Culture today (of a kind) with women's international cricket between India and Australia at Manuka Oval. It was a chance to soak up some sun watching these capable and athletic women play for their countries as I wondered about how cricket caught on in India.
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| Manuka Oval 2 February 2016 |
According to ESPN's Cricinfo, the game was introduced by British sailors as early as 1721. The first club, restricted to European men, was the Calcutta Cricket Club, established in 1792. It was in Mumbai in 1797 that Indian men first took to the field, and in 1848 the Parsees formed the Orient Club, beating the Europeans for the first time in 1877. The Women's Cricket Association of India was formed around 100 years later in 1973.
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| 2nd Test in 1935 in Sydney |
The first time a (male) Indian national team travelled to Australia was in 1947-48 when they played a five match series. Given this, it might surprise you to know that the Australian women's team, the Southern Stars, played their first test match (against England) in Sydney in 1934.
On this beautiful afternoon in Canberra, as the crowd claps for a four from Elise Perry and the bowler walks back to her starting mark, I am delighted that cricket offers this cross-cultural opportunity.
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