Image of us at Shenley by Google Flow Nana Banana 2 Lite, instructed by me
It must have been mentioned in a Middlesex CCC newsletter that there was to be a women’s test match at Shenley. Janie and I decided to take a Friday off work to go and have a look. We had been to Shenley before, to see Middlesex v Zimbabweans…
…so we thought we knew what we were doing.
However, whereas the Saturday of the Middlesex v Zimbabweans match had been a pretty busy and convivial affair at that small but beautiful ground, we arrived at the women’s test match to an almost empty car park and just a few people to be found in the pavilion.
Janie and I sensed that we were the only people there, other than friends and families of the players and officials.
I spotted a pile of programmes, and asked a random parent/friend how I might pay for one.
Oh, er, don’t know, let me ask around…
…eventually they came back, confessing that no-one knew who might collect the money or how that money might get remitted…
…just take one.
I still have it in my programme collection – I’ll fish it out and scan the cover some time – when I finally get to my 2003 programme pile.
We had a lovely day at Shenley. It is a lovely place to watch cricket. Any cricket ground with a Corn Field End has to be a lovely ground. The headline picture gives a reasonable impression, although our deck chairs were not quite so up close as to be fielding at leg slip and leg gully. Google Flow needs a fair bit of artistic licence in the matter of its depiction of cricket.
Here (and below) is a link to the Shenley club’s website which, strangely, does not boast the women’s test match amongst it’s proud first class and international cricket list of achievements.
The cricketing highlight of our day was to see Claire Taylor settle in to what seemed likely to be (and indeed proved to be) a big innings.
Here is a link to the scorecard from that match.
At one point, after an especially sloppy bit of fielding, Janie turned to me and said, “I’m thoroughly enjoying myself, but this is a bit like watching one of your charity matches”. The bit after the “but” was not meant as a complement.
In truth, back then, the pace of the women’s game, together with the quality of bowling and fielding, was distinctly amateur. Possibly this was because the women’s game was, at that time, still amateur.
The women’s game has come on leaps and bounds since it became professional and real money was invested in the women’s game. Who knew such could be possible?
Still, a thoroughly enjoyable day at Shenley and our first taste of watching women’s cricket.