Oral History and Sport Conference: September 19th 2014. Raf Nicholson

“It doesn't mean I'm Women's Lib”: An Oral History of Women's Cricket

Raf NicholsonQueen Mary University of [email protected]

Introduction

Lois Bryson (1987):

“For many feminists, sport has, quite rightly, been identified as a supremely male activity and therefore eschewed, both in practice and as a topic of interest. However such an attitude cannot be sustained, since if we are to understand the processes of our domination, we ignore sport at our peril. Sport is a powerful institution through which male hegemony is constructed and reconstructed and it is only through understanding and confronting these processes that we can hope to break this domination.”

Introduction

Rachael Heyhoe-Flint, Heyhoe!, 1978:

“Taking on such a role would certainly mean challenging male supremacy, but I've been doing that for years anyway so it wouldn't be anything different! By that token it doesn't mean I'm Women's Lib. - far from it, because I value that bit of underwear they rush out and burn each week with a matinee on Wednesdays. I, too, believe in good support.”

Introduction

Lois Bryson (1987):

“For many feminists, sport has, quite rightly, been identified as a supremely male activity and therefore eschewed, both in practice and as a topic of interest. However such an attitude cannot be sustained, since if we are to understand the processes of our domination, we ignore sport at our peril. Sport is a powerful institution through which male hegemony is constructed and reconstructed and it is only through understanding and confronting these processes that we can hope to break this domination.”

Structure of the paper

1. How female cricketers relate their experiences to the term “feminism”

2. Given their rejection of the label “feminist”, how should we situate them within the feminist movement in Britain?

The interviews

-So far:

9 women, aged between 30 and 82

7 are former England players: played for England between 1968 and 2012

2 played both club and county cricket for over 40 years

Recruited through the Women's Cricket Associates

Semi-structured

1-3 hours in length

Women's cricket and feminism


RN: The other thing is that the media seems to have labelled female cricketers as “women's libbers” and seen you as feminists. I wondered what you made of that.

NW: Yes, I'm not greatly enamoured. I mean there's always somebody who will want to pick on something and chop and change it all around.

RN: So you don't think, did you see yourselves as fighting against inequality or anything like that?

NW: No, no, not really, no.


RN: Are you a feminist?

JB: Oh, I wouldn't have said so, no, no.

RN: Okay. I mean, if I said to you that people have labelled women's cricketers as feminists, what would your response be?

JB: Well I'm surprised to hear that myself. But no, I wouldn't have said so, they don't – to me a feminist is someone who is quite outspoken about things, and I don't think women's cricket, any one person is outspoken about anything like that...I suppose you're always trying to move the barrier, the men, trying to give you a few more facilities...


RN: So have any of the women that you've played cricket with been feminists, would you say?

JB: Oh I wouldn't have said so, no. That's all burning bras isn't it? I don't think any of them are like that! Obviously they like to show that they're as good as the men, and we have, we've bowled out a few men in our time playing in the friendly games and things…so no. No feminists I don’t think.

RN: Do you feel like the Women's Libbers in the 1970s had any impact on women's cricket?

JB: Erm, well I suppose probably then it made, we had quite a strong team in the '70s, so people were about. Whether it made people who thought they couldn't play could now play, possibly. Yeah, just possibly.


RN: And might that be linked to Women's Liberation in the '70s at all, or?

CM: I...probably not, because I can imagine the effect that any strident Women's Libber had on most cricket organisations would have been very negative. It was, for me personally, it was a very softly softly approach, not being strident and saying “we must have this, we must have that”, because you don't get anywhere. And that's, I like to think I helped in that respect by understanding and not banging on the door and saying, “you must give us this, you must”. You needed to be far more diplomatic than that. And you could persuade people that it was worth considering, instead of demanding. That would have been fatal, you'd have turned everybody against you.


RN: But yet it seems to have made you cross, some of the ways in which women's cricket was being treated, so discouragingly I guess.

CM: Yeah it was frustrating, it was very frustrating, but if there's only a certain amount of money to go round. But it's a very good sport, a very good sport. I'm not saying we want to compete with the men but if men do come and watch women's cricket at top level they realise that at the technical side of things we're just as good as the men...some cricket men, male spectators say they prefer to watch women's cricket because it's not all crash-bang-whallop...Skills, the skill factor is definitely there, definitely there.

RN: So would you describe yourself as a feminist?

CM: No. No.

Interview themes

1. Challenging domesticity

2. Female empowerment

3. Control over female bodies

The interviews1. Cricket and marital relationships


NW: So when I go, the Whitehorn dynasty ends. Unless I decide to get married suddenly, and I don't think I will somehow! [Laughs]

RN: So you haven't ever been married?

NW: No. Never had any inclinations. As I used to say, “no, I'll take my hockey stick and cricket bat to bed thank you”. [Both laugh] And that was, that was my way of my life.


RN: So did you ever, who would look after [your sons] if you were going off to play cricket for the evening?

JB: Bernard [her husband]. Yeah. So yeah, it worked quite well. It was my escape!

RN: When you married him, did you, was it a concern that it might get in the way of cricket?...

JB: No, I don't think, no. Because I joined the cricket in '68 and that was the end of September, so I didn't really start playing until '69 and I got married in '70. So it was all part of what was already established. And then you just, weekends you went off and played and Bernard used to come down and score...So yes, it hasn't really got in the way.


EB: ...I mean I did actually play for a men's side locally once. I was playing at the Oval and they rang up because they'd got a holiday, what they have, they have a pit holiday regularly, and it's the same fortnight each year. And they rang up and said they were short, would I play for them? Well I came back and of course I told my husband. So he said “right, if you're playing for the men, I'm going!” So he packed his bag and he actually went off for a night. Came back for his Sunday lunch though.

...he couldn't really do anything about it, because my first love has always been cricket.

...I left him years ago, because I felt I really need to do my own thing, and I'm not going to be able to do it with him tagging along.

The interviews2. What cricket meant to women

RN: What difference do you think your involvement with women's cricket has made to you generally?

CC: ...It certainly did make a big difference...I think I'm probably, now I'm not the most outgoing person in the world, but I think I would have been considerably worse had I not played cricket. Through playing cricket I've got, I've done quite a lot of speaking to organisations, things like that, and that's something that I would never ever have dreamed of being able to do, had I not, and it was only really being involved with the cricket. You don't, I'm not quite sure how it ties in with being able to stand up and talk in front of people, but I think it does. It just gives a certain amount of self-confidence. When you go out there to bat in the middle of an arena with a load of people watching, and you've got to have a certain amount of self-confidence.

The interviews2. What cricket meant to women

RN: What is it about cricket that appeals to you, do you think?

CM: Ooh, psychological. Psychological, yeah, yeah. Well as a fast bowler the fact that I knew I could frighten people. [Laughs]

RN: [Laughs] Okay. So the intimidation?

CM: Yes. But very technical, a lot going on in the game, as I say very psychological, not just, but the tactics, everything that goes on and the ability to spot and work out an opponent, or spot something, pass on a bit of information, “look how so and so's holding the bat, they won't be very good at that shot”.

The interviews3. Cricket and women's bodies

RN: Did you ever encounter any problems playing men's cricket, in terms of the attitude of opponents, or?

CC: Not really. I think there was, there was a couple of occasions where guys would get a bit carried away... Occasionally they'd sort of, you'd get the odd one, “what on earth's a woman doing here?” But they soon learnt that I was quite capable of dealing with them. I think once I proved that I was quite capable of living in that company, then there was no problem, you were just sort of treated as an equal then.

The interviews3. Cricket and women's bodies

CM: ...they always bowled faster at me. But I could get my own back, because if I ever got, I remember one famous occasion, a guy who obviously didn't rate me and had been making apparently dodgy comments, I got him out, and he was ribbed the whole evening in the bar. So you can get your own back!

RN: [Laughs] Nicely done.

Conclusions

1. Ideological underpinnings of the Women's Liberation Movement

2.“The fringes of feminism”

“I am not a feminist”: An Oral History of Women's Cricket

Raf NicholsonQueen Mary, University of [email protected]

Education

Oral History and Sport Conference: September 19th 2014. Raf Nicholson