Twenty20 continues to win rave reviews for its ability to attract
people to cricket who have no interest in actual cricket, but don’t
think Cricket Australia isn’t also seeking to showcase Test matches to
a wider audience.

The second day of the Boxing Day Test was Ladies Day at the MCG and
postcards were handed out to the fairer sex, outlining activities
ranging from free massages and henna tattoos to showbags and a panel
discussing “A woman’s perspective.”

But the cards themselves show how on-the-pulse this marketing idea was.
The list of “five things you should know about cricket” included the
advice that “Who’s winning?” was not a good question to ask, that it’s
okay for a bowler to rub a cricket ball on his groin and that
“Howzat!!” is not a reference to the Sherbet song from the 70s.

But our favourite was No. 2. Yes, you guessed it: “‘Bowling a maiden
over’ doesn’t mean a big boofy person has knocked a girl to the
ground. It simply means the bowler managed to bowl all six balls of
their over without the batter getting any runs – a maiden over’.”

The biggest mystery to our female scout, who attended every day of the
Test and could look Ricky Ponting in the eye to talk tactics, form and
cricket history, is why the card didn’t start off with: “Hello, m’
little darlings…”