Opportunities for women to play the game were historically limited but the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy and a new book make the case that they will be at its heart in future
The history of women’s cricket seems a relatively recent one. If you were asked to guess at the year the British media first covered a women’s county game, you might place it within the past decade. Perhaps, aware of the golden age that existed between the world wars – of names like Betty Snowball and Myrtle Maclagan – you would fix on the 1930s. It’s unlikely you’d go all the way back to 1811, when Hampshire and Surrey XIs played each other, watched on by the sportswriter, and observer of London life, Pierce Egan.
This was no piece of hit and giggle. The game was played over three days – a Wednesday, Thursday and Monday in early October – on a field near Newington Green in north London. It was deemed “very excellent play” by Egan, who was impressed by the Surrey bowling and fielding, and drew a large crowd, its result staked for 500 guineas by two competing aristocrats. An innings of 41 by one of the Hampshire batters (cruelly run out in her pomp) helped Hampshire to a two-wicket win, despite interruptions for poor weather. When it was done, the women, keen to keep playing, arranged a single-wicket match, then walked half an hour down the road for a picnic at the Angel, Islington.
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