Why is women's cricket still considered a second-class game?

Antoinette Muller, New Statesman, 10 July 2013

Read the full article: https://www.newstatesman.com/lifestyle/2013/07/why-womens-cricket-still-considered-second-class-game

...That magic is captured in the recently-published book Skirting The Boundary by Isabelle Duncan. It is unpretentious and highlights issues in the women’s game without being intrusive. It takes the reader through a fun journey from back in the 1800s when the Maidens used to play against the Marrieds to the current era where women are finally being equally recognized.

 It talks about the issues that faced them then, the ridicule the women had to endure and the misogynist focus on how they were dressed. Equally, it celebrates the achievements thus far, the centuries scored. It celebrates women like Tania Weinburg who played for South Africa’s Western Province Under-19 boys team. She managed to do that despite being denied the chance to play for her school’s side, with the argument being that “she might deny a boy the opportunity to play”. It delves into the history of overarm bowling, invented by Christina Willes. It indulges in the quirky and often murky past women’s cricket has gone through.

Even those who do not really have an interest in women’s cricket or even cricket for that matter will find Skirting the Boundary an endearing and informative read. With so many historical nuggets thrown in, it will leave even those most-versed in the history of the sport thinking: I didn’t know that.

Its unpretentiousness is what sets the book aside from most other things written about the women’s game. It celebrates the sport for what it still is.