Wisden's Very Own Cover Girl

In October 1998 she appeared on the cover of Wisden Cricket Monthly. But what has Isabelle Duncan been up to since? Tanya Aldred finds out.

by Tanya Aldred for The Guardian, Tue 13 June 2000

Read the full article: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2000/jun/13/cricket6

Most cover girls are naked, or almost naked. They are always heavily stylised and, unless they are Anna Kournikova, they aren't sportswomen. But Isabelle Duncan was different.

Not only was she fully clothed, she was wearing an MCC jumper. Hardly the height of fashion, but the October 1998 issue of Wisden Cricket Monthly, which carried her image, made almost as many British headlines as Vanity Fair's naked pregnant Demi Moore cover. Duncan was chosen because she was and still is a club cricketer who not only plays on equal terms with men, but often captains her side too.

That issue of WCM ('The Women's Issue') coincided with the MCC vote (the second of 1998) on admitting women. The motion to allow women members was carried, and WCM and Isabelle had a few moments in the sun before it was back to obscurity.

But Isabelle, now 26, hasn't forgotten her moment of fame. "I tried to milk it a bit - I got all the publicity photos and coverage together and made a sort of cricket CV. Then I sent it off to Channel 4 and TMS. I had lunch with Gary Franses from Sunset+Vine [the production team behind C4's cricket coverage] but nothing really came of it ."

A four-month spell as advertising manager of a less well-known magazine Cricket World Monthly followed, but it didn't pay much so she started work at Grace Consulting, which specialises in long-term care of the elderly. But she is still determined to break through into working in cricket full time.

She had lunch with Peter Baxter, the producer of TMS earlier this year, and was supposed to do a summary for him from an early B&H match, until the weather spoilt things. But she was able to go and sit in the TMS box during the Zimbabwe Test at Lord's - to listen and learn.

"It was great. Lord MacLaurin was there and Graham Cowdrey and they got Ali Bacher on the phone talking about matchfixing. It was very interesting."

So what is her next step? "Peter Baxter told me to go and do some practice tapes at a professional game and send them in. Which I keep meaning to do but I'm just so busy playing cricket for the MCC and other teams at weekends."

She has role models in Eleanor Oldroyd (TMS) and Sybil Ruscoe (C4). But Duncan hopes to be able to offer something new. "They are very good presenters, and well-informed and professional, but they don't really do any ball-by-ball. I think that is what I can offer - something new. A woman's voice actually talking about the techniques of the game, talking to players about tactics. I think it would widen the audience, bring in women and kids."

If that does happen, she would be well-prepared to deal with the autograph hunters. "A few people have recognised me at places like Lord's. I sometimes get "weren't you the girl on that front cover?" - that sort of thing. Also when the magazine came out I was on holiday in Crete when suddenly these people who I'd chatted with in the bar came running down the beach shouting 'you're famous, you're famous.' They'd seen me in the Daily Mail."

"I enjoyed the attention. Three days of being in demand - it probably only happens for about five minutes in your life and I loved it."

Perhaps she won't have to wait much longer for some more.