CRICKET FOR WOMEN

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 60, 4 December 1937, Page 5 (Supplement)

CRICKET FOR WOMEN

Aus Ira 1i an Tour P roposed For January

JS cricket for women a waste of time? It is a question often asked and one which nine times out of ten is answered in the affirmative—specially by members of the male sex, who are apt to look down their noses at the sight of a women's game in progress and to make uncomplimentary remarks about it being “futile” and ‘unutterably boring." But the attitude of sportswomen in Wellington seem to point to their being something wrong with this opinion; one and all, they approve of cricket as one of the most suitable games for women.

JL'ST now there is a further stimulus Io women’s cricket circles in the Dominion as the result of a proposed Australian tour toward the end of January. New South Wales, from whom the invitation has come, Ims offered to pay the fares one way, amounting to £l2O. an'd to provide private hospitality for the team. But, tempting as the offer is, there are flaws in the tentative arrangements which are causing the New Zealand Women’s Cricket Council to consider seriously before giving a definite answer. The various clubs and the associations to which they are affiliated are dissatisfied with the itinerary arranged for them by the Australians, since in a three-weeks tour only one week will be taken up with cricket matches. Moreover, that week is to consist of only one two-day game and two one-day games—an amount which seems scarcely to warrant the trip across the Tasman. Suggested alterations in the itinerary, however, are to be made, and if these are put into effect the tour should prove both profitable and enjoyable. It will be an excellent experience for those selected and should go far toward making cricket even more of a woman’s game by giving it a Dominion-wide interest. Not Too Strenuous. JT has been argued that cricket is not a game for women on account of it being too strenuous. That all depends on how individual players take it. It is impossible for any woman, no matter how much of an Amazon she may be, to bowl with the strength of a man—and for that reason the cricket council has prohibited matches against men’s teams. So, provided women are wise and do not try to force a strength that is not there, they will feel fitter at the end of a game than they did at the beginning. As witnesses of this fact, take any of the 'Wellington clubs. Their players are composed very largely of girls from shops and offices, yet they show by their preference to spend Saturday afternoons at the wickets just how much benefit they derive from the sport, both as an exercise and as a recreation. But King Willow does not hold only the “bachelor” girls in thrall; domestic worries fade into a very vague

b.-ickground :is the jeuucs maries, and even the iiot-.so-.jeunes, yield themselves to his call. Quite a surprising number of married women in Wellington play cricket and in time come to regartl it as the only summer game worth playing. Hockey Plus Cricket. for Wellington this fact has a •special significance. Nearly all the keen cricket players round the city are great hockey enthusiasts as well. And in hockey, perhaps more than in any other game, a strong team spirit is necessary for success. This spirit is something which grows on one, "and the closing of the hockey season leaves its _ followers with that “stranded” feeling which most of them find easiest to overcome by joining forces on the cricket fields. For cricket is essentially a team game, whereas in tennis or swimming the striving is generally for individual laurels, it is interesting to note what great sports women cricketers are; the proverbial feminine “cattiness,” sometimes evidenced in other sports, is practically unknown on the cricket field. 'When it is manifested, it is usually the outcome of one member of a team trying to excel the others—to her personal glorification. And in that case, perhaps, even “cattiness” is justifiable. An example of the progress made by ' women in the cricket world is given by a leading English player—a man, by the way. His tribute may sound a little cynical, but nevertheless it is a tribute. He says; “Women have at last achieved the seemingly impossible —a neat uniform and over-arm bowling.” It is quite true. Regulations in-. sist on women players wearing a short, white, divided-skirt frock and also on adopting that very necessary bugbear, over-arm bowling, it cannot be denied, however, that the whole ensemble looks well on the field.

So, in spite of their physical limitations, it seems as if women may some day establish themselves—and in the eyes of the now-scornful menfolk as well—as really talented exponents of (he game. Certainly their enthusiasm for it leaves nothing to be desired; and (he whole world knows a woman's tenacity of purpose!—H.C.W.