From history to her-story: the saga of women’s cricket
Tribute to ‘phenomenal’ pioneers appears in print, partly thanks to work a writer never lived to see, writes Zoe George.
TRADITIONALLY women have been left out of the cricket books, but that has changed thanks to a publication shining the sun on the women who sacrificed so much for our summer game.
The Warm Sun on My Face: The Story of Women’s Cricket in New Zealand, released this week, documents not only the on-field battles, but the social struggles women faced in pursuit of excellence.
It was a ‘‘labour of love’’ for author Trevor Auger, who spent ‘‘every spare waking hour’’ for nearly four years piecing together the 676-page book.
It traverses the women’s game from modern-day White Ferns all the way back to the late 19th century, when women first picked up a bat and ball in New Zealand, and just like other books about cricket, it covers the legends of the sport.
‘‘It’s such a big story to tell,’’ Auger said.
‘‘The published story of New Zealand cricket has been very much masculine. There’s been some excellent histories from the early days . . . which concentrated on the men’s game, but . . . it’s fair to say there’s literally nothing that’s talked about the Ina Lamasons, the Joyce Clothiers, the Rona McKenzies, the Trish
McKelveys, the Debbie Hockleys.
‘‘It was crucial their story be told in reasonable detail. And quite frankly, you look at Hockley’s record; her test average is just below Kane Williamson’s. She deserves to be mentioned when people are talking about the Hadlees, Crowes and Williamsons as amongst New Zealand’s all-time great cricketers.’’
The Warm Sun on My Face is also in part a social history, highlighting the lengths women took to play, including fundraising – ‘‘home decorating, baby sitting, knitting, running cake stalls and selling raffle tickets in pubs’’ – which enabled the White Ferns to tour the world.
‘‘It was a perennial battle for the game to survive,’’ he said
It’s also about sacrifices
women made. One of Auger’s favourite stories is of Joyce Clothier, who lived in Matamata in south Waikato. She would catch the bus on Saturdays to play in the Auckland club cricket competition, then return home on Sunday to play in the local competition. She did that for seven seasons before her father helped her buy her first car.
Clothier went on to bat in the first test match New Zealand didn’t lose; the White Ferns drew against England in 1954. The opener carried her bat for more than a day, saving the game for the Ferns, scoring only 37 runs not out.
‘‘It’s those little things that players of today – male or female – just wouldn’t comprehend, someone doing that every weekend for seven seasons just to play club cricket. To me, it’s a phenomenal story,’’ he said.
The title of the book draws inspiration from a quote by White Fern Betty Ingram (who also happens to be doubleinternational Jeff Wilson’s greataunt), who was part of the first New Zealand women’s team who toured Australia in 1938.
She said: ‘‘I could still feel the warm sun on my face and the sheer joy of playing this great game with so many fine companions. Such memories are priceless’’.
‘‘As a cricketer myself it just sums up the beauty of playing the game. There’s nothing like being out in the middle with the warm sun on your face, enjoying the day, playing with your friends. It sums it up. It’s perfect,’’ Auger said.
The history is told through the eyes of the people who were part of the sport in various eras. That, in a large part, was made possible by former cricket and arts writer, Adrienne Simpson, who had compiled a ‘‘treasure chest’’ of newspaper cuttings, surveys and interviews with players dating back to the early days of international cricket.
‘‘We’ve got voices of players who played in the 1930s. It would have been impossible to replicate,’’ Auger said.
Simpson had started writing a history in the late 90s, but died in 2010 of cancer.
‘‘Without all the work she had done it couldn’t have happened,’’ Auger said.
Simpson’s husband, Richard Chilton, said it’s ‘‘absolutely wonderful’’ to see his late wife’s work recognised. After her passing the family donated the ‘‘well advanced’’ manuscripts, with the working title of Wicket Women, to the New Zealand Cricket Museum in hopes someone would discover it.
The project team who helped Auger get the book across the line included Sally Morrison, who was the first female board chair of Cricket Wellington, former White Ferns Trish McKelvey and Penny Kinsella, former museum curator Jamie Bell and publishers Upstart Press.
Morrison said this book can now sit alongside the ‘‘wonderful’’ Men in White – which tells the history of the men’s game.
‘‘What I love about [The
Warm Sun on My Face] is it just so powerful,’’ she said.
‘‘It speaks to women in a powerful role in sport because that’s what’s real. It’s how women feel when they play – they feel powerful. It’s so important.’’
New Zealand Cricket, the
New Zealand Cricket
Foundation and the New
Zealand Cricket Players Association also supported the ‘‘important text’’ financially.
‘‘It’s not just for cricket that it’s an important text,’’ Morrison said.
‘‘It reflects on the contribution of women’s sport as part of our social history, our social fabric.’’
‘It speaks to women in a powerful role in sport because that’s what’s real. It’s how women feel when they play – they feel powerful. It’s so important.’ SALLY MORRISON, ABOVE