Plato advocated that women should take part in sport because it is good for them. Aristotle believed physical activity is an ethical responsibility. They were not wrong. Even the most sombre moralist, therefore, should be throwing her cap in the air at the way female team sports have captured the public imagination.

Taking England as one example among many –Lord’s, the home of English cricket, was packed last month with supporters who came to see the nation’s top women cricketers triumph. In the World Cup Final they beat India by nine runs in an endgame as gripping as any seen at Lord’s in recent memory. Noting the public demand, Sky TV is to broadcast several women’s matches in full. And the grandfather of all cricket broadcasts, the BBC’s Test Match Special, is to expand its coverage of the women’s game, to which they had already been paying extra attention in the last year or two. The England women’s team captain, Heather Knight, may not yet enjoy the household recognition of Joe Root, her male opposite number. But it is not inconceivable.