

Sports that have long been gender neutral, such as equestrianism, have seen women frequently defeat men, with female riders led by champion Charlotte Dujardin of Great Britain taking all three podium places in the individual dressage at last year's London Olympic Games.

But in sports usually separated by gender,there have been concerns that female participation in men's events would damage the profile of all-women competitions, which generally struggle for media coverage and sponsorship in comparison to their male equivalents. (AFP)