England's Girl Cricketers
("^ewyorkSun.") ' } i • The sweet : girl cricketers, over whose, clever -'playing even the imperturbable* Briton- is working himself into quite a' frenzy of enthusiasm, .are demonstrating^ anew the truth af the old axiom that ai woman cannot throw; 1/ko a man, because; as the small boy expresses it, her shoulderjj isn't built :that way. 'These " original! lady cricketers"—and indeed noonedoubts j the originality and uniqueness of their proceedings—aro chosen from among girls having' a previous' knowledge of the Hport, and who have been m training about Bix months. They dis-' pLiy so intich ' skill"' that all preconceived idea, on the subject of their capability are completely revolutionised on beholding them. Their bowling has been excellent m the recent matches, and most of, the players bowled overhand, The direction w»s good,"the distances well judged, and some of the most skilful players succeeded m putting a good deal of break on the ball. The "swiftness which comes from great strength was soinolinv.Ks Lie-king, but this will develop with longer practice, ;md indeed was somewhat formidable, as tho reds ran up a score of 155 m one game before, they were put out. The hitting "is eveij mpr'j remarkable than the bowling, for oh 'the 1 largest cricketing grounds* irnimborn of Halls are driven to'the', extreme-boundary. The captain of one of the beams hit with remarkable, ease and confidence, and 'scored no less than 91 of tho 133 made while she was at tho wicket m the London" matchi '■;:: v \>, ,»• / The girls %T3 Ti#y\sihar band clever at stopping balls as well, and many of them tun with wonderful swiftness and endurance. All of which goes to show that gjrls" may bpwlanrl bat, catch, and run, but when it comes to throwing all the traditions of their sax manifest themselves. With the exception of two or three of the more, vsltilful players the throwing w«s so feeble and ineffectual that the'ball must be-thrown by two or three hands from the fjeld before it reached the wickets, and it was usually' safe to .start for another run after tlio fielder had handled the ball. I-Even' those who w<)ve most proficient, and wholby strength and practice were enabled to send the'ball up at a fair rate of speed,,, threw it "m the true; girl way,, with the _ action rom tlie ' elbow instead' of from t the shoulder, and entirely [ without; thlv^; peculiar little twist of the arm which seems to be instinct with a boy m throwing, as is the cunning displayed by birds m building theirnests or trillling the^ song peculiar to their species. It is an instinct that is lacking m women, and •cannot be nciquirea any more than ; tlie robin can learn to build a swallow's nest of clay by looking on, or the sparrow sing .the nightingale's rhapsody by taking vocal lessors. They threw without,a momentj's delajjr,;hfeiwjever,': giving'f \^ii iyery chancesto thojbafcswomeht ffidiihe general opinioii repeated over and over again was:—"l had no idea that girls could ever play like that."
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AG18901015.2.7
Bibliographic details
England's Girl Cricketers, Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2544, 15 October 1890
Word Count
501England's Girl Cricketers Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2544, 15 October 1890
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