I just read this wonderful argument on Women's cricket maintaining it's independence, not looking to compete with men, looking for it's own identity and avoiding the temptation of falling under the control of the Men's game in return for a free leg-up.

It's basically a blueprint for women's sport, business, and feminism in general, from the 1920s.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/601319.html

No doubt if more feminists took a keen interest in cricket all those years ago, they would have seen the light.

One wonders how so many feminists have missed such a wonderful insight into why women should...

Stop whining about glass ceilings, and start their own companies.

Stop whining about equal prize money when they are piggy-backing on the back of men's sporting events.

Not be looking to compete with men on men's terms, in men's territory, and attempting to regulate and constrict men in the process, rather recognize women are different and to make their own way under their own rules and accommodating their own needs.

As usual, Cricket shows us the way. It cant be coincidence that such a sound and rational mind was nurtured in the game of cricket.

Cricket has a habit of nurturing an insightful and clear sighted view of the world. One only hopes more women discover the game, and play it in their own way, finding their own method of surviving the new ball, and creating opportunities on lifeless tracks. Cricket is but a medium of true expression, and the women's game can be all that the men's is, just with a different focus.

I'm sure if the feminists had their way though, they would oppose such an idea, and push the spiritually and ethically perverse route that has been found wanting all these years, akin to asking the men to bowl under-arm, demonize them for not retiring once they reach 50, and bemoaning the fact men don't support women's sport, and ignoring the fact women don't support it.

Yes Houlebecke , the article is well written and I totally agree with it.
I hate cricket in all it's forms, and find it incredibly boring.
However, I realize many people love it.

If women want to play cricket, good luck to them. All sport is good exercise.
They will never play like men do, and I don't believe they want to really.
It is one sport I don't believe should be mixed .

I can't imagine any women, feminists or not, disagreeing with the sentiments expressed in this article, so don't get too excited Houlebecke : )
I could be wrong of course...

The women have smaller balls.

Sooo transparent...

a provocative title "...a lesson from Marjorie Pollard for modern feminists" to reel people in, just to brag:

"As usual, Cricket shows us the way. It cant be coincidence that such a sound and rational mind was nurtured in the game of cricket. Cricket has a habit of nurturing an insightful and clear sighted view of the world."

because it is your favoured use of ball handling skills.

Everyone knows it was only invented so aristocrats had something to look at on their lawns (below-stairs staff, including the vestless undergardeners in rolled-up sleeves) whilst sipping tea or slurping gins and tonics.

As for the other points... I agree.

But it would be boring just to say that.

I applaud women's cricket for not having the pretentious posing of men's cricket. For example, batsmen repeating an air stroke of their play to show how dexterous they are.

The round ball game is the same, where the women's game does not the the diving (for penalties) so rife in the men's game. Anyone foolish enough to do that in the women's round ball game would be laughed at or more likely sent off.

I would like to see more women's sports on The Box. Save me too from those recycled horse racing callers and gamblers pretending to be interested in the actual sport.

Women can handle balls just as well as men. Women do it in a brisk and businesslike way though and do not interrupt the game with posing and theatrics.

Did anyone mention that Australian women cricketers do it with Kookaburra balls? Or that it was the men's game that tested pink balls and anemic white ones?

Or that the women once had blue balls?