The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has unveiled 53 purple seats at Edgbaston Stadium ahead of the first ICC Women’s T20 World Cup match on Friday.
The seats recognise 53 women shaping the future of cricket, with Middlesex Cricket board member and chair of our Women's Cricket Committee, Marilyn Smith, being recognised.
The number 53 is a nod to the years since the inaugural Women’s Cricket World Cup was held in England in 1973, with those included illustrating the breadth, diversity and richness of the cricket community today, from those who played a starring role in England’s 1973 World Cup-winning team, to current and future voices of the game.
The purple seats have been installed in the stands for the duration of the tournament as a highly visible recognition of women who are shaping the future of the game for generations to come and whose everyday contributions keep the sport thriving – often behind the scenes. In a nod to the colour associated with the Suffragette movement, the seats act as visual markers of recognition – celebrating women who are not just elite athletes, but coaches, grassroots volunteers, community leaders, broadcasters, officials, organisers and changemakers who are changing the game at every level, showing that there is a place for everybody in cricket and inspiring other women and girls to want to get involved themselves.
Marilyn's story can be read below.
Cricket is a fabulous game, with so many different ways of playing, and offering great opportunities to enrich your life. I play, I coach, I score, I manage, and I support. And I have a great time socialising with my friends!
Through playing for MCC women, I get to meet loads of different people, and play all over the world. At a local level, captaining my club's women’s team is really exciting, a mix of young girls and older women, all having great fun and learning together. Cricket really is a game for all ages, and I am now playing seniors cricket for men's and women’s teams, and can finally play with people of my own age again!
I love being part of the family of a local club, and being the club Cricket Manager is fun and is also a challenge! Having good organisational skills and experience of working in committees has helped me in my voluntary role as a Director of Middlesex CCC, where I chair the Middlesex Women's Cricket Committee, and can influence the direction of cricket in the county.
Other fun opportunities that cricket has brought me are trips to Australia and West Indies to watch England play, trips to Brazil and Kenya to coach in schools and community projects, pre-season training in Corfu and a trip to Norway to play in a women’s tournament.
I got in to cricket in my 20s, when I worked behind a bar in an indoor cricket centre, and mixed teams needed a woman player. I have never looked back. Didn’t even miss a full season when I had a child!
My proudest moment was playing in the first ever MCC women’s game. We had broken the glass ceiling, and women were finally allowed in to this all-male institution. Women can effect change.
In cricket, you are part of a community, and the friends you make are friends for life.
Also a part of the 53 is Glynis Culley, who is a Coach & Volunteer at Winchmore Hill CC and a former England Women player. You can view her story below.
I started playing cricket when I studied at Bedford College of Physical Education. There had been no opportunity, as a girl, to play cricket when I was younger. I was a tennis player so had good hand-eye coordination, and instantly took to the game. In a short time I was playing for Gunnersbury CC and had advanced to playing for Middlesex. This, of course, was alongside my day job as a teacher.
Success at Middlesex led me to selection for Young England at the inaugural World Cup in 1973. I then progressed to playing for England. Matches took me the length and breadth of the country, including World Cups in India and New Zealand.
Alongside playing, I achieved my Advanced Coaching Award and became a fully qualified umpire, standing for several years in the Thames Valley League. I have coached the Middlesex Junior girls' team and numerous school teams.
As a woman cricketer, back in the day, I received no remuneration or financial help to buy kit. I spent a great deal of time playing for Rachael Heyhoe-Flint's team, travelling around playing charity matches. The donations we received from these matches went to the WCA, keeping the women's game alive.
I continued my cricket journey by establishing a Junior Section at my village cricket club 30 years ago. This has gone from strength to strength despite incapacity having reduced my participation to scoring and administration; I am still enjoying being involved with the game.
Cricket has offered me a lifetime of learning skills, having fun and making many, many friends. To any girl thinking of playing, I would say 'go for it'. There is something in the game for everyone, whatever ability.
I am extremely proud of the evolution of Junior Cricket at my Club and for being a member of the first Women's Team to play at Lord's in 1976.
