The history of women's cricket 鈥� from England's greens to the world stage
Chanida Suttiruang of Thailand during the Women鈥檚 T20 World Cup cricket.
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I have the good fortune right now to be in Australia, where the seventh edition of the Women鈥檚 T20 World Cup is currently being played. Already, we鈥檝e seen record crowds - in Sydney - and the buzz is incredible.
I鈥檝e spent the past decade researching the history of the women鈥檚 game, and recently . Few might know it, but women鈥檚 cricket has been played for just as long as men鈥檚.
It all began on village greens in . The first recorded match was played in 1745, between the women of two Surrey villages, Bramley and (one of the most famous of all early cricket grounds), with the teams distinguished by the colour of their hair ribbons.
From a thrown-together game to an organised pursuit, in 1887 one of the first women鈥檚 clubs, , was formed by ladies of the Yorkshire aristocracy.
But the major turning point in the history of women鈥檚 cricket came with the formation of the first governing body.
The first world war emboldened women in a number of ways 鈥� and many women鈥檚 sporting organisations were formed in the years after 1918. Cricket鈥檚 moment came in October 1926 when a group of female hockey players travelled to Colwall in Herefordshire for a few days of play. Marjorie Pollard, (1934), remembered:
After play was over we sat in the Park Hotel at Colwall 鈥� and discussed how cricket could become real for us 鈥� no longer to be an elusive thing, that one played half afraid of ridicule. We pondered, mused, talked.
Born from this was the 鈥� 鈥渢o provide facilities for and bring together those women and girls who previously have had little opportunity of playing cricket after leaving school鈥�. Clubs and county associations were formed, matches were played 鈥� and a decade later there were 105 women鈥檚 clubs affiliated to the WCA.
Global growth
By 1934, the appeal of women鈥檚 cricket had stretched across oceans where associations had been formed in Australia and New Zealand. This global reach signalled it was time for women to play internationally. So an England team set sail for Australia, where across the they played in three Test matches 鈥� of which they won two.
International cricket continued to be played whenever the women could afford the travel, and in 1958 it was agreed that an should be formed.
The council鈥檚 purpose was to promote further international tours, as well as providing 鈥渁 liaison between countries for discussions on any question appertaining to the game鈥�. The founding members were England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Holland. Its membership gradually expanded as women鈥檚 associations were set up in India (1973), the West Indies (1973), Ireland (1982), Denmark (1983), Pakistan (1997) and Sri Lanka (1997).
The Women鈥檚 World Cup
The first Women鈥檚 World Cup was the product of a and millionaire businessman Jack Hayward. Staged in 1973, Hayward stumped up 拢40,000 to cover the costs and seven teams - England, an English youth team, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and an International XI (made up of players from all participating countries) - took part.
The tournament was such a roaring success that , which had refused to host the 1973 final, agreed to let women play at Lords 鈥� the 鈥淗ome of Cricket鈥� 鈥� for the first time. On August 1976 4, led out by Heyhoe-Flint, England met Australia there and won the historic one day international (ODI) by eight wickets.
The lack of money and resources in the women鈥檚 game had always been a barrier, so in the 1990s a closer relationship was sought with the men鈥檚. In 1992, New Zealand became the first Test-playing nation to merge its men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 cricketing set-ups 鈥� England followed in 1998. In 2005 the International Women鈥檚 Cricket Council (IWCC) agreed to hand over control of the global women鈥檚 game to the male-run International Cricket Council (ICC), and all remaining women鈥檚 national associations were absorbed by their male counterparts.
For its entire history, the women鈥檚 game had been an amateur pursuit, played simply for love of the game. But linking up with the men allowed more money to flow into women鈥檚 cricket. In May 2014, the ECB made history by introducing the first professional contracts for women, awarding these to 18 of England鈥檚 top players.
There are now professional contracts in place in all T20 World Cup competing nations 鈥� including Thailand, who have played in the competition for the first time this year.
The rise of T20
鈥淭20鈥� - a shorter version, with each side having 20 overs to score as many runs as possible - was first played professionally in 2003, and has proved an excellent vehicle for the advancement of the women鈥檚 game.
In 2009 the ICC staged the first-ever T20 World Cup for female cricketers (known originally as the World Twenty20). It was held in England at the same time as the men鈥檚 tournament. The semi-finals and finals were 鈥渄ouble-headers鈥� with the women鈥檚 matches directly before the men鈥檚, which helped the women鈥檚 teams secure bigger crowds and more media coverage.
Over time, the profile of women鈥檚 cricket grew so much it no longer needed to piggyback on the men. The 2018 World T20 in the Caribbean was the tournament, and the current World Cup in Australia is taking place seven months ahead of the men鈥檚 tournament, enabling the women to have the spotlight all to themselves.
The last 50-over Women鈥檚 World Cup in 2017 (ODI) was watched by more than , and every one of the 30,000 seats at the final at Lord鈥檚 - which was won by England - was filled. The organisers of the current World Cup are hoping to do better, and , with its 95,000 capacity, for the final. If this is achieved, they would break the record for the at a women鈥檚 sporting event - currently, 90,185, set during the 1999 FIFA Women鈥檚 World Cup Final in California.
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