Ladies cricket seems to run along a parallel timeline, one that ostensibly limps behind the rest of the sporting world. Unfortunately, each milestone is delayed. For instance, it was 211 years before women were granted membership of Marylebone Cricket Club in 1998 and allowed to set foot within the hallowed grounds of Lord’s pavilion, despite this club being in operation since 1787. The first ladies test match did not occur until 1934, while their male counterparts had been playing test cricket comfortably since 1877. And now, to absolutely no one’s surprise, ICC want to put an end to women’s test cricket on the poor excuse that it “lacks talent and appeal”.
While ladies cricket is still dismissed by many as being ‘boring’ and ‘a waste of time’, it consequently leaves the community oblivious to the current state of the female side of the sport. In particular, the future of women’s cricket in the North West is arguably something of a concern. With Donemana and Bonds Glen now gone from the yearly fixtures due to a lack of players, it leaves only a measly seven teams in the league. Some of which struggle as it is to scrape a weekly team together. Speaking to the Burndennett skipper, Julie Logue, the former international player commented how “. Additionally, Alana Dalzell, a talented all- rounder who has represented Ireland at underage level feels that the North West
Here is the million dollar question… are women losing interest in playing cricket?
Simply put, it would not be difficult to comprehend why cricket has become lacklustre for so many women. Being a player myself I personally feel that there are a multitude of reasons why females are less motivated to play, a few of which I will mention in this article. To begin, the sad reality is that ladies matches receive very little support in terms of spectators. This is not due to poor promotion of our weekly fixtures on social media, and it is certainly not due to a lack of skills at the crease and on the outfield. Feelings of discouragement come with ease when you knock the bails off a player’s stumps and look excitedly out to the pavilion to see only of handful of people have appeared to watch the game. Similar sensibilities emerge when you take a catch or hit a four, get a run-out or win the match. The destitute social atmosphere can disturb the overall energy of a team, which in turn can affect their performance. Poor support can lead to disillusioned players, who will ideally leave the pitch thinking “what value does winning the match hold if no one is here to celebrate it with us?”.
Undoubtedly, cricket has always been a male dominated sport and it would be a rarity if women were not familiar with the feeling of ineptitude. From my perspective, feeling inadequate while playing this sport can be due to a lack of female role models within the sporting community. While there is nothing wrong with idolising our talented male players, young girls need to see confidence, success and determination showcased through another strong woman, in order for them to anticipate themselves doing the same thing in the future. Constantly being starved of female players in the media can erode a person’s determination for playing the game and suddenly, their dreams of representing their country at international level will seem more unrealistic than realistic.
Did you know the adept Clare Shillington and Ciara Metclafe have retired from international cricket? Did you know Sarah Taylor openly struggled and defeated crippling anxiety during a large portion of her cricketing career? No? Yet everyone is mindful of Alastair Cooke’s retirement and Jos Butler’s first test century. Evidently, there are not a lack of female role models in cricket, we just are not made aware of them. Media, in every form, overlooks female athletes and only 5% of broadcasters in the UK are dedicated enough to air ladies cricket. While others claim it is a lost cause because “it’s like watching children play”. The Sun itself claimed it was an “undignified sight” watching females compete. Until we alter the perception of the population and help society discover all these talented sportswomen, public health will continue to suffer because females will be hesitant to participate in sport without having someone to idolise. Increase the visibility of ladies cricket, employ woman broadcasters, journalists, team officials, coaches, bring equality not just to the field but to every aspect of the sport. As a result, identities will no longer be insecure. This will motivate more women to play.
The reluctance to play cricket also stems from the uphill battle of sexism. In tennis, rugby, basketball, cycling, athletics – basically, in any sport where a woman strives to be an accomplished contender, you will find talk of her body shape, the lack of femininity and her ‘not so good’ performance bluntly permeating the conversation. Not only does this taint the integrity of every sport but it damages a player’s passion and love for the game. While biological differences can prevent males and females from competing against each other, it does not mean that this should justify the irrelevant scrutiny and view of women as a cultural anomaly. You do not need masculinity to bowl a ball, it is down to people underestimating the skills that are often showcased in women’s sport. It is down to people not wanting the ‘weaker sex’ to spoil the purity of a male dominated sport, in case they might actually be good at it. And in my opinion if you hold this belief, then you are the driving force that is discouraging women to play and you are exhibiting nothing only poor sportsmanship.
So what exactly can be done to achieve a level playing field and motivate females to play? Start off by supporting women. Come to our matches, help promote our fixtures and successes on social media to encourage others to play. Be unashamed of challenging these outdated discriminatory views. Stop yourself before remarking on someone’s performance and say “will whatever I’m about to say hurt someone’s feelings?” or “can I say this in a more constructive way?” (hint: the answer is always yes). There is a small minority of people who already do these things, and they certainly never go unnoticed. Considering everything is backwards and female athletes face chauvinism daily, these people are setting examples and creating the right mould for society to stick to.
Women’s cricket acts as a lens for which we can see that traditional views are still embodied in a modern society. While I begrudgingly understand that women playing sport is still not universally accepted, in this contemporary age no one can afford to endorse such bigoted views. No one is subscribed to a model of domesticity anymore, even though many expect females to still abide to it. On behalf of every woman, we just want an audience, we just want our performances to be seen and to be remembered. We want to enjoy the game, and be appreciated equally as much as every other competitor. Children aren’t born with the knowledge of the male paradigm within sport, something happens along the way and adults must set an example. To conclude, I will leave you with some imprinting words of wisdom from Karren Brady which I feel perfectly sum up my article – “in a sport, women have to be twice as good as the men to be thought of as even half as good”.