On most occasions, a visit to the MCG would imply viewing a spectacle of a sporting nature, ideally cricket or Australian rules football.
However, as I arrived into the pristine lobby of the Melbourne Cricket Club function room, the event I attended was more of an introspective and encompassing nature.
An event which sport has played a huge part in resurrecting and maintaining the values of equality, female empowerment and social inclusion.
On International Women’s Day I was fortunate enough to listen to an amazing lady speak to us about her experience being married to a deaf footballer and how it prompted her to look inwards and learn the importance of inclusivity and embracing people for who they are and their unique talents and abilities.
Her speech prompted me to momentarily glance at the hallowed walls of the MCG, and it was then that it hit me.
Cricket is a sport that has truly embodied the values and vision that International Women’s Day has strived to instil within our community for well over one hundred years.
As this humble sport has evolved and developed through the ages, I am proud to say that cricket undeniably embraces equality, uniqueness and appreciating our players for the diversity of skills, talents and inventions they bring to the game.
Cricket celebrates the different and allows cricketers to flourish in their own inimitable ways to enrich the sport for players and fans alike.
Women’s cricket in particular deserves a most honourable mention. If feminism ever needed a sport that accurately represents what it stands for, look no further than the women’s game.
The rise of women’s cricket has now seen some of our best female players remunerated on similar pay scales to our men, which bodes well for the future of our sport.
The increasing popularity of cricket amongst young girls and teenagers is also promising. Upon the release of the 2017-18 National Cricket Census, it was found that female participation in our summer game had risen by over 30 per cent from the previous season.
That now means six out of every ten new participants is a girl. Amazing.
(Photo by Will Russell – CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images )
If we delve deeper into the history of the women’s game, it is fascinating to note that cricket began as a sport primarily tailored for females.
The first recorded women’s cricket match took place on the July 26, 1745 in the villages of Surrey, which shows that the game has been played equally amongst both genders for as long as it has been in fruition.
The technique of overarm bowling was also pioneered by a woman. Tired of traditionally bowling underarm due to the ball getting caught in her long, flowing ankle-length dress, Christiana Willes of Kent revolutionised the game forever by changing her action to a more overarm delivery.
Her brother John Willes, an England cricketer at the time, soon caught on this seemingly radical idea and promoted it across the cricketing world, turning the game on its head.
The women’s game has also been used as an experiment at times to promote new and exciting prototypes to cricket. Contrary to common belief, the first Cricket World Cup was a women’s one, staged in 1973 whilst the inaugural men’s Cricket World Cup would not be held until 1975.
Given how instrumental the women’s game has been in shaping many fundamental aspects of cricket, it is without question that we must respect and honour our female players more than at any point in this sport’s history.
Even when it comes to displaying genuine sportsmanship, being a role model for youngsters and embodying the true spirit of cricket, it is our women who have always shown up the men every time.
While men’s cricket has become contaminated with match-fixing allegations, ball-tampering scandals, abusive sledging, and the use of illegal performance-enhancing substances, the women’s game has remained remarkably clean.
For a sport that was once coined as the ‘gentleman’s game’, it is the ladies who have constantly displayed what it really means to play our beautiful game in the right spirit.
But cricket is not just a game for the able-bodied. What makes this sport so special and poignant is how it has permeated and transcended within communities who may not be blessed with the physical or intellectual abilities we take for granted every day.
The growth of deaf and blind cricket has been a major positive for the game and has seen participation from these communities rise to exciting levels in recent years.
The inaugural 2012 Blind Twenty20 Cricket World Cup final saw a high-scoring affair in Ahmedabad as India scraped home against arch-rivals Pakistan by 29 runs to a sell-out crowd.
In late 2017, Nepal held the world’s first wheelchair cricket tournament, a ground-breaking innovation that saw the host nation, India and Bangladesh participate in a fiercely contested Twenty20 knock-out style competition.
Cricket’s dramatic evolution and positive attitude towards change and modern thinking is what has made it such a remarkable sport as it holds on proudly to feminist and humanist ideals.
The true essence of this game lies in its loving acceptance and compassion towards anyone who respects and pays homage to it.
Cricket never says no to the unusual and unfamiliar; instead it kindly asks that they adhere mindfully to its Laws and Spirit whilst expressing their unique skills and personalities.
It is through this fair exchange of chaos and conformity that we have seen some incredible players take every opportunity this game offers to showcase their talents to the highest level.
We owe cricket everything, whilst it owes us nothing.
International Women’s Day is about inclusion, equal opportunities for all and ensuring that everyone feels as though they belong and are respected regardless of who they are.
This is why cricket, and indeed sport as a whole, is such a great champion of promoting and maintaining these important values.
It is one of the few global institutions where an individual is often judged and evaluated purely on their ability to excel and succeed at their chosen profession, and nothing else.
Cricket does not care about the colour of your skin, your race, your ethnicity, your gender, your sexual orientation, your religion or even your physical or intellectual disability. It only cares about your contribution and performance.
Will you stand up and be a match-winner today? Can we count on you to get that 5-wicket haul? Are you going to finally get out of that form slump and score an overdue century?
Great! Then there is a spot in the team for you.
Whilst there have been numerous positives in cricket globally of late in regard to cementing the need to promote gender equality and social inclusion, the road to fully eradicating our sacred sport from the stain of racism, discrimination and corruption is far from complete.
As we bid adieu to another incredible International Women’s Day celebration across the world, let’s all take a moment to reflect and show gratitude to this glorious game whilst working hard to ensure that future generations will know what it truly means to uphold the Spirit of Cricket.
jeznez
Roar Guru
Doesn't that show 65m in revenue and almost 47m going into programmes in the "Project Expenses" line? Or am I not reading that report correctly?
Aligee
Roar Rookie
Lol, uneducated, Neanderthal and fragile masculinity- you really do take offence at someone pointing out the faults in your article, whatsmore typical of the so called ‘educated’ people these days who demand tolerance at every turn but in reality are the opposite when questioned.
Nuwan Ranasinghe
Roar Pro
G'day Aligee, it's the author of the article here speaking. I'm still amused that you see this write-up as an attack on men. Wasn't my intention at all. If you read carefully I wasn't playing down men. I was just expressing my disappointment at the lack of honesty and sportsmanship in the men's game. If it was the other way around I would still say the same thing. Hence no irony. Also deaf, blind and wheelchair cricket has predominantly been played by men which I highlighted as well in my article so not sure why you think I'm attacking men lol. Don't forget I am a heterosexual male too. If both genders displayed equal amounts of genuine sportsmanship then I would again be the first to highlight this. Sadly, it hasn't been the case, hence that excerpt you eloquently cited from my article stays true. Remember when Shane Warne grabbed Marlon Samuel's shirt in that 2013 BBL? Or when Ramnaresh Sarwan almost got into a fistfight with Glenn McGrath? Or when Sunil Gavaskar once refused to walk after being given out LBW in a Test match? BALL TAMPERING? I can rattle off heaps more examples. I actually researched a fair bit to see if there were any occurrences of women displaying unsportsmanlike behaviour on the cricket field. 'Unfortunately' for you there has been none. Therefore, that excerpt you quoted remains factual and is a statement devoid of my opinion. I was just stating facts lol. Does that mean I think all women are angels who are immune to human error? Absolutely NOT. To appease you maybe I'll write an article on how much I dislike Serena Williams arrogant and childish behaviour on the tennis field, or how evil and cunning Hilary Clinton truly was as a politican. There are also women who use feminism to their advantage to marginalise innocent men as well. So I'm well aware of both sides of the issue here mate. History is rife with horrible females too, but thankfully on the cricket field we have not seen that. And that should be celebrated, acknowledged and applauded. As for criticism of my writing style, I'll definitely take it as constructive feedback and ensure that next time I write I'll use fewer buzzwords and include more basic vocabulary to appeal to Neanderthals like yourself. Perhaps the only irony I can think of is the fact that I forgot to include readers who share the same viewpoints and opinions such as yourself, and this article was supposed to be about social inclusion. You got me good there mate. Have a great day.
Aligee
Roar Rookie
This article makes some interesting historical points and regarding blind cricketers which i knew about anyway etc ....but..... Beginning of article --- diversity, equality, inclusiveness, respect, breaking down barriers etc etc - all the new buzzwords Exact Middle of article --- Even when it comes to displaying genuine sportsmanship, being a role model for youngsters and embodying the true spirit of cricket, it is our women who have always shown up the men every time. men’s cricket has become contaminated with match-fixing allegations, ball-tampering scandals, abusive sledging, and the use of illegal performance-enhancing substances, the women’s game has remained remarkably clean. For a sport that was once coined as the ‘gentleman’s game’, it is the ladies who have constantly displayed what it really means to play our beautiful game in the right spirit. End of article --- diversity, equality, inclusiveness, breaking down barriers, respect etc etc Don't know about you, but i can see a touch of irony in this. Whether the author is aware of it or not, it is straight out the lefties playbook, calling for all the new buzzwords whilst having a go at men, you see across the political and media landscapes quite a lot, i think the author is a genuine bloke, but i wouldn't expect anything less from AFL media or as i said the central Politburo.
Nuwan Ranasinghe
Roar Pro
Interesting find there Brainstrust! I think it is a bit more than 10% to be honest, especially if we look at how much the likes of Elyse Perry, Mithali Raj and other more high profile womens cricketers are earning through sponsorship deals and whatnot. But yes in the past they earned next to peanuts. Even smaller cricketing nations like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were quite poor before the 2000s. Did you know that prior to the 1996 World Cup final, Aravinda De Silva, Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana would often share a bedroom together at Arjuna Ranatunga's house when they weren't training? Or that the sum of the total assets of the Sri Lankan Cricket Board prior to winning that 1996 World Cup came to just under $6,000 USD? Cricket was not just backwards towards women, but even more so towards cricketers of colour and non-English speaking backgrounds. Thankfully things have now changed for the better.
Working Class Rugger
Roar Guru
I'm no white knight, mate. If I were I'd be on the pay equality bandwagon that's recently emerged where some actually spout nonsense about women should be paid the same as men to play professional sport while overlooking the economic realities of the situation. But I'm not. I'm happy for the opportunities to arise but I also believe that the remuneration should be like men's sport directly linked to their ability to draw crowds both at the ground and on TV. As it should with men's sport. Under this the WBBL would see the best Women's Cricketers would receive a further pay rise as the TV ratings dictate so. But this article isn't doing any of that. And its certainly not attacking men.
Aligee
Roar Rookie
Ok, IME the ones making the accusations are usually the ones with the problems, particularly on the internet, pretty easy to say anything you want with little to no repercussions, but hey anyway thanks for your opinion!.
Josh H
Roar Rookie
Lovely and thoughtful article, and while it's a shame that some people have missed its point, I'd like to think that the vast majority of sports fans are open to the progression of women's and niche sports. I wasn't a fan of many of the things that James Sutherland did during his tenure at CA but one thing he handled beautifully was the growth - both commercially and financially - of the women's game. He pioneered the T20 market with the introduction of the WBBL and the injection of extra funds has incentivised girls to choose cricket as a viable career path, leading to what looks like a golden generation for the women's team. I honestly couldn't be more excited to see how it develops in the coming years.
Working Class Rugger
Roar Guru
I was addressing several comments not all entirely from yourself. As for the article apparently being written by the La Trobe University Safe Schools Unit. You seem to have a very low threshold on this issue if you think this resembles a feminist manifesto/propaganda or is some kind of attack on men. All this piece is doing is acknowledging and celebrating the growth of the role of women as active members of the Cricket community and subsequent opportunities that are emerging in conjunction with that. As a straight white male I honestly don't see how it is so offensive and yeah, I do find the reactions of those who do rather fragile.
Aligee
Roar Rookie
Right - because I stated that girls shouldn’t play cricket?, I am all for girls playing whatever they want, what I objected to and still think, is that the article looks like it was written by the La Trobe Uni safe schools unit, when I pointed that out I was accused of fragile masculinity and un educated- I don’t think I am either.
Working Class Rugger
Roar Guru
I think the WBBL has been exactly what Women's Cricket has needed as a means of proving they are capable of drawing good numbers. Not quite that of the men's but certainly enough to justify more money being allocated for development and for remunerating talent.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Actually cricket was one of the most backward sports in regards to women in this country. Even when the big money started rolling in from TV rights and India, the women cricketers were not just getting nothing, they were having to help pay their own expenses Now its a lot better they get about 10% of what the men get. Womens tennis has had good prize money for women for an age in comparison.
Working Class Rugger
Roar Guru
I think it does speak to the concept of fragile masculinity that an article that celebrates the growing inclusiveness of the sport not just that of women though primarily of women has received number of disingenuous comments focusing on how it supposedly slanders men. Yes, it mentions match-fixing etc. which were all perpetrated by men thanks largely to professional Cricket being far more established than its female equivalent but at not stage did it say that men or ‘white men’ were the enemy. What’s even more perplexing is when those who feel attacked who come out swinging then try to justify their positions by citing their support of the daughters sporting endeavours but in the same breath still insist on feeling attacked and of the innate inferiority of women’s sport. Women and girls constitute a touch under 50% of our population. Why shouldn’t those of them who wish to pursue athletics have opportunities to play their chosen sport at a professional level? If it’s not your thing don’t watch it. It doesn’t mean it shouldn’t at least be tried. Some will succeed others will fail. As they often do in men’s sports. Cricket is a solid example of a women’s league finding its feet and drawing ratings that men’s league like the NBL and A-League only wish they could. And while I am happy and supportive of these experiments (and every new league when laucnhed is very much an experiment) whether they succeed or fail is irrelevant if they can help inspire young girls to get out and participate in sport. Because diversity isn’t a bad thing. It drives innovation and growth. Which is never something you should look to squash.
Ouch
Roar Rookie
Yes, didn't take long before the weak men with massive, yet fragile ego's took offence.
Downsey
Roar Pro
All good, Nuwan. I put it down to human nature more so than cricket-specific. I had a wonderful couple of years with some top chicks. One of my fondest memories is when the team got together for one of the women's Ashes matches at the WACA, and had such fun challenging each other to get player autographs - awesome gender camaraderie and fun. We were all so inspired by Perry.
Peter Warrington
Guest
Here's a bunch of reasons to watch: Perry Healy Gardner Villaini Lanning Haynes Mooney Burns Carey Molineux Harris Jonassen Schutt Vlaeminck Cheadle Wareham- look out England, we are coming! Plus Kaur Mandhana Satterthwaie Devine Tahuhu Bates Kerr Van Niekerk Kapp etc etc etc Awesome!
Nuwan Ranasinghe
Roar Pro
Wow that is so unfortunate to hear! I'm so sorry you had to go through that. Sledging of that nature is borderline bullying. I hope you had better experiences of playing cricket regardless. It looks like we still have a long way to go.
Nuwan Ranasinghe
Roar Pro
That is amazing to hear Downsey, and so they should. Hopefully we see more exciting young female cricketers from WA make it to the big leagues soon!
Downsey
Roar Pro
I'll also add that I was pleasantly surprised at how seriously many of the players took their cricket. It appeared to me that in WA there's a decent-sized portion of female players who take their cricket very seriously and are highly skilled and knowledgeable in the sport - more so than I had expected from an outsider's point-of-view.
Downsey
Roar Pro
On a whim, as a middle-aged, large-framed woman, I took up cricket for a couple of seasons when it became promoted in the area I lived in. I had no idea what I was doing, but thoroughly enjoyed myself. There absolutely was sledging happening on the field, especially when I copped the first LBW of the season for a fast ball that landed right on my inexperienced clacker. But, the only time my size and not my skill was ever brought into the sledging equation was from the men's teams on the sidelines and never from the female players on the field. Draw from that what you will, but I at least appreciated that I was never dissuaded from participating in a sport by my fellow female participants for superficial reasons.