Cricket Witness No 4 - Women at the WIcket

118 presented as a moral safeguard against social ills and a method of shaping girls towards productive forms of leisure. Employers and games mistresses were not the only people to extol the benefits of the game. Albert Lawton, captain of Derbyshire before the First World War, spoke of how women could benefit both physically and mentally from playing the game. ‘Rightly or wrongly we men ascribe to the opposite sex a profound liking for spitefulness, for mean gossip and tittle tattle’, he wrote in Women’s Cricket , ‘but of this I am convinced: the more that women play cricket the quicker will this petty side of their nature be eradicated.’ For Lawton, the game promised to ‘breakdown antagonism between the sexes’ and it was therefore of ‘national importance’ it was adopted in large numbers. He called for players to ignore their critics and instead absorb the game as if it was a ‘microbe’ to be ingested for mental and physical well-being. Letters published in the national press also praised the game for its ability to give girls self-confidence, self-reliance and better sociability. 30 All these characteristics, but especially the need for self-reliance and responsibility, were repeated by Marjorie Pollard in Women’s Cricket and other media. The game taught girls ‘true sportsmanship’, and lectures on moral (as well as technical) aspects were a common feature of evening entertainment at the annual Cricket Week. England opening bowler Mary Taylor publicly praised the Australian team of 1935 for ‘the splendid spirit in which they took defeat.’ 31 More broadly, cricket clubs were pillars of the local community. Often placed centrally within the English village, their geography mirrored their cultural significance as the source of regional sporting pride and a venue for a host of local events. The sight of women freely playing on these seemingly ancient and sanctified grounds was a strong visualisation of the greater self-confidence they felt in public spaces. Debates surrounding the value of competitive sports for girls mirrored wider concerns over the future role of women in society. Were they destined to return to the home as dutiful and obedient wives and mothers – as three-quarters of a million had done after the First World War – or had their newly elevated political and legal status altered their social value? Certainly, the former argument was a vocal continuation of Victorian and Edwardian domestic ideals. The precarious situation most women’s sports found themselves in, both financially and in the eyes of the public, never assured them of any permanent existence. The WCA was aware the sport’s future was not guaranteed, let alone prosperous, as the steady decline of the women’s game between 1955 and 1995 was to attest. Pollard repeatedly warned of the importance of male support, from grounds to coaching and their public image, and this was used to justify the Association’s conservatism on issues of dress and decorum. As The British Medical Journal noted in 1922, the belief that team sports were ‘detrimental to home and other interests and lessened womanly qualities’ lingered even in the minds of sympathisers, but was countered by the assurances games mistresses made of their ability to ‘encourage a public- More than a Game: Citizenship and Cricket