Isabelle Duncan feels that not enough has been told about women’s cricket. This may have been understandable in the early and middle part of the 20th century, when women’s cricket existed in a twilight world, regarded as a sporting occupation for ladies who could perhaps be most tactfully described as unconventional.
She traces the history of the ladies’ game, delving into its sometimes murky past and revealing the recent explosion in its popularity. She brings to light some of the more remarkable and interesting stories and individuals who have had some sort of love affair with cricket, the world’s second most popular game, following only football. These notable and sometimes controversial figures have dared to cross the boundary into this male dominated world.
Isabelle starts at the beginning, when ladies made their first mark in cricket in the late 18th century amid frantic betting and rowdy crowd scenes. Then on to the highs and lows of the 19th and 20th centuries and culminating in the 21st century heroines who are dominating world cricket and are now fully professional.
Isabelle Duncan was educated at Charterhouse School and the University of Durham in the United Kingdom. In 2002, she was elected a Full Playing member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the world’s most prestigious, where she sits on the Membership & General Purposes Committee. She is also an elected member of the Cricket Writers' Club and a Member of the Queen's Club, which she represents in real tennis and rackets.
Isabelle has played in the King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament in Bangkok and is a former British Open Women’s Rackets Doubles Champion. She is a Judge for British Sports Journalism Awards and has had over 100 articles in print on cricket and other sports for numerous publications. She has spoken widely internationally from the Houses of Parliament in London to clubs worldwide. She is the author of Skirting the Boundary – A History of Women’s Cricket, a long overdue history of the role of women in the world second most popular sport, with over 2.6 billion players and supporters.
Members of the RGS, their guests and others are most welcome to attend this event, which is HK$200 for RGS Members and HK$250 for guests and others.
The Royal Geographical Society - Hong Kong wishes to express its thanks to
Hill Dickinson as the Venue Sponsor of this talk.
The opinions expressed in this talk are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect those of the Royal Geographical Society - Hong Kong.
.