History of women's cricket

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The 2nd Women's Test match between Australia and England in Sydney in 1935.

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 and Hambledon near Guildford in Surrey.

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." [1]

Originally, cricket deliveries were bowled underarm. Legend has it that the roundarm bowling action was pioneered in the early 1800s by Christina Willes, sister of John Willes, to avoid becoming ensnared in her skirts. In fact, roundarm was devised by Tom Walker in the 1790s.

The Original English Lady Cricketers 1890

The first women's cricket club was formed in 1887 at Nun Appleton in Yorkshire 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. [2] James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual 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 was founded in 1926, and the first overseas tour was made to Australia and New Zealand in 1934-35 which included the first Women's Test match between England and Australia in December 1934.

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

The International Women's Cricket Council was formed in 1958 to coordinate women's cricket which was now being played regularly in Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa, the West Indies, Denmark and the Netherlands. England toured South Africa in 1960-61, and the first Women's Cricket World Cup was held in England in 1973, won by the hosts.

Before then, the "gender barrier" had been broken. In April 1970, MCC's traditional Easter coaching classes at Lord's were attended by Sian Davies and Sally Slowe of Cheltenham Ladies' College (see photo in Wisden at Lord's, page 129).

Lord's staged its first women's Test match in 1979, between England and Australia.

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, and an ICC Women's Cricket Committee was formed to consider all matters relating to women's cricket.[3]