Australia eventually beat India by nine runs to claim the gold medal in front of a packed house bathed in glorious evening sunshine at Edgbaston on Sunday (August 7).

The gold medal sets the seal on a particularly golden period for the Australian women with victories in the T20 World Cup, Women’s Ashes, and the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s World Cup in New Zealand.

It spoke volumes that the victory in Birmingham was achieved without Ellyse Perry, an acknowledged superstar in women's cricket.

The hectic nature of the last two years does go a long way to explaining why Lanning needs a break and she may not be the only one.

"It means a lot more than I thought it did before these Commonwealth Games," Australia’s Megan Schutt admitted after receiving her gold medal.

"Being a part of the Games has been much more uplifting than I thought, and to have the medal ceremony at the end was a completely different feeling to a World Cup and one that I'll hold onto forever."

It was a feeling shared by New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine who won bronze.

"This is something unique and we have just really put a hell of a show," Devine insisted.

"This is certainly something different and something really special, having put our foot in the door for more cricket in the Commonwealth Games. 

"Not only us in New Zealand but every cricket team here, has done their part, anyone that’s watched the last couple of weeks sees the value of women’s sport, women’s cricket, I am very excited to see where women’s cricket can go."

That the competition should be staged at Edgbaston was highly appropriate, for it was where England captain Rachael Heyhoe-Flint lifted the inaugural Women’s World Cup back in 1973.

It should be said that the crowd was very much smaller, hardly surprising as the the tournament struggled for media attention and there was very little television coverage.

"We wouldn’t be where we are today without those females building a foundation for us to be here," Devine admitted.

"We need to acknowledge where we have come from but we also have a long way to go as well."

Just how far, was illustrated by the way crowds thronged along the Pershore Road on their way to the ground on Saturday (August 6) to watch what proved to be a compelling semi-final between England and India.

This had apparently been scheduled to catch the television audience in India where viewers were presented with a magnificent spectacle full of twists and turns.

Ultimately India beat England by a margin of four runs.

The smile on the face of Snehal Pradhan, a former Indian Test cricketer who was commentating for radio and television spoke volumes for just how much it meant to her and for that matter so many in the sub continent. 

The following evening Lanning and her Australian team ended the Indian dream but only after a pulsating final which was another magnificent occasion.

Because women’s cricket does not rely on pure physical power, the actual play resembled more traditional cricket even though the format was T20.

A cover drive here, a late cut or leg glance there, and text book cutting and pulling by the supremely elegant Smriti Mandhana, with a similar style displayed by Jemimah Rodrigues and so many others.

Beth Mooney of Australia was always superb to watch and was the top run scorer of the tournament.

It was a performance which took her back to the top of the ICC batting rankings.

Then there was the remarkable England teenager Alice Capsey who made light of a swollen black eye.

She had been struck by an errant cricket ball in practice before the first match, but batted superbly in each of the three group matches.

Suzie Bates of New Zealand struck an unbeaten 91 against South Africa which proved the highest individual score of the competition. Bates never resorted to false cross batted shots.

Cricket is part of the shortlist of aspirant additional sports to be added to the programme for Los Angeles in 2028.

In the meantime, it looks set for a breakthrough in multi-sport Games.

The African Games, which are set to begin in Ghana next August, have included the sport on the programme.

"It will be a cool experience to be in a multi-sport format or competition again," South Africa captain Sune Luus said.

Her side must start among the favourites.

"It has been awesome to get to know everyone here and to see the different sports and the hard work that goes into that as well," she added.

Cricket is also set for a return at the rescheduled Asian Games in 2023. 

India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will surely prosper in Hangzhou.

Barbados represented the West Indies in Birmingham and Hayley Matthews was bullish about the prospects for Victoria 2026.

"It has definitely given our regional tournament in the Caribbean a bit more to play for," Matthews suggested.

"Within the next couple of years we will definitely see all the other teams coming really hard, Barbados included, so we all really look forward to that.

"We hope that we can be the team to qualify and put on an even better performance than we did this year."

The tie up between USA Cricket and the Caribbean nations seems likely to eventually secure a spot at the Pan American Games, a declared aim of USA Cricket’s Foundational Plan over the next decade.

Birmingham 2022 were a thousand times right to eschew their own stipulations on gender equality.

Women’s cricket needs the platform that Birmingham 2022 was able to give it.

The impact of what happens when that stage is made available was demonstrated by the exploits of England's women’s football team.

Reverberations from England’s win in the European Championship final at Wembley could certainly be felt in Birmingham.

Although football was not part of the Games, the final stages of the tournament coincided with the first Sunday of the Commonwealth Games.

There was a spontaneous cheer at Edgbaston and I daresay elsewhere in the Games city, that had nothing to do with the cricket, on that memorable evening.

As the cricket tournament came to an end, ICC chief executive Geoff Allardice could not hide his delight.

"Every game has felt like a home game with fans of all eight competing nations turning out in force to watch top quality cricket and some hard-fought games, including the final, which was a superb advert for the women’s game," he said.

I only hope that members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) caught a glimpse of what was taking place at Edgbaston last week.

The legendary cricketer WG Grace welcomed the IOC to Lord's to watch cricket in 1904.

One-hundred and twenty years later, the chances of cricket's inclusion in the greatest sporting show on earth seems greater than ever.

Never mind the "outer ring" of fielders used during a cricketing powerplay during the matches, it would just be sensational to have five rings.

Olympic rings of course.