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The Record (2021) - Series Review

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime

This two-episode series follows the Australian Women's Cricket Team while playing at the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup. The organizers have a plan of smashing the record attendance at a women's sporting event. 

The previous best being 90,185 at the 1999 Women's FIFA World Cup Final. (Check the second episode of "This is Football", another Amazon Prime Series). They choose the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) as the venue for the final. 

The 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup features ten teams split into two groups of 5 and, the top 2 teams from each group progress to the knockout stages. The focus is on the Australian Cricket Team and the games that they play. There are glimpses of how the results of the other teams went.

I couldn't help but compare it to the "The Test" (again another Amazon Prime Series, following the Australian Men's Cricket Team after the "2018 Australian Ball-Tampering Scandal" leading up to the "2019 Ashes"). "The Test" had eight episodes out of which only one episode featured the "ICC 2019 Men's World Cup", and hence felt a bit rushed.  "The Record" on the other hand has two episodes that nicely captured the drama and tension that one would associate with a stage like the World Cup.

"The Test" had a lot of "fly on the wall" moments when the team conducted its meetings, while "The Record" had only one such moment captured. 

The final match of the tournament was held on the 8th of March 2020 (International Women's Day). Who wins the World Cup and whether they broke the record attendance forms the whole story.

I highly recommend this series.

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