History of women's cricket - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The history of women's cricket can be traced back to a report in The Reading Mercury on 26 July 1745 and a match that took place between the villages of Bramley

Bramley, Surrey

Bramley is a village and civil parish about three miles south of Guildford in the Borough of Waverley in Surrey, south east England. With a population of c.3,300 most of the parish lies in the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There is evidence of iron age settlement in the area,...

and Hambledon

Hambledon, Surrey

Hambledon is a small and scattered village in Surrey, south of Guildford. It is tucked away amongst fields and woodland between Witley and Chiddingfold....

near Guildford

Guildford

Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...

in Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

.

The Mercury reported:

"The greatest cricket match that was played in this part of England was on Friday, the 26th of last month, on Gosden Common, near Guildford, between eleven maids of Bramley and eleven maids of Hambledon, all dressed in white. The Bramley maids had blue ribbons and the Hambledon maids red ribbons on their heads. The Bramley girls got 119 notches and the Hambledon girls 127. There was of bothe sexes the greatest number that ever was seen on such an occasion. The girls bowled, batted, ran and catches as well as most men could do in that game."

Early matches were not necessarily genteel affairs. Another match, on 13 July 1747, held at the Artillery Ground between a team from Charlton and another from Westdean

West Dean, West Sussex

West Dean is a village and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England located north of Chichester on the A286 road just west of Singleton. The parish includes the hamlets of Binderton and Chilgrove....

and Chilgrove in Sussex spilled over into the following day after it was interrupted by crowd trouble. Contemporary records show that women's matches were played on many occasions between villages in Sussex

Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

, Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

and Surrey

Surrey

. Other matches, often held in front of large crowds with heavy betting on the side, pitted single women against their married counterparts. Prizes ranged from barrels of ale to pairs of lace gloves. The first county match was held in 1811 between Surrey and Hampshire at Ball's Pond in Middlesex

Middlesex

Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...

. Two noblemen underwrote the game with 1,000 guineas and its participants ranged in age from 14 to 60.

Originally, cricket deliveries

Delivery (cricket)

A delivery or ball in cricket is a single action of bowling a cricket ball towards the batsman.During play of the game, a member of the fielding team is designated as the bowler, and bowls deliveries towards the batsman...

were bowled underarm

Underarm bowling

In cricket, underarm bowling is as old as the sport itself. Until the introduction of the roundarm style in the first half of the 19th century, bowling was performed in the same way as in bowls, the ball being delivered with the hand below the waist...

. Legend has it that the roundarm bowling

Roundarm bowling

In cricket, roundarm bowling is a style that was introduced in the first quarter of the 19th century and had largely superseded underarm bowling by the 1830s. Using a roundarm action, the bowler has his arm extended at about 90 degrees from his body at the point where he releases the ball...

action was pioneered in the early 19th century by Christina Willes, sister of John Willes

John Willes (cricketer)

John Willes was an English cricketer who, though he made only five known first-class appearances, had a significant impact on the game's history and development...

, to avoid becoming ensnared in her skirt

Skirt

A skirt is a tube- or cone-shaped garment that hangs from the waist and covers all or part of the legs.In the western world, skirts are usually considered women's clothing. However, there are exceptions...

s. In fact, roundarm was devised by Tom Walker

Thomas Walker (cricketer)

Thomas "Tom" Walker was an English cricketer who played for Hampshire in the days of the Hambledon Club and later for Surrey. He was famous for his brilliant defensive batting. He is also credited with introducing, roundarm bowling, the predecessor of modern overarm bowling.-Career:Walker was born...

in the 1790s.

The first women's cricket club was formed in 1887 at Nun Appleton in Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

and named the White Heather Club. In 1890, a team known as the Original English Lady Cricketers, toured England, playing in exhibition matches to large crowds. The team was highly successful until its manager absconded with the profits, forcing the ladies to disband. James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual

James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual

James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual was a cricket annual edited by Charles W Alcock the secretary of Surrey County Cricket Club between 1872 and 1900. It is generally referred to as Red Lillywhite because of colour of the cover. It was published by James Lillywhite, Frowd & Co...

for 1890 has a photograph of the team and short article on women's cricket. "As an exercise, cricket is probably not so severe as lawn tennis, and it is certainly not so dangerous as hunting or skating; and if, therefore, the outcome of the present movement is to induce ladies more generally to play cricket, we shall consider that a good result has been attained."
The Women's Cricket Association

Women's Cricket Association

The Women's Cricket Association was responsible for the running of women's cricket in England between 1926 and 1998. It was formed by a group of enthusiasts following a cricket holiday in Malvern...

was founded in 1926. The England team first played against The Rest at Leicester in 1933 and undertook the first international tour to Australia in 1934–5, playing the first Women's Test match between England

English women's cricket team

The England women's cricket team played their first Test match in 1934–35, when they beat Australia 2–0 in a three-Test series. Their current captain is Charlotte Edwards, replacing Clare Connor after her five-year tenure, which she finished by leading England to their first Ashes series win since...

and Australia

Australian women's cricket team

The Australian women's cricket team played their first Test match in 1934/5, when they lost to England two-nil in a three-Test series. Since then they have improved and are generally considered the best women's cricket team in the world...

in December 1934. After winning two tests and drawing one. England travelled on to New Zealand where Betty Snowball

Betty Snowball

Elizabeth "Betty" Alexandra Snowball is best known as an English sportswoman. She played international cricket in the England women's cricket team, and also played international squash and lacrosse...

scored 189 in the first Test in Christchurch.

In Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, the Victoria Women's Cricket Association had been founded in 1905 and the Australian Women's Cricket Association in 1931. The current competition is run by the Women's National Cricket League

Women's National Cricket League

The Women's National Cricket League is the national competition for women's cricket in Australia.The league competition involves the six member teams playing each other in two 50-over limited-over matches, with the side finishing at the top of the table after the preliminary rounds earning the...

. Pre-dating this, a women's league was formed in 1894 in southern Tasmania by, amongst other people, Lily Poulett-Harris, a young school teacher who both founded and went onto captain the Oyster Cove team. Lily's obituary, from her death a few years later, in 1897, states that her team was believed to be the first such to be formed in the colonies http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/9403855?searchTerm=lily+poulett.

The International Women's Cricket Council

International Women's Cricket Council

The International Women's Cricket Council was formed in 1958 by the women's cricket associations of Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa to organise international matches between the four nations....

was formed in 1958 to coordinate women's cricket which was now being played regularly in Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, the West Indies, Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

and the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. Test cricket has now been played by Australia, England, India, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies. 131 women's Test matches have been played to date, the majority featuring England or Australia. Originally these were three day matches, but since 1985 most have been played over four days. England have played 87 Test matches since their first in 1934, winning 19, losing 11 and drawing 57. Australia have played 67 in the same period, winning 18, losing 9 and drawing 40.

The highest total is Australia's 569 for 6 declared against England Women in 1998 and the highest individual score is the 242 recorded by Kiran Baluch for Pakistan Women against West Indies Women at the National Stadium, Karachi in 2003/04. 5 other women have scored double centuries. Neetu David

Neetu David

Neetu David is a left-arm spinner who plays for the India national women's cricket team.David is India's third highest wicket taker in Tests and their leading wicket-taker in One Day Internationals...

of India took 8 wickets in an innings against England in 1995/56 and 7 wickets have fallen to the same bowler on 10 occasions. The best match figures, 13 for 226 were recorded by Shaiza Khan

Shaiza Khan

Shaiza Said Khan is a female cricket player from Pakistan. She is a member of the national Women's team in Pakistan and the Punjab Women Cricket Team.-References:*. URL accessed April 13, 2006.-See also:...

for Pakistan Women against West Indies Women in Karachi in 2003/04. Three English batsmen, Janet Brittin with 1935 runs at 49.61, Rachel Heyhoe-Flint with 1594 at 45.54 and Charlotte Edwards

Charlotte Edwards

Charlotte Marie Edwards MBE is an English cricketer and current captain of the England women's team....

, 1317 at 45.41, head the all time run scoring lists while 6 other women have scored more than 1,000 Test runs. Mary Duggan

Mary Duggan

Mary Beatrice Duggan was an international cricketer, who played 17 test matches for the England women's cricket team between her debut against Australia in Adelaide in 1949, and her last game, against the touring Australians, at the Oval in 1963.A right-handed batsman, she scored 652 runs at...

of England took 77 Test wickets at 13.49 while Australia's Betty Wilson took 68 at 11.8. 7 other women have 50 or more victims to their name http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Records/WTests/Overall/index.html.

Betty Wilson

Betty Wilson

Elizabeth Rebecca "Betty" Wilson was considered one of the greatest woman cricket players of all time. She represented Australia in Women's Test cricket between 1947–48 and 1957-58...

was the first player, male or female, to record a century and 10 wickets in a Test match, against England at the MCG in 1958. In a remarkable match Australia were bowled out for 38 but gained a first innings lead of 3 in dismissing England for 35 in reply, with Wilson taking 7 for 7. 35 remains the lowest total ever recorded in a women's Test. Australia, thanks to Wilson's century, set England 206 to win but the visitors held on for a draw. In 1985, Australia's Under-21 National Women's Cricket Championship was renamed the Betty Wilson Shield in her honour. Another phenomenal club performance saw right-hander Jan Molyneaux make a record 298 for Olympic v Northcote in Melbourne's A grade final in 1967.

Club and county cricket in England has undergone constant evolution. There is currently a National Knock-Out Cup and a league structure culminating in a Northern and Southern Premier league. The major county competition is the LV Women's County Championship

Women's County Championship

The Women's County Championship is the women's domestic cricket league in the British Isles...

, while Super Fours, featuring teams named after precious stones, bridges the gap for the elite players between domestic and international competition.

In April 1970, MCC's traditional Easter coaching classes at Lord's

Lord's Cricket Ground

Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...

were attended by Sian Davies and Sally Slowe of Cheltenham Ladies' College

Cheltenham Ladies' College

The Cheltenham Ladies' College is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.-History:The school was founded in 1853...

(see photo in Wisden at Lord's, page 129) breaking the 'gender barrier'. The first Women's Cricket World Cup

Women's Cricket World Cup

The ICC Women's Cricket World Cup is a Women's one-day international cricket competition. The first tournament was held in England in 1973, two years before the first men's ICC Cricket World Cup....

was held in England in 1973, funded in part by businessman Jack Hayward

Jack Hayward

Sir Jack Arnold Hayward, OBE is an English businessman, property developer, philanthropist and president of Premier League football club Wolverhampton Wanderers.-Biography:...

, and won by the hosts at Lords in front of Princess Anne. Enid Bakewell

Enid Bakewell

Enid Bakewell played for the English women's cricket team in 12 Tests between 1968 and 1979, and in 23 one-day international matches. A right-handed bat and slow left-arm bowler, on her figures she has a strong claim to be regarded as the best all-rounder that the English women's game has produced...

and Lynne Thomas

Lynne Thomas

Derryth Lynne Thomas is a Welsh former cricketer played 10 test matches for the England women's cricket team between 1966 and 1976 and 24 one day internationals for England and the International XI between 1973 and 1982...

, making their international debuts for England, scored unbeaten hundreds against an International XI in Brighton in a stand of 246, a record which stood for a quarter of a century http://content.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/396718.html. Lord's staged its first women's Test match

Test cricket

Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...

in 1979, between England and Australia.

One Day International cricket has been played by Australia, Denmark, England, India, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand. Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies while Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and International XIs have played in World Cups. 707 ODIs have been played up to the end of the 2009 World Cup. The 455 for 5 smashed by New Zealand Women against Pakistan Women at Hagley Oval, Christchurch in 1996/97 remains the highest team score while the Netherlands Women were bowled out for just 22 against West Indies Women at Sportpark Het Schootsveld in Deventer in 2008.

The Women's Cricket Association handed over the running of women's cricket in England to the England and Wales Cricket Board

England and Wales Cricket Board

The England and Wales Cricket Board is the governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was created on 1 January 1997 combining the roles of the Test and County Cricket Board, the National Cricket Association and the Cricket Council...

(ECB) in 1998. In 2005, after the eighth Women's World Cup, the International Women's Cricket Council was officially integrated under the umbrella of the International Cricket Council

International Cricket Council

The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...

, and an ICC Women's Cricket Committee was formed to consider all matters relating to women's cricket. The 2009 World Cup, the first held under the auspices of the ICC was won by England, the first English team of either sex to win an ICC competition.

Women have beaten male teams to several milestones in one day cricket. They were the first to play an international Twenty/20 match, England taking on New Zealand at Hove in 2004. The first tie in a one day international was also between Women's teams, hosts New Zealand tying the first match of the World Cup in 1982 against England, who went on to record another tie against Australia in the same competition. Female wicket keepers were the first to record 6 dismissals in a one day international, New Zealand's Sarah Illingworth

Sarah Illingworth

Sarah Louise Illingworth is a former New Zealand cricketer. Illingworth played in six women's Test matches, captaining New Zealand in them all, racking up six draws. New Zealand won 18, lost 10 and had one no result in the 29 women's one-day internationals she captained New Zealand in...

and India's Venkatacher Kalpana

Venkatacher Kalpana

Venkatacher Kalpana is a former Test and One Day International cricketer who represented India. She is a right hand batsman and wicket-keeper. She has played three Tests and eight ODIs.-References:...

both accounting for 6 batsman on the same day in the 1993 World Cup and Belinda Clark

Belinda Clark

Belinda Jane Clark AM is a former female Australian cricketer, who played international cricket from 1991 to 2005...

, the former Australian captain, is the only female player to have scored a double hundred in an ODI, recording an unbeaten 229 in the 1997 World Cup against Denmark. She also holds the record for the most runs in a one day career with 4844. Pakistan's Sajjida Shah

Sajjida Shah

Sajjida Bibi Shah is a female Pakistani cricketer. A right-handed batsman and off spin bowler, she has played two Tests and 42 One-Day Internationals for the Pakistan national women's cricket team....

is the youngest player to appear in international cricket, playing against Ireland four months after her 12th birthday. She also holds the record for the best bowling figures in a one day international, taking 7 wickets for just 4 runs against Japan Women at the Sportpark Drieburg in Amsterdam in 2003. Fast bowler Cathryn Fitzpatrick

Cathryn Fitzpatrick

Cathryn Lorraine Fitzpatrick is a former Australian cricketer. She was recognised as the world's fastest women pace bowler, bowling at up to 125 km/h...

of Australia took 180 wickets in her one day international career.

In 2009 England batsman Claire Taylor

Claire Taylor

Samantha Claire Taylor MBE is a former English cricketer and retired member of the England women's team. A determined batsman, with almost 3,500 runs in over a hundred One Day International appearances, she was the top ranked female ODI batsman in the world going into the 2009 Women's World Cup...

was named one of Wisden's five cricketers of the year http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/cricket/article6025193.ece, the first woman to be honoured with the award in its 120 year history.

External sources

Further reading