Women have been smashing sixes in cricket since 1745 with the first ever recorded match taking place in Surrey. However, it was another 100 years before women started to play in village games with 140 clubs being formed.
Fast-forward to October 2025, and England are competing as favourites in the 52nd edition of the ODI Women’s World Cup.
Sky Sports aired its first women’s cricket match in June 1996 and 25 years later, in 2021, showed 52 live games. But the men had a 60 year head start. Their first televised game hit screens back in the 1930’s.
Has there been an increase in participation of females in cricket on Merseyside?
Although the increased media coverage has encouraged more girls to get involved, other factors have also been influential, particularly, the recent success of the England women’s football team.
The Lionesses this summer held on to become back-to-back European Champions, and this success not only saw an increase in young girls playing football but also in the participation of young girls in sports overall.
Shorter formats of the game have also grabbed the attention of younger players, with the Hundred tournament seemingly targeted towards a younger audience.
The impact of having role models is huge as well, Eliesha Netherwood, a junior coach at New Brighton CC said: “Role models are vital and the fact women are now being played to play is making the sport more appealing.”
In Liverpool, Sefton Park Cricket Club were one of the first teams founded in 1860 but for some reason only established a Women’s first team in 2019.
Coincidentally, 2019 was also the year when the Liverpool and Districts Competition established it’s Women and Girls Sub Committee. It reported in 2024 that 830 women and girls had played cricket in Merseyside that year.
Kirsten Shoesmith is Women’s first team captain at Oxton CC, who play one of the five divisions of the Cheshire County Cricket League. She said: “Social media and word of mouth have influenced female participation.”
Another player for Oxton, Sarah McDonald said: “I joined to meet new people and to be involved in team sports again, something I haven’t done since being a teenager. There has been a rise in women’s sport in general, like the Lionesses, having the spotlight on them in the media after a few successful seasons.”
In 2022, the Liverpool Business House Cricket League celebrated fifty years and as of 2024 has twenty-nine clubs playing across four divisions.
The establishment of the English Schools Cricket Association has also made the game more accessible. State schools now have a competition for under 11s through to under 15s which is closing the gap with private schools.
University Cricket has seen a big rise in the participation. Liverpool John Moores University established their first women’s team in 2023 and in 2025 entered the Northwest league for BUCS where they competed in both indoor and outdoor games.
Next year sees the return of the Women’s T20 World Cup to England where matches will be played across the country in iconic grounds such as The Oval and Lords, inspiring the next generation.
