Christiana Willes (1786–1873), also known by her married name Christiana Hodges, was an early nineteenth century

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er and the sister of John Willes. She has sometimes been attributed as the founder of

roundarm bowling In cricket, roundarm bowling is a bowling style that was introduced in the first quarter of the 19th century and largely superseded underarm bowling by the 1830s. Using a roundarm action, the bowlers extend their arm about 90 degrees from their ...

but it is known that the style was originated by Tom Walker. Many cricket sources name her as Christina rather than Christiana, but

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...

and the

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

are adamant that Christiana was the correct spelling of her name.

Biography

The earliest record of Christiana Willes is her baptism, on 20 February 1786 at

Headcorn Headcorn is a village and civil parish in the borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The parish is on the floodplain of the River Beult south east of Maidstone. The village is 8 mi (13 km) southeast of Maidstone, on the A274 road to T ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, as daughter of Sarah Snelling and William Willes, landowners, who in 1794 had inherited the manor of Tonford near

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

. She married on 24 September 1810 Lieutenant Richard Thomas Hodges RN, is thought to have lived in

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

for a time, but to have moved elsewhere. Her son, Edward Hodges, was born at her brother John's house in

Sutton Valence Sutton Valence (in the past also called Sudtone, Town Sutton and Sutton Hastings, see below) is a village about five miles (8 km) SE of Maidstone, Kent, England on the A274 road going south to Headcorn and Tenterden. It is on the Greensand ...

in 1819. Her husband died in 1841; Christiana died on 14 June 1873 at

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

Roundarm bowling

Roundarm bowling was first developed about 1788 by Tom Walker of the

Hambledon Club The Hambledon Club was a social club that is famous for its organisation of 18th century cricket matches. By the late 1770s it was the foremost cricket club in England. Foundation The origin of the club, based near Hambledon in rural Hampshire, ...

but the club ordered him not to use it in matches. In the early nineteenth century, Christiana Willes helped her brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, who played for

, to practice by bowling to him. The story goes that she found

underarm bowling Underarm bowling is a style of bowling in cricket. The style is as old as the sport itself. Until the introduction of the roundarm style in the first half of the 19th century, bowling was performed in the same way as in the sport of bowls, with ...

difficult in a hooped skirt, and so in around 1807, she began bowling in a roundarm style. Developing her technique through experimentation, she naturally bowled with a higher arm due to her skirts, and found roundarm to be far more successful for her than underarm. Major rejects the "hooped skirt" story because, as he says, "they were no longer in vogue by 1807". The

traces the story of Christiana's supposed contribution to cricket, noting that her son Edward Hodges wrote about his mother playing cricket with her brother John Willes, a Kent county player identified with the round-arm bowling style. Hodges' account makes mention neither of crinoline nor of roundarm bowling, merely that Christiana, John and their dog could beat any eleven in England. The ODNB states that the story was picked up in Hodges' obituary in ''

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' and subsequently retold by

F. S. Ashley-Cooper Frederick Samuel Ashley-Cooper (born c. 22 March 1877 in Bermondsey, London; died 31 January 1932 in Milford, near Godalming, Surrey) was a cricket historian and statistician. According to ''Wisden'', Ashley-Cooper wrote "103 books and pamphlets ...

in ''Highways and Byways'' (1927); it was rejected by

Rowland Bowen Major Rowland Francis Bowen (27 February 1916 – 4 September 1978) was a British Army officer and a cricket researcher, historian and writer. Educated at Westminster School, Bowen received an emergency commission in April 1942 into the In ...

in ''Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development'' (1970);Bowen, pp. 180–181. but tentatively accepted by other writers as part of the folklore of cricket.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Christiana 1786 births 1873 deaths Women's cricket in England English cricket in the 19th century English women cricketers