The Original English Lady Cricketers were the first recorded paid

women's cricket Women's cricket is the form of the team sport of cricket when played by women only. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries around the world and 108 national teams participate internationally. 11 of them have WTest and WODI ...

teams. The sides toured

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

between 1890 and 1892. The Cricketers were formed in 1889 by French-American entrepreneur Mr. E. Michael after he advertised for young single women "of good address and appearance, respectable, strong, active, not under 5ft. 6in. in height or over twenty-two years of age." Consisting of thirty players divided into a 'Red XI' and a 'Blue XI', with an average of nineteen, the Cricketers played over sixty exhibition games throughout Britain in the summer of 1890, with each match reportedly drawing over 2,000 paying spectators. The first game, played at the Athletic Police Ground in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

on 7 April 1890, attracted over 15,000 people, although games were often accompanied by other entertainments including animal performances. After public interest declined the managers absconded with the funds and the team was disbanded.

Reception

Most women's cricket at the time was played behind closed doors at colleges such as

Royal Holloway Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...

and Bedford College. While a matron was hired to chaperone all the Cricketers' engagements, and playing outfits were designed to limit bare skin, the press largely reacted negatively to the venture. The fact players were paid was deemed socially unacceptable to many journalists at a time when amateurism dominated English sport, while others journalists believed women's cricket was evidence of "feminine muscularity getting just a shade too rampant."

W. G. Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English Amateur status in first-class cricket, amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest players. He played ...

commented that the sides had been a dismal failure, concluding "cricket is not a game for women and although they occasionally join in a picnic game they are not constitutionally adapted for the sport."

Marjorie Pollard Marjorie Anne Pollard (3 August 1899 – 21 March 1982) was an English field hockey and cricket player, film maker and writer. She was the first woman to commentate on sport for the BBC. Early life Marjorie Pollard was born in Rugby, Warwickshi ...

of the

Women's Cricket Association The Women's Cricket Association (WCA) was responsible for the running of women's cricket in England between 1926 and 1998. It was formed by a group of enthusiasts following a cricket holiday in Malvern. Forty-nine games were arranged in that first ...

, an anti-commercial and pro-amateur organisation, wrote in the 1934 that the Cricketers "‘savoured of exploitation, and was not a genuine effort to provide cricket as a summer game."

References

{{reflist History of women's cricket English cricket in the 19th century Women's cricket teams in England