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Women's Cricket in Australia - About Us...
Women's Cricket in Australia
Cricket has been played by women in Australia since 1874 (and in England since the mid 1700’s). Organised competitions have existed at State level since the early 1900’s and National level since 1931/32. The first International game was played in 1934/35, against England.
The Australian Women’s Cricket Council (AWCC) was formed in March, 1931 to administer and develop the game at the National level. The original members of AWCC were Victoria, NSW and Queensland with South Australia and Western Australia affiliating in 1934. ACT and Tasmania affiliated in 1977 and 1982 respectively. In recent times ACT has amalgamated with ACTCA and Tasmania disbanded in 1992and reaffiliated in 1998.
The AWCC was incorporated under the Victorian Companies Code in 1973 being one of the first women’s sporting bodies to incorporate and protect its members. It adopted the business name of Women's Cricket in Australia (Women's Cricket) in November 1995. In October, 1997 Women's Cricket changed its status to become an incorporated association Women's Cricket in Australia Inc.
Australia has been affiliated with the International Women’s Cricket Council (IWCC) since 1958 and is one of eleven countries currently involved in international competition. Australia is the No. 1 ranked international team in the world in both one day and Test Cricket. The first World Cup One Day Series was played by women in England in 1973, two years before the World Cricket concept began for men, with Australia having won four World Cups in 1978, 1982, 1988 and 1997.
Nationally, Women's Cricket provides the framework and support for (seven) state associations to develop cricket for women and girls at levels ranging from junior to modified through to national interstate competitions at Under 17, Under 19 and Open levels. In total over 26,500 women and girls are playing cricket at school and club level nationally.
The Women's Cricket restructured its administration in 1986 with further reviews in 1995 & 1997 and was administered by a Board of Directors who are assisted by several volunteer committees, two full time paid employees and one part time employee.
Integration 2001
In late 2001, a decision by Women’s Cricket Australia (Women's Cricket) and the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) to trial the integration of the two organisations took place.
Both organisations recognised that it was essential for the sport that as many people as possible from both genders are able to enjoy our game. It became increasingly apparent that having separate organisations undertaking similar roles worked against cricket realising its full potential to attract women and girls to the game. While both organisations were successful in the way they went about administering the sport under their jurisdiction, tackling the task of promoting cricket in this way inevitably resulted in the duplication of human and financial resources.
In order to overcome these issues and to maximise the use of cricket’s resources, Women's Cricket and the ACB agreed to a two-year trial of the integration of their operations.
This approach saw the six key functional areas that both organisations must manage blended together to allow them to service the overall need for the game. These areas are Finance and Administration, Commercial Operations, Cricket Operations, Game Development, Legal Services and Public Affairs.
It was expected that the integration of the two bodies will provide the following benefits:
- The opportunity to develop the game further by more effectively using the existing cricket structures from grass roots to the elite level;
- Ensure more efficient and effective allocation of resources through streamlined administration and use of existing ACB expertise in areas such as Marketing, Game Development and Operations;
- Reduce the financial pressure on the members of the senior women’s Australian team by increasing player allowances to cope with the financial pressures of touring; and
- Maximise the access to facilities for national and international competitions by coordinating programs and schedules.
In embarking on this trial, both Women's Cricket and the ACB recognised that there is likely to be a number of issues that will arise that will require careful and sensitive management.
For this reason, there is a transitional period of two years to smooth the process of integration.
Overseeing the transition is a newly created Women’s Cricket Advisory Committee to be chaired by the President of Women's Cricket. This Committee includes three representatives from the ACB Board and people from each State and the ACT. This structure is very similar to the recently introduced Game Development Committee.
This Committee is responsible for ensuring that the two bodies are able to merge their operations without any loss of identity or importance for either organisation.
The Women's Cricket Executive Officer became Manager, Women’s Cricket Operations within the ACB Cricket Operations area that currently manages all arrangements for the elite male teams.
The AIS/National Head Coach reports directly to the Manager, Women’s Cricket Operations and continues responsibility for the High Performance Program.
The responsibility for the women’s cricket development programs was taken up by the Game Development Department of the ACB with the role of Senior Officer, Women’s Cricket Development created in this area to take responsibility for this work.
Other responsibilities for areas such as marketing, finance, public affairs and legal services will be taken up by the relevant Departments within the ACB.
Women's Cricket Australia will be known simply as Women's Cricket, as a program of the Australian Cricket Board and the Women's Cricket logo will no longer be used.
BOOKS PUBLISHED CONTAINING INFORMATION ON WOMEN'S CRICKET
Wicket Women -Cricket and Women in Australia, written by Richard Cashman and Amanda Weaver published by NSW University Press in 1991 (NSW University press 02 9398 899 is the number in the front of the book)
The Oxford Companion to Australian Cricket published by Oxford University Press Australia -1996
Fair Play by Rachael Heyhoe Flint and Netta Rheinberg -Published by Angus and Robertson Publishers (UK) 1976
For more information on Women's Cricket in Australia, see Cricket Australia's Women's section website
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