Sports fans running out of lockdown viewing have a new show to enjoy with Netflix releasing a documentary on the Women’s T20 World Cup, held earlier this year in Australia, although it features a rather questionable choice of title.
The last major sporting event to be held before the sporting world was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Beyond The Boundary catalogues the showpiece from the tournament build-up to the final between Australia and India, which drew over 86,000 fans to the MCG.
It’s the second recent high-profile documentary on women’s international cricket, following in the footsteps of last year’s Screen Australia documentary on the Australian team during the 2019 Ashes – currently available to watch on Kayo Sports – which… is also called Beyond The Boundary. Apparently thinking up an original title was a bit too much work.
Despite the ample offering of drama that took place during the 17 days of the World Cup, including Australia’s first-up loss, Ellyse Perry’s season-ending injury, the thrilling rain-affected semi-final day, and the final itself, the new documentary is a single one-hour episode rather than the multi-part series which have become more prevalent recently.
The ICC, who produced Beyond The Boundary under their ‘100% Cricket’ project, will be hoping it replicates the success of The Test, released earlier this year by Amazon. That eight-part series followed the Australian men’s cricket team’s rebuild under Justin Langer and Tim Paine from the ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town to the Ashes success in England last year.
Naming and runtime issues aside, the documentary promises to be an intriguing insight into a tournament which did plenty to raise the profile of women’s cricket – and women’s sport in general – and enjoyed excellent support around the country and from the cricketing world.
Beyond The Boundary will be released worldwide tonight, August 14.
johnb
Guest
The title "Beyond the Boundary" is itself (presumably) a play on that of the book "Beyond a Boundary" by the Trinidadian CLR James, often rated amongst the best ever cricket books. The non-cricketing boundary referred to there was the racial one. Assuming that a theme in the current doco is breaking down gender barriers it's not a bad title.
Pierro
Roar Rookie
Ill give this one a miss , I’m sure theres a sales angle though nowadays
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Here's hoping it's about the cricket and not ICC grand standing.
Jon Richardson
Roar Pro
Yes, yes, but please we only seem to make a big deal out of this and the prospective men’s T20 world cups because they were/are to be held in Australia. Does anybody really remember who won other T20 cups, where and when? Apart from the fact that our women have won a few, and the Windies have had a couple of good wins in the men’s. The fact that they are having men’s T20 cups just about every year in the next few years is going to devalue them even further. They really shouldn’t be called World Cups - that title should stay with the original and prestigious World Cup, the 50-over event.