See also
- Netta Rheinberg and Rachael Heyhoe-Flint, Fair Play - the story of women's cricket, Angus & Robertson, 1976, ISBN 978-0-207-95698-0.
The Women's Cricket Association (WCA) was responsible for the running of women's cricket in England between 1926 and 1998. It was formed by a group of enthusiasts following a cricket holiday in Malvern. Forty-nine games were arranged in that first season, and the popular cricket festival at Stowe Lane, Colwall, which is still held today, was launched.
By the following season there were ten affiliated clubs, by 1934 there were eighty, and by 1938 the number had reached 123. At its peak there were 208 affiliated clubs and 94 school and junior teams.
By 1931 the first county associations had been formed, and Durham played a combined Cheshire and Lancashire XI. Four years later the country was divided into five regional associations: East, Midlands, North, South and West.
The WCA administered the Women's Area Championship (1980–1996), the Women's Territorial Tournament (1988–1994) and the first Women's County Championship season, in 1997. In 1998, the WCA handed over the running of women's cricket in England to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and disbanded.
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The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test and County Cricket Board, the National Cricket Association and the Cricket Council. In April 1998 the Women's Cricket Association was integrated into the organisation. The ECB's head offices are at Lord's Cricket Ground in north-west London.
Hampshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Hampshire. Hampshire teams formed by earlier organisations, principally the Hambledon Club, always had first-class status and the same applied to the county club when it was founded in 1863. Because of poor performances for several seasons until 1885, Hampshire then lost its status for nine seasons until it was invited into the County Championship in 1895, since when the team have played in every top-level domestic cricket competition in England. Hampshire originally played at the Antelope Ground, Southampton until 1885 when they relocated to the County Ground, Southampton until 2000, before moving to the purpose-built Rose Bowl in West End, which is in the Borough of Eastleigh. The club has twice won the County Championship, in the 1961 and 1973 seasons.
Inter-county cricket matches have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. Since the late 19th century, there have been two county championship competitions played at different levels: the County Championship, a first-class competition which involves eighteen first-class county clubs among which seventeen are English and one is from Wales; and the National Counties Championship, which involves nineteen English county clubs and one club that represents several Welsh counties.
Cornwall County Cricket Club is one of twenty minor county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Cornwall. The team has played in the Minor Counties Championship since 1904 and became champions in 2012. They also play in the MCCA Knockout Trophy. Cornwall played List A matches occasionally from 1970 until 2004 but is not classified as a List A team per se.
The ECB National Club Cricket Championship is a forty over limited overs knockout club cricket competition in England. The most successful clubs have been Scarborough, from North Yorkshire, with five titles and Old Hill, from Staffordshire, with four. The 2019 champions were Swardeston, after they beat Nantwich by 53 runs in the final; the competition was not played in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cricket is one of the most popular sports in England, and has been played since the 16th century. Marylebone Cricket Club, based at Lord's, developed the modern rules of play and conduct. The sport is administered by the England and Wales Cricket Board and represented at an international level by the England men's team and England women's team. At a domestic level, teams are organised by county, competing in tournaments such as the County Championship, Royal London One-Day Cup, T20 Blast and the Women's Twenty20 Cup. Recent developments include the introduction of a regional structure for women's cricket and the establishment of The Hundred for both men's and women's cricket. Recreational matches are organised on a regional basis, with the top level being the ECB Premier Leagues.
Cricket is a popular sport in Wales; it started in the late 18th century, and has been played in Wales ever since. All cricket within Wales is regulated by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), making it effectively part of the English cricket system. Glamorgan County Cricket Club is Wales' only first-class county team, and Welsh players are eligible to represent England as Wales does not currently have its own Test cricket team or cricket body. Cricket is played within the Welsh schools system, and is considered one of the country's main summer sports.
The Somerset Women cricket team is the women's representative cricket team for the English ceremonial county of Somerset. They play their home games at various grounds across Somerset, most often in Taunton, and are captained by Emily Edgcombe. Somerset consistently competed in either Division 1 or Division 2 of the Women's County Championship, and won Division 2 of the Women's Twenty20 Cup in 2019. In 2021, they won the West Midlands Group of the Twenty20 Cup. They are partnered with the regional team Western Storm.
The Yorkshire Women's cricket team is the women's representative cricket team for the English historic county of Yorkshire. They play their home games at St George's Road, Harrogate, and are captained by Hollie Armitage. In 2019, they played in Division One of the final season of the Women's County Championship, and have since competed in the Women's Twenty20 Cup. Yorkshire have contributed some players to making up a North Representative XI, and they are partnered with the regional side Northern Diamonds.
The Nottinghamshire Women's cricket team is the women's representative cricket team for the English historic county of Nottinghamshire. They play their home games at John Fretwell Sporting Complex, Nettleworth and are captained by Teresa Graves. In 2019, they played in Division One of the final season of the Women's County Championship, and in 2021 won the East Midlands Group of the Women's Twenty20 Cup. They are partnered with the East Midlands regional side Lightning.
The Lancashire Women's cricket team is the women's representative cricket team for the English historic county of Lancashire. They play their home games at various grounds across the county, including Beaconsfield Road, Widnes. They are coached by Chris Chambers and captained by Eleanor Threlkeld. They won both the County Championship and the Twenty20 Cup in 2017. Lancashire have links with Cumbria, with some players playing for both sides, as well as some of their players making up a North Representative XI in 2021 and 2022. They are partnered with the regional side North West Thunder.
The Staffordshire Women's cricket team is the women's representative cricket team for the English historic county of Staffordshire. They play their home games at various grounds across the county, including Tunstall Road, Knypersley and are captained by Stephanie Butler. In 2019, they played in Division Three of the final season of the Women's County Championship, and have since competed in the Women's Twenty20 Cup. They are partnered with the West Midlands regional side Central Sparks.
The Hampshire Women's cricket team is the women's representative cricket team for the English historic county of Hampshire. They play their home games at various grounds across the county, including Totton and Eling CC and the Ageas Bowl Nursery Ground. They are captained by Emily Windsor. In 2018, they won Division One of the Women's County Championship, and were promoted from Division Two of the Women's Twenty20 Cup. They are partnered with the regional side Southern Vipers.
The Northamptonshire Women's cricket team is the women's representative cricket team for the English historic county of Northamptonshire. They play their home games at various grounds across the county, including Dolben Cricket Ground, Finedon and Northampton Road, Brixworth. They are captained by Patricia Hankins. In 2019, they played in Division Three of the final season of the Women's County Championship, and have since competed in the Women's Twenty20 Cup. They are partnered with the regional side Sunrisers.
The Leicestershire Women's cricket team, officially the Leicestershire and Rutland Women's cricket team since 2010, is the women's representative cricket team for the English historic counties of Leicestershire and Rutland. They play their home games at various grounds across the two counties, often in Loughborough, Leicester or Empingham. They are captained by Katie Winterton. In 2019, they played in Division Three of the final season of the Women's County Championship, and have since competed in the Women's Twenty20 Cup. They are partnered with the East Midlands regional side Lightning.
The 2016 cricket season was the 117th in which the County Championship has been an official competition. The season began in March with a round of university matches, and continued until the conclusion of a round of County Championship matches in late September. Three major men's domestic competitions were contested: the 2016 County Championship, the 2016 Royal London One-Day Cup and the 2016 NatWest t20 Blast. Women's domestic cricket saw the launch of the Women's Cricket Super League, a new franchise competition, and the contesting of the Women's County Championship and Women's Twenty20 Cup.
The 2017 English cricket season was the 118th in which the County Championship had been an official competition. The season, which began on 28 March and ended on 29 September, featured two global one-day competitions played in England and Wales, the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy and the 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup. England Women's team won the World Cup, defeating India in the final at Lord's. Pakistan beat India in the Champions Trophy final.
The 2019 English cricket season ran between 26 March and 26 September. It was the 120th in which the County Championship has been an official competition and featured first-class, one-day and Twenty20 cricket competitions throughout England and Wales.
The Lincolnshire Women's cricket team is the women's representative cricket team for the English historic county of Lincolnshire. They play their home matches at various grounds across the county, and are captained by Lauren Tuffrey. After joining the Women's County Championship in 2015, they competed in Division Three in the final season of the tournament in 2019. They have since competed in the Women's Twenty20 Cup. They are partnered with the East Midlands regional team, Lightning.
The Women's London Championship (WLC) is an English women's cricket competition. It was created in 2020 following the introduction of the regional Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy as the highest domestic competition in women's One Day cricket. The competition features the women's county cricket teams from the Home Counties.