The top international teams are now full-time, and franchise cricket has taken off around the world. The Women’s Premier League, which just ended, paid the best players a lot of money.
But it wasn’t always like this.
Today’s group will always be grateful to the women who came before them, like those who played in the first World Cup for women in 1973, two years before the first World Cup for men.
“It was a lot of work, and we had to go back to our jobs,” says Shirley Hodges, who helped England win the World Cup.
“One of the players in the tournament was so tired that she actually fell asleep at the wheel and only woke up when she hit the crash barrier.”
Even though the player was fine, the story shows how hard the competition is.
Hodges adds, “It was a lot of work. I played in Bradford, and the next day they asked me to play for Sussex against Trinidad and Tobago in Eastbourne.
After 120 overs on the field, that’s more than five hours of driving.
All of the people who made the event happen did so by making sacrifices of their own. During the open era, players had to come up with creative ways to pay for their cricket.
“No one gave us anything,” said Louise Browne, the leader of Trinidad and Tobago. “We set up barbeques and curry-ques because we had to raise money for all of our cricket.”
Enid Bakewell from England adds, “We did all kinds of things.” “I dug potatoes out of the ground, and I used to put a painting table at the top of the driveway and stand there to sell potatoes that were cheaper than the grocery store across the street.
“However, I ran out of potatoes in the end and had to buy more at the grocery store.”
One side of the story was raising money. The other was having a boss who was patient.
“I was teaching PE at the time,” England player Chris Watmough said. “I was lucky to get a job, and my boss was very helpful.”
England’s legendary captain Rachael Heyhoe Flint, who later became Baroness Heyhoe Flint, had to not only organize the team but also carry the weight of the whole competition on her shoulders.
“You can’t talk about women’s cricket and not mention Rachael Heyhoe Flint,” says Browne. “Rachael was one of the first. What she did for women’s cricket will be remembered forever.”
