Cricket Witness No 4 - Women at the WIcket

131 recreation. 21 Nevertheless, as the war clouds gathered, a perfectly justified fear gripped Westminster that the poor health of the working class, so painfully exposed two decades earlier, could be the undoing of the nation. State interest in women’s sport extended further when the National Fitness Council launched an investigation into the impact of sport on women’s health. The ‘Medical Sub-Committee on the Desirability of Athletics for Women and Girls’ was initiated in March 1939 and chaired by eminent physician Sir Adolphe Abrahams. The committee was tasked with investigating the possible ill effects of strenuous exercise or competition and interviewed several leading women’s sports administrators and games mistresses. Kathleen Doman was one such interviewee, and probably the most qualified women in the country to voice her opinion. As lecturer at Dartford Physical Training College, Games Mistress at Roedean, former England lacrosse player and former captain of the England women’s hockey team, she had also served on the WCA’s committee for many years and had formally proposed the formation of the organisation in 1926. When questioned over how dangerous competitive team games were for women and girls, Doman defended cricket, lacrosse and hockey as completely safe and worthwhile pursuits. These games did not cause ‘special injuries’ simply because of a player’s sex, and she maintained athletic girls were just as ‘feminine’ in appearance and character as non-athletic girls. When asked if sports may affect future pregnancies and menstruation, claims that had doggedly clung to these sports for decades, she categorically denied this and insisted no extra measures were needed to ensure girls’ safety. 22 Doman was not the only women to be interviewed over the possible adverse effects of ‘violent’ exercise. Key members of the committee, despite a mellowing of medical opinion on the matter, still held reservations over the ‘muscular development’ of girls exposed to competitive sport. Verrall Newman, the manager of England’s women’s swimming team, also rejected presumptions the sport was somehow unfeminine or physically harmful. Newman was supported by her counterparts in tennis, rowing and hockey, all denying special measures were needed to safeguard the sports for women. Of the hundreds of questionnaires distributed by the committee, no respondent held the belief that exercise had a negative effect on a woman’s fertility. 23 The committee’s mere existence testifies to the fact women’s physical health, not just men’s, was now a matter of national importance. The investigation offered advocates of women’s sport an important platform to influence government policy. Doman, empowered by her position as the WCA’s representative, challenged the perception women’s bodies were inherently weak and restricted by their reproductive function, and contested the notion playing vigorously undermined femininity. The report was never completed due to the outbreak of war, but it is likely these leading sportswomen and administrators were able to dispel any lingering doubts physicians had over the physical, moral and national value of team games. ‘The idea a girl cannot play cricket has proved to be rubbish’