Cricket Witness No 4 - Women at the WIcket

67 ‘Too much emphasis on personal comfort’ specifically for women like netball were deliberately engineered to prevent over-exertive play. The editor of Women’s Cricket , Marjorie Pollard, publicly maintained a county competition (which was not introduced until 1980) was an ‘unfriendly thing’ that merely served for ‘the glorification of the few’, while WCA print media emphasised their incursion into the game as purely for ‘comradeship… sheer joy and exercise’. 25 The Association never marketed cricket as a commercial endeavour, and any profit from gate receipts was used to further promote and support the game. Players did not gain financially or materially, although many were wealthy enough that this mattered little. These efforts amounted to a coordinated attempt to restrain competitive, over-strenuous elements of the game, and guarantee cricket was played for the game’s sake and not aggressively in the pursuit of prizes. The WCA’s approach was said to encourage a friendlier atmosphere which placed participation above individual glory or team success, and therefore prioritised the social aspect of cricket, which was deemed more appropriate for a woman’s supposed natural temperament. Restriction on clothing was another way femininity was enhanced and competitiveness constrained. The shorts worn by female footballers were East Molesey Ladies’ Hockey Club pictured in their inaugural year, 1887: the first recorded women’s hockey club. In contrast to football, the game’s attire was liberalised very little before the Second World War, with the All-England Women’s Hockey Association requiring players to wear long skirts, black stockings and ties into the 1930s. (National Hockey Museum)