Australia Women’s Cricket Team Rules All In Emotional Connection Ranking

The Australia Women’s Cricket team have taken the top spot in the BenchMark EC Score (Emotional Connection) for March and April 2020, on the heels of their T20 World Cup victory.

The study, conducted by True North Research across March and April 2020, found the success of the team, in winning the T20 World Cup in front of a crowd of 86,174 in March, has seen them significantly increase their emotional connection score over the past six months, followed by the Matildas, Australian Women’s Rugby 7s and the Diamonds in the national teams rankings.

The future of women’s sport in Australia has been questioned with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continuously raising concerns over funding for women’s sports, but with four national women’s teams at the top of the BenchMark EC Score in the national teams ladder, True North director, Georgie Maynard, said women are ensuring the future of their sports.

“Women athletes are particularly aware of the perilous situation that the pandemic has caused for their sport,” Maynard said.

“They have been active during isolation, recognising they had their own role to play in ensuring the future of their sport, be it through salary cuts, keeping fan engagement levels up and working with the sponsors of their sports,” she said.

The research indicates that Australia’s emotional connection to national teams is just as strong as it was twelve months ago, despite the cancellation or suspension of almost every sport around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As national sporting bodies wrestle with big issues: moving World Cups, finding international teams to play, and how to squeeze in international matches after delayed league seasons, it will bring them comfort to know that Australians have not abandoned their national teams,” Maynard said.

For the first time however, True North included its first New Zealand pilot study across March and April 2020 and found the All Blacks have a significantly higher BenchMark EC Score over the highest Australian team.

The All Blacks recorded, among NZ sports followers, a BenchMark EC Score of 251, the highest score ever achieved by any team across 296 team assessments, besting the Australia Women’s Cricket team by 61 points.