{"id":608,"date":"2023-07-22T18:30:19","date_gmt":"2023-07-22T18:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/earlycricket.uk\/?page_id=608"},"modified":"2025-09-21T08:29:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T08:29:07","slug":"womens-cricket","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/womens-cricket\/","title":{"rendered":"Women&#8217;s Cricket"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pdfprnt-buttons pdfprnt-buttons-page pdfprnt-top-right\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/608?print=print\" class=\"pdfprnt-button pdfprnt-button-print\" target=\"_blank\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-print\/images\/print.png\" alt=\"image_print\" title=\"Print Content\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/womens-cricket\/#General\" >General<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/womens-cricket\/#The_first_recorded_Womens_Match_%E2%80%93_Gosden_Common\" >The first recorded Women&#8217;s Match &#8211; Gosden Common<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/womens-cricket\/#Subsequent\" >Subsequent<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/womens-cricket\/#Social_background\" >Social background<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/womens-cricket\/#Country_house_cricket\" >Country house cricket<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/womens-cricket\/#Miss_Wicket\" >Miss Wicket<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/womens-cricket\/#1811_%E2%80%93_The_first_Womens_County_Match\" >1811 &#8211; The first Women&#8217;s County Match<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/womens-cricket\/#Womens_cricket_in_the_Nineteenth_Century\" >Women&#8217;s cricket in the Nineteenth Century<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/womens-cricket\/#Round-arm_bowling_and_Christiana_Willes\" >Round-arm bowling and Christiana Willes<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/womens-cricket\/#Further_Reading\" >Further Reading<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/womens-cricket\/#Footnotes\" >Footnotes<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"General\"><\/span>General<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Other than this page, this site is about men&#8217;s cricket. That is largely because nearly all of the literature and other sources of information, such as paintings and poems, relate to the game as played by men. This page is an attempt to adjust the balance, even if only a little. Sadly, few books touch on the subject, and no scorecards have survived at all. There are, however, PhD theses available online which refer to the topic (for example: <em>A History of English Women\u2019s Cricket, 1880-1939<\/em>: Judy Threlfall-Sykes<sup data-fn=\"c0e27001-dbd4-41f6-9cd9-c610f696ccbc\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#c0e27001-dbd4-41f6-9cd9-c610f696ccbc\" id=\"c0e27001-dbd4-41f6-9cd9-c610f696ccbc-link\">1<\/a><\/sup>) and researchers have traced some newspaper reports which offer a tantalising glimpse into an aspect of cricket which has largely been overlooked and forgotten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_first_recorded_Womens_Match_%E2%80%93_Gosden_Common\"><\/span>The first recorded Women&#8217;s Match &#8211; Gosden Common<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We do know that women have been playing cricket during adulthood since the mid-eighteenth century. Women\u2019s cricket has taken many different forms over the course of its history, depending on who was playing and why the game was organised. The oldest form of cricket though, was village cricket, and the first recorded instance of a women\u2019s cricket match appears to have been an inter-village game played on 26th July 1745. The Derby Mercury of 9 August 1745 reported<sup data-fn=\"de73e5eb-d58e-4107-aae3-05c60054f449\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#de73e5eb-d58e-4107-aae3-05c60054f449\" id=\"de73e5eb-d58e-4107-aae3-05c60054f449-link\">2<\/a><\/sup>, &#8220;The greatest cricket match that ever was played in the South Part of England was on Friday, the 26th of last month, on Gosden Common, near Guildford, in Surrey, between eleven maids of Bramley and eleven maids of Hambledon [Surrey, not Hampshire], dressed all 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 both sexes the greatest number that ever was seen on such an occasion. The girls bowled, batted, ran and catched [sic] as well as any men could do in that game.&#8221; The account was also published by the Stamford Mercury, Richmond Mercury, Weekly Worcester Journal and other newspapers between 1 August and 16 August. A return match was scheduled to be played on Tuesday, August 6th, although no report has been found to confirm it took place. In 1995, the Women\u2019s Cricket Association staged a commemorative match at Bramley to mark the 250th anniversary of that historic event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:55%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"599\" height=\"311\" src=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Bramley2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Bramley2.png 599w, https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Bramley2-300x156.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, 599px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:45%\">\n<p>Cricket is still played at Gosden Common, which is the home of Bramley Cricket Club. Sadly, they do not seem to have a women&#8217;s section. Their website refers to the famous match but gives the date as 1794.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"261\" height=\"201\" src=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Bramley.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2399 size-full\"\/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>A plaque by the common gives the correct year but gets the month wrong. Unless, of course, there is something I don&#8217;t know.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:35px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Subsequent\"><\/span>Subsequent<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1747, George Smith, the leaseholder of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-artillery-ground\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"600\">Artillery Ground<\/a> in Finsbury, organised a two-day tournament between the women of Charlton in Sussex against the women of West Dean and Chilgrove. Smith arranged for the transport of the players to the ground, which cost him \u00a380. The ground was renowned for attracting a socially superior crowd who were attracted primarily to the high stakes gambled and privacy offered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Throughout the second half of the eighteenth century, women\u2019s inter-village cricket matches were played regularly in the South East of England. In particular, inter-village cricket matches in Sussex, Hampshire, and Surrey became a regular feature of rural festivities. &nbsp;There are accounts of fete matches at places such as Upham, Harting, Rogate, Moulsey Hurst, Felley Green near Cobham and Bury Common. Tournaments were soon organised, encompassing several matches over a two-day period. These matches were very popular with spectators, as in 1768, a tournament of three matches was organised in Sussex. According to the press, the third match attracted nearly 3,000 spectators. One of the umpires, a principal in the Hambledon Club, was reportedly \u2018so delighted with their activity that he made them a very genteel offer if they would play in Broad-Halfpenny Common, which they likewise agreed to\u2019. There is no record of the match happening, but that, of course, doesn&#8217;t mean it didn&#8217;t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There was also at least one <a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/matches\/#Single_Double_wicket_matches\">single-wicket<\/a> match between women cricketers, as reported by the Sussex Weekly Advertiser in August 1756. The report said &#8220;On Friday the 6th of this Instant was play&#8217;d a match at cricket at Long Down by two of the most famous women in the Kingdom, Sarah Chase of the parish of Boxgrove, and Mary Coots of the city of Chichester for five guineas each side, which was won by the former with great difficulty, by two notches only.&#8221;<sup data-fn=\"1ba39a50-f543-4f8c-aa1a-2a54f4a4cd40\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#1ba39a50-f543-4f8c-aa1a-2a54f4a4cd40\" id=\"1ba39a50-f543-4f8c-aa1a-2a54f4a4cd40-link\">3<\/a><\/sup> As far as I am aware, nothing else is known of these players, notwithstanding their apparent fame at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Traditional village fetes took place annually around the farming and harvesting schedule, with the entire village participating in various activities that included sports, animal baiting, eating and drinking. Our knowledge of women\u2019s cricket played at the inter-village level and feast occasions is limited. This is due to the slow growth of local papers, which in later decades proved invaluable in providing an insight into village activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Social_background\"><\/span>Social background<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The limited information available through contemporary magazines and newspapers indicates that participants were from rural society. A popular structure of the games was married versus single. It is important to note that the division of players by marital status was not reserved for women; men\u2019s games in feast settings were similarly divided. The differentiation between married and unmarried was an important feature of rural society. Games were an opportunity for single members of the community to impress members of the opposite sex in their quest for marriage. Sporting prowess was a method of drawing positive attention to oneself for prospective life partners. As one anonymous observer noted, \u2018nothing is more usual than for a nimble-footed wench to get a husband at the same time as she wins a smock\u2019. &nbsp;Although the occasion was steeped in frivolity, it is clear that some of the women took the game seriously and were intent on winning. At a game between \u2018XI Maids of Surrey and XI Married Ladies of Surrey\u2019 at Felly Green on 11 July 1788, Miss S. Norcross scored 107, which is the first known century by a woman. Victors were also awarded prizes, similar to the prizes awarded to women who won races during festivity days. Typically, these were more homely than monetary, with plum-cakes, ale, lace, gloves or spoons being awarded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As early as 1773, there is evidence that some women cricketers recognised their own potential to make money. In Bury, trial matches were held for the selection of a representative Bury team to challenge an All England women\u2019s team. It was reported, \u2018so famous are the Bury women at a cricket match that they offer to play against an eleven in any village in their own county for any sum\u2019. Similarly, in 1775, six single women beat six married women at Moulsey Hurst by seventeen runs, where \u2018many London gentlemen were present and there were great bets depending\u2019. In 1777, a match was played in Wiltshire, for \u00a350 and a barrel of ale, between eleven married and eleven maiden women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Women cricketers sometimes attracted crowds who admired their skill and athleticism. In 1792, the players in a match between Rotherby and Hoby, two hamlets in Leicestershire, were said to have performed \u201castonishing feats of skill and agility\u201d, and after the match, the bowlers of the winning side were \u201cimmediately placed in a sort of triumphal car, preceded by music and flying streamers, and this conducted home by the youths of Rotherby, amidst the acclamation of a numerous group of pleased spectators.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Country_house_cricket\"><\/span>Country house cricket<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Upper-class women also played cricket, albeit away from any spectators in private country houses. The first known instance of an upper-class, private, women\u2019s cricket game was reported in the Lady\u2019s and Gentleman\u2019s Magazine, published in September 1777. The magazine contained an account and engraving of the match \u2018played at Seven Oaks by the Countess of Derby and other Ladies of Quality\u2019 (below). The Countess was clearly surprised that her match had become public knowledge, responding to a gentleman\u2019s comment on her batting style with the shocked statement, \u201cIn the name of wonder&#8230;.how came you know anything of my cricket-match\u201d? This match is of particular importance, not only for being the first of its kind, but for its romantic sub-plot. It was reported that during the cricket match, the eighth Duke of Hamilton fell in love with one of the players,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/?page_id=2000#Elizabeth_Anne_Burrell_1757_-1837\"> <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-early-cricket-hall-of-fame\/#Elizabeth_Burrell_1757_-1837\">Miss Elizabeth Ann Burrell<\/a>, due to her cricketing skills. The Newcastle Courant reported, \u2018when she took the bat in her hand, then her Diana-like air communicated an irresistible impression. She got more notches in the 1st and 2nd innings than any lady in the game&#8217;. They were married before the start of the coming cricket season. This encounter promoted the concept that not all women who engaged in physical activity were unfeminine and repelled the opposite sex, even suggesting that their athletic ability may be an added attraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:68% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"305\" src=\"http:\/\/earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Women-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-357 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Women-1.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Women-1-300x141.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>A 1779 cricket match played by the Countess of Derby, sister of the Duke of&nbsp;Hamilton, who married Miss Elizabeth Burrell. Apart from anything else, this painting is a good illustration of the very early bowling action.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:32px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Miss_Wicket\"><\/span>Miss Wicket<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"484\" height=\"614\" src=\"http:\/\/earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Wicket-and-Trigger-e1691845782697.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-687 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Wicket-and-Trigger-e1691845782697.jpg 484w, https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Wicket-and-Trigger-e1691845782697-236x300.jpg 236w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 484px) 100vw, 484px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>A print from 1778. The caption says, \u201cMiss Wicket and Miss Trigger. Miss Trigger you see is an excellent shot, And forty-five notches Miss Wicket\u2019s just got.\u201d Miss Trigger is standing on a piece of paper on which the word effeminacy is clearly written, so the artist is being critical even though the ladies seem in good spirits. Also worth noting is that the cross-legged stance was considered unladylike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Miss Wicket, meanwhile, has been suggested to be Elizabeth Anne Burrell, later the Duchess of Hamilton ~(mentioned above). Note the two stump wicket, although to be fair, the third stump only started to be used in 1776.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:35px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"398\" height=\"326\" src=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Tickets.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4053 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Tickets.jpg 398w, https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Tickets-300x246.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 398px) 100vw, 398px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>These two illustrations are from tickets to matches &#8211; on the left for the Oxfordshire Cricket Club (1787), on the right for the Ladies Cricket Club (1785); I am afraid I know nothing more. In particular, I wish I knew what the Ladies Cricket Club was or where it was based. It was probably a team put together for a single game, but I have no idea where that may have been. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I see that the lady is a rip-off from the Miss Wicket picture, and the two stump wicket has been retained. On the left, by 1787, it had changed.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:33px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1811_%E2%80%93_The_first_Womens_County_Match\"><\/span>1811 &#8211; The first Women&#8217;s County Match<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1811, a women\u2019s cricket match took place in Clapham. This was made famous by the publication of Thomas Rowland\u2019s \u2018Cricket Match Extraordinary\u2019 picture published in Pierce Egan\u2019s Book of Sports (see below). Billed as the first women\u2019s \u2018county match\u2019, two amateur noblemen organised the game between their respective counties, Hampshire and Surrey, for 500 guineas a side. The noblemen paid to transport the women to London in carriages and arranged temporary residence at the Angel Inn, Islington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/files\/50373\/50373-h\/images\/ill-227.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>Poster advertising the great game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, a point made by John Gloustone in his book, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/my-library-of-early-cricket\/#Hambledon_%E2%80%93_The_Men_and_the_Myths_%E2%80%93_John_Goulstone_2001\">Hambledon, The Men and the Myths<\/a><\/em>, is that most matches were advertised as being for 500 Guineas even when this was widely improbable. Indeed, his research has found several instances where the actual prize was only a tenth of what was advertised to the public. So the poster is less than reliable!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:35px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"588\" height=\"415\" src=\"http:\/\/earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Rural-Sports-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-352 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Rural-Sports-1.jpg 588w, https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Rural-Sports-1-300x212.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 588px) 100vw, 588px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>Rural Sports or a Cricket Match Extraordinary Hampshire v Surrey &#8211; Thomas Rowlandson &#8211; 1811. The illustration has much of the bawdy caricature about it, and some have compared it, perhaps harshly, to a brothel scene. You can, however, see the commitment of the players to the game &#8211; this is a match being played in earnest. I do wonder, though, why there is a smoking brick kiln so prominent in the background? Note also the two-stump wicket as well, which had started to be phased out in 1775, over 35 years previously.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:39px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/files\/50373\/50373-h\/images\/ill-228.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>Another illustration of the same match. Now with a three-stump wicket. A short pitch, though.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:31px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Womens_cricket_in_the_Nineteenth_Century\"><\/span>Women&#8217;s cricket in the Nineteenth Century<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the occasional promising activity recorded above, women&#8217;s cricket was to die away in the first half of the Victorian era (1837 &#8211; 1901), presumably as a result of the restrictive code within which ladies were expected to operate. Only towards the end of the century were the first signs of a revival to be seen, when, in 1887, the White Heather club was founded in Yorkshire by eight ladies, and during the next two decades, a small number of other women&#8217;s clubs appeared. This growth in the women&#8217;s game proceeded slowly but steadily through the Twentieth Century and has only picked up pace over the last twenty years as the game has become professionalised. The missed opportunity to develop women&#8217;s cricket in the Nineteenth Century was an immense loss to the game; you only have to look at the advantages enjoyed by a genuine two-gender sport such as tennis to understand the scale of the error. Cricket is a great game; it could have been, and could yet be, so much better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Round-arm_bowling_and_Christiana_Willes\"><\/span>Round-arm bowling and Christiana Willes<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Another matter I would like to consider is round-arm bowling, often described as a female invention. The instigation of round-arm bowling lies well beyond the time border of this website, but it is such an important matter and so often repeated, that it is impossible to resist considering it. The story, in its commonly accepted form, is told in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/labybird-history-of-cricket\/\">Ladybird Story of Cricket<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"773\" src=\"http:\/\/earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/LB7-1024x773.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-139\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/LB7-1024x773.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/LB7-300x227.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/LB7-768x580.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/LB7-1536x1160.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/LB7.jpg 1888w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:33px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>So is this story true? Well, there are some small difficulties:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The first point to make is that this story is really about round-arm bowling (not overarm), where the arm comes through at shoulder height (a little like the brilliant former Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The second point is that round-arm bowling was first tried by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/the-early-cricket-hall-of-fame\/#Thomas_Walker_1762_%E2%80%93_1831\">Tom Walker<\/a> of Hambledon in the 1790s, frowned on and abandoned without being formally outlawed. The instance described here occurred in 1806, so it wasn&#8217;t fully an innovation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The third point is that the crinoline dress part of the story is not plausible &#8211; women weren\u2019t wearing hooped crinoline in the early years of the nineteenth century. Also, it is not referred to in source material, it is clearly a modern embellishment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Notwithstanding these points, the core of the story still contains a great deal that is very likely true. Christiana Willes (later Hodges) was the supposed bowler, and the player who did most to promote round-arm bowling in the elite game was definitely her brother, John Willes. Not everyone accepted the story. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/my-library-of-early-cricket\/#Cricket_%E2%80%93_A_history_of_its_Growth_and_Development_throughout_the_World_%E2%80%93_Rowland_Bowen_1970\">Rowland Bowen, <\/a>for instance, regards it as fanciful. Meanwhile, others told a similar story but with a different player\/sister combination. William Lambert is one player who has been mentioned in this context, and George Knight another. John Major, though, provided more details, tracking the story to its source<sup data-fn=\"c39c6ab4-3ee1-4841-849a-f9f3117a4c28\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#c39c6ab4-3ee1-4841-849a-f9f3117a4c28\" id=\"c39c6ab4-3ee1-4841-849a-f9f3117a4c28-link\">4<\/a><\/sup> &#8211; Christiana&#8217;s son, John\u2019s nephew, Richard, who, in his old age, recounted it in a letter. He said that his mother inspired John to try round-arm bowling by using this technique when they practiced together and, as noted above, did not mention the crinoline dress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What is certain is that it was from 1807 onwards that John Willes himself began to use round-arm from time to time, bringing his arm through at shoulder height. The technique was controversial and was formally outlawed in 1816 &#8211; the laws were changed to say that the bowling hand had to be below the elbow at the moment of delivery. Willes, however, continued to bowl round-arm when the mood took him and, in a 1822 game, this resulted in his being continuously no-balled and his walking off the field in mid-match, and riding away, never to play again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The controversy continued, though, with bowlers gradually winning the argument. The prohibition was marginally relaxed in 1828 (the hand could be at elbow height), it was further relaxed in 1835 (the hand could be shoulder height) before being fully removed in 1864, when overarm bowling was given license to become the norm. This is often identified as the birth of modern cricket. Underarm still persisted for many decades, with the last significant practitioner, George Simpson-Hayward<sup data-fn=\"26386790-4813-47f8-bc82-95688e655209\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#26386790-4813-47f8-bc82-95688e655209\" id=\"26386790-4813-47f8-bc82-95688e655209-link\">5<\/a><\/sup> (23 wickets from 5 Tests at 18.3), playing his last game for Worcestershire in 1914.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I still have more to say, though. My father, born in 1927, died in 2020, late in life could still recall seeing one underarm bowler in action at a decent level. The player was Billy Hollies, father of the England leg spinner Eric Hollies and was born in April 1883. The time my father recalled was about 1940, when Billy would have been around 53. He was playing in Division 2 of the famous Birmingham League for the great Black Country club, Old Hill. Dad recalled one season when Hollies senior got 94 wickets, mostly through prodigious spin. One of Old Hill&#8217;s former players, <a href=\"https:\/\/birminghamleague.org\/story\/old_hill_stalwart_ron_dovey_reaches_104_not_out_3923\">Ron Dovey<\/a>, club captain for many years, played with Billy Hollies and died in 2024, aged 104. Perhaps the last tenuous link with an era of cricket whose end may well have been initiated by the actions of a young lady, over two hundred years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Further_Reading\"><\/span>Further Reading<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/uksportinglife.wordpress.com\/2020\/01\/26\/a-history-of-english-womens-cricket-1880-1939-judy-threlfall-sykes\/\"><em>A History of English Women\u2019s Cricket, 1880-1939<\/em> : Judy Threlfall-Sykes (PhD thesis)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/my-library-of-early-cricket\/#Skirting_the_Boundary_%E2%80%93_A_History_of_Womens_Cricket_%E2%80%93_Isabelle_Duncan_2013\">Skirting the Boundary \u2013 A History of Women\u2019s Cricket \u2013 Isabelle Duncan (2013)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ladies and Lords: A History of Women\u2019s Cricket in Britain &#8211; Rafaelle Nicholson<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Footnotes\"><\/span>Footnotes<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-footnotes\"><li id=\"c0e27001-dbd4-41f6-9cd9-c610f696ccbc\"><a href=\"https:\/\/uksportinglife.wordpress.com\/2020\/01\/26\/a-history-of-english-womens-cricket-1880-1939-judy-threlfall-sykes\/\">History of Women&#8217;s Cricket<\/a>  <a href=\"#c0e27001-dbd4-41f6-9cd9-c610f696ccbc-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 1\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"de73e5eb-d58e-4107-aae3-05c60054f449\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bl.uk\/untoldlives\/2016\/07\/girls-bowled-batted-ran-and-catched.html\">British Library blog<\/a> <a href=\"#de73e5eb-d58e-4107-aae3-05c60054f449-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 2\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"1ba39a50-f543-4f8c-aa1a-2a54f4a4cd40\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/sussex-cricket-in-the-eighteenth-century-timothy-mccann-2004\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1930\">McCann<\/a>; page 52 <a href=\"#1ba39a50-f543-4f8c-aa1a-2a54f4a4cd40-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 3\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"c39c6ab4-3ee1-4841-849a-f9f3117a4c28\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/my-library-of-early-cricket\/#More_Than_a_Game_%E2%80%93_John_Major_2007\">Major<\/a> <a href=\"#c39c6ab4-3ee1-4841-849a-f9f3117a4c28-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 4\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"26386790-4813-47f8-bc82-95688e655209\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.espncricinfo.com\/cricketers\/george-simpson-hayward-20197\">Cricinfo<\/a> <a href=\"#26386790-4813-47f8-bc82-95688e655209-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 5\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>General Other than this page, this site is about men&#8217;s cricket. That is largely because nearly all of the literature and other sources of information, such as paintings and poems, relate to the game as played by men. This page is an attempt to adjust the balance, even if only a little. Sadly, few books [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":true,"footnotes":"[{\"content\":\"<a href=\\\"https:\/\/uksportinglife.wordpress.com\/2020\/01\/26\/a-history-of-english-womens-cricket-1880-1939-judy-threlfall-sykes\/\\\">History of Women's Cricket<\/a> \",\"id\":\"c0e27001-dbd4-41f6-9cd9-c610f696ccbc\"},{\"content\":\"<a href=\\\"https:\/\/blogs.bl.uk\/untoldlives\/2016\/07\/girls-bowled-batted-ran-and-catched.html\\\">British Library blog<\/a>\",\"id\":\"de73e5eb-d58e-4107-aae3-05c60054f449\"},{\"content\":\"<a href=\\\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/sussex-cricket-in-the-eighteenth-century-timothy-mccann-2004\/\\\" data-type=\\\"page\\\" data-id=\\\"1930\\\">McCann<\/a>; page 52\",\"id\":\"1ba39a50-f543-4f8c-aa1a-2a54f4a4cd40\"},{\"content\":\"<a href=\\\"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/my-library-of-early-cricket\/#More_Than_a_Game_%E2%80%93_John_Major_2007\\\">Major<\/a>\",\"id\":\"c39c6ab4-3ee1-4841-849a-f9f3117a4c28\"},{\"content\":\"<a href=\\\"https:\/\/www.espncricinfo.com\/cricketers\/george-simpson-hayward-20197\\\">Cricinfo<\/a>\",\"id\":\"26386790-4813-47f8-bc82-95688e655209\"}]"},"class_list":["post-608","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/PdOpLv-9O","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=608"}],"version-history":[{"count":89,"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5167,"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/608\/revisions\/5167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}