 England have levelled the women's Ashes against the best team in the world! Heather Knight is England's dame in shining armour. Sophie Ecclestone's leaping catches are solid as a rock! And to cap it off, Alice Capsey's refound her touch with the bat. This week, I'm all about 'Cazball'. So in honour of our female England cricketers, I'm going to tell you about a tiny women's team in north-east London called Stoke Newington Cricket Club. I first became aware of Hackney as a cricketing Mecca last summer, when I was encouraged quite forcefully by a mate into playing, despite never having competed in a full game of cricket, and having my cricketing ambitions stymied at the age of eight by a coach who said he'd resign if I bowled as well as the boys when trying out for my local team. Come to Hackney, no one's judging, said my pal. Now here's the thing. Given I consider myself a fairly competent sportswoman, I'm embarrassed to record this in a national newspaper but the truth is… I can't properly throw. Many women in their 30s can't. I would go so far as to say that most women currently late 20s or older cannot consistently exchange accurate passes. There are some interesting academic studies into the way women learn to take up space that affects this but the main reason is the simplest one – girls haven't until very recently been taught how to throw. Add to that the fear of being laughed at for doing it 'like a girl' and you have an obstructive cocktail that means, despite great campaigns like This Girl Can and a gradual improvement in media coverage of women, most generations of women are still lost to the joy of team sport. But not in this corner of London. Stoke Newington women's cricket team launched in 2020 thanks to some brilliant work from the existing men's side. It now has three regular teams featuring players aged from 11 to 54 of any and all skin colours and religious backgrounds. P){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
England have levelled the women’s Ashes against the best team in the world! Heather Knight is England’s dame in shining armour.
Sophie Ecclestone’s leaping catches are solid as a rock! And to cap it off, Alice Capsey’s refound her touch with the bat. This week, I’m all about ‘Cazball’.
So in honour of our female England cricketers, I’m going to tell you about a tiny women’s team in north-east London called Stoke Newington Cricket Club.
I first became aware of Hackney as a cricketing Mecca last summer, when I was encouraged quite forcefully by a mate into playing, despite never having competed in a full game of cricket, and having my cricketing ambitions stymied at the age of eight by a coach who said he’d resign if I bowled as well as the boys when trying out for my local team.