The England women's cricket team represents England and Wales in international women's cricket. Since 1998, they have been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by the Women's Cricket Association. England is a Full Member of the International Cricket Council, with Test, One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) status.
They played in the first ever Women's Test match in 1934, against Australia, which they won by 9 wickets. The two teams now compete regularly for The Women's Ashes. They played in the first Women's Cricket World Cup in 1973, winning the tournament on home soil, and have gone on to win the World Cup three more times, in 1993, 2009 and 2017. After their 2017 triumph, they were awarded the BBC Sports Team of the Year Award. They played in the first ever Twenty20 International in 2005, against New Zealand, and won the inaugural ICC Women's World Twenty20 in 2009, but despite being in the final on several occasions since they have not repeated that triumph.
History
The pioneers England were a part of the first Women's Test series, as their team led by Betty Archdale touring Australia in the summer of 1934–35, three years after the Bodyline tour by the men. The team and their captain received "warm" responses from the Australian crowds.Player Profile: Betty Archdale , from Cricinfo, retrieved 6 July 2006 Winning both the first two Tests and drawing the third, England won the first women's test series, and also beat New Zealand by an innings and 337 runs on the way home,Only Test: New Zealand Women v England Women, Christchurch, 16–18 February 1935 , from Cricinfo, retrieved 6 June 2006 where Betty Snowball contributed an innings of 189, which was to remain a women's Test record for half a century.Player Profile: Betty Snowball , from Cricinfo, retrieved 6 July 2006 However, their leading player, and one of the best-known women cricketers of the era, was the allrounder Myrtle Maclagan. She scored the first ever century in a woman's Test match on 7 January 1935.
Two years later, England suffered their first Test defeat, at the hands of Australia at Northampton. As Australia made their inaugural tour, an England team including seven debutantes conceded 300 on the first day, and despite bowling Australia out for 102 in the second innings they lost by 31 runs.1st Test: England Women v Australia Women at Northampton, 12–15 Jun 1937 , from Cricinfo, retrieved 6 July 2006 England recovered to take the second Test after a first-innings 115 from Myrtle Maclagan, who also took five wickets opening the bowling,2nd Test: England Women v Australia Women at Blackpool, 26–29 Jun 1937 , from Cricinfo, retrieved 6 July 2006 and the third Test was drawn to ensure a 1–1 series tie.3rd Test: England Women v Australia Women at Kennington Oval, 10–13 Jul 1937 , from Cricinfo, retrieved 6 July 2006
Losing the Ashes England began playing women's Test cricket again in 1948–49, when they toured Australia for a three-Test match series. An England team with seven debutantes,1st Test: Australia Women v England Women at Adelaide Oval, 15–18 Jan 1949 , from Cricinfo, retrieved 24 August 2006 lost the Women's Ashes to Australia after losing the first Test and drawing the final two. Two of their eleven made half-centuries on tour: Molly Hide, who also batted out the third day of the final Test to make England's only century in Australia that season to draw the game, and Myrtle Maclagan, who hit 77 in the second Test. Both had Test experience from before the War. Maclagan was also England's leading wicket-taker on tour, with nine wickets, ahead of Hide and Mary Johnson who took six each. However, England still beat New Zealand in their only Test one month after the conclusion of the Ashes.
In 1951, Australia toured England for the first time in 14 years. After drawing the first Test at Scarborough, England gained a lead of 38 on first innings after Mary Duggan's five wickets, and set a target of 159, larger than any score in the previous three innings, and a record of that time. Australia were 131 for eight after Duggan took four more wickets, but England conceded 29 runs for the ninth wicket. Thus, they surrendered the Ashes again, despite winning the final Test by 137 runs after another Duggan nine-wicket-haul to draw the series at 1–1.
England's next international series involved a visit from New Zealand in 1954. England won the first Test, despite giving up a deficit of 10 runs on first innings, but drew the second and third; the third Test saw a whole day's play lost to rain. Excluding one-offs, this was England's first series win since their inaugural series.
England went on tour of Australasia once again in 1957–58, nine years after their previous tour, but by now Mary Duggan had taken over as captain. For a change, they began against New Zealand, where they drew both Tests; despite Duggan's five-for in the final innings, New Zealand closed on 203 for nine after being set 228 to win. They then moved on to Australia, where their series began with an abandoned match at North Sydney Oval in February, and the second Test at St Kilda had the first day rained off. When the teams came in to bat, though, Duggan set a women's Test record; she claimed seven Australian batters, all for single-digit scores, and in 14.5 overs she conceded six runs, bettering Maclagan's previous best of seven for 10., from Cricinfo, retrieved 24 August 2006 The record stood for 38 years. However, Betty Wilson replied with seven for seven as England were bowled out for 35, three short of Australia's total, and then made a second-innings hundred as Australia set a target of 206 in 64 overs. England lost eight wickets for 76, but still managed the draw, while Wilson claimed four wickets to become the first Test player to score a hundred and take ten wickets in a match.2nd Test: Australia Women v England Women at Melbourne, 21–24 Feb 1958 , from Cricinfo, retrieved 24 August 2006
Wilson also hit a hundred in the third Test at Adelaide, but Cecilia Robinson replied with a hundred of her own, lasting into the final day's play. With Ruth Westbrook and Edna Barker also scoring half-centuries, England gained a first-innings lead, but Australia batted out to make 78 for two and draw the game. The fourth Test was also drawn; England trailed by 27 going into the final day, but Robinson carried her bat to 96 not out as England survived 102.5 overs and set Australia a target of 162. England only got one wicket in reply, however, to draw the game.
Unbeaten 1960s After the 1950s, where England had lost two and won two Tests, England went through the 1960s without losing any of their 14 Tests, with the majority, ten, drawn. Their first series were against Test debutantes South Africa. Once again, the series had a majority of draws, but an England side captained by 23-year-old Helen Sharpe won the series 1–0 after claiming the third Test at Durban by eight wickets. South Africa gained first innings leads in the first and last Test, however, but followed on in the second Test which was affected by rain.2nd Test: South Africa Women v England Women at Johannesburg, 17–20 Dec 1960 , from Cricinfo, retrieved 24 August 2006
In 1963 England took what was to be their last series win over Australia for 42 years. In the first Test, England made 91 for three in the final innings, but in the second match at the North Marine Road Ground in Scarborough England were 97 behind with nine second-innings wickets in hand by the close of the second day. Wickets fell steadily throughout the third day, and England fell from 79 for four to 91 for nine; however, Eileen Vigor and June Bragger held on for the tenth wicket to draw the game. Three weeks later, the teams met for the third and final decider at The Oval, and captain Mary Duggan, in her last Test, scored her second Test century as England declared on 254 for eight. Australia replied with 205, then took two English wickets on the second day, and were set a target of 202. With Duggan and Anne Sanders doing the brunt of the bowling, England took the first nine wickets for 133, before Australia's No. 10 and 11 built a partnership. However, Edna Barker was brought on as the seventh bowler of the innings, and with her fourteenth ball she had Marjorie Marvell lbw to win the game for England.
Rachael Heyhoe-Flint took over the captaincy for the 1966 series against New Zealand, and made her first Test century in her very first Test as captain. New Zealand batted out the match losing twelve wickets, however, and the first Test was drawn. In the second, New Zealand recovered from a first innings deficit to set England a target of 157, which resulted in another draw, and in the third Test England were five for three overnight on the second day, trailing by 65. Another wicket was lost on the third morning, but England held on for 100 overs and set New Zealand 84 in nine overs to win the series. England conceded 35 and could not take a wicket, but still drew the game and the series 0 – 0.
England next went on an Oceanian tour in 1968–69, defending the Ashes successfully after another 0 – 0 draw. Debutante Enid Bakewell, aged 28, made a hundred in the first Test, but Australia declared 69 ahead, and England batted out the third day to make 192 for seven; in the second Test Edna Barker registered a hundred, and England set a target of 181, but could only take five wickets for 108 in Australia's final innings. The decider at Sydney also saw a declaration, from Australia, who made 210 for three declared in their second innings, but England lost only six wickets in the chase to draw again.
In New Zealand, the same procedure followed: Bakewell scored her second Test hundred and took five wickets in the first drawn Test, where the third innings lasted 4.4 overs before the game was called off as a draw. She followed that up with 114 and eight wickets in the second Test, where England bowled out New Zealand for 186 on the final day, and chased 173 in 42.3 overs after 66 not out in the second innings from Bakewell, and in the third Test New Zealand were bowled out for 214 in 68.3 overs after being set 252 to win. Bakewell made 412 runs in her five Test innings in New Zealand, and coupled that with 19 wickets, and headed both the runs and wickets tally. On the entire tour, also including matches against other opposition, Bakewell scored 1,031 runs and took 118 wickets.Enid Bakewell — champion woman cricketer , by Netta Rheinberg, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1970, from cricinfo.com, retrieved 7 September 2006
First World Cup West Indies had not been granted Test status yet, but England went on two tours there in 1969–70 and 1970–71, sponsored by Sir Jack Hayward.When the women set the agenda , by Jenny Thompson, Cricinfo, retrieved 7 September 2006 Hayward had received letters from England captain Heyhoe-Flint asking for sponsorship, and after a conversation between the two in 1971, Hayward and the Women's Cricket Association agreed to organise the inaugural Women's World Cup, which was to become the first World Cup in cricket. England fielded two sides: a Young England side, who were bowled out for 57 by Australia in the first Women's One-day International,2nd Match: Australia v Young England at Bournemouth, 23 Jun 1973 , from Cricinfo, retrieved 7 September 2006 and the senior side. In addition, three English women, Audrey Disbury, Wendy Williams and Pamela Crain played for the International XI.Women's World Cup, 1973 Averages – International XI Women , from Cricinfo, retrieved 7 September 2006