Cricket Witness No 4 - Women at the WIcket

137 Conclusion War Again, and its Aftermath When the din of world war was heard once again in Britain, women’s cricket experienced a very different fate to first time round. The First World War had liberated many women from the strict restraints of life bound to the home. Amid the austerity, danger and anguish of wartime, life on the Home Front also brought the benefits of higher pay, geographical mobility, and a relaxation of social constraints. Women who left for the Western Front often witnessed the devastation of war first-hand, but among the death and sorrow, they also grasped opportunities to have some fun. It was during these years that many women played cricket for the first time as adults. Before the war just a handful of clubs existed in the country, but by 1939 the sport was transformed. Throughout the summer of 1939 thousands of women and girls gathered on cricket fields, not to make the teas and tidy up after their menfolk, but to enjoy playing the game themselves. Hundreds of schools arranged games, universities hosted competitions, crowds assembled to watch women play, and recording began on an instructional film. Meanwhile, the government funded organisers to establish teams across the country, and existing sides from Fife to Falmouth eyed their next season optimistically. A tour to Australia was ready to set sail that winter, the players having been buoyed by the outpouring of public support they received during the home Ashes series two years previously. In the summer of 1939, the future of women’s cricket looked assured and prosperous. It did not take long for the impact of war to be felt. The tour was swiftly cancelled, National Fitness Council funding ceased, and clubs disbanded as players volunteered for King and Country. Before ending publication in September 1939, Women’s Cricket had trumpeted the ‘team games player’ for her selfless devotion to the nation, and this call was more than answered. Marjorie Pollard, the voice of women’s cricket in England for over a decade, set aside her journalism and drove an ambulance. Opening bowler Dorothy McEvoy busied herself caring for evacuated children, while the Blaker sisters (both of whom played for England) joined the Red Cross as nurses. Other players volunteered in hospitals, the National Fire Service, worked as air raid wardens, or organised charity matches to raise money for the war effort. Working-class players laboured making munitions, not runs. Those who were too old for active service set about using their executive skills – honed by years of work on the committees of the Women’s Cricket Association (WCA) – in the Land Army or in the women’s armed services. Cricketers joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service and the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, some of them seeing service abroad. 1