The first recorded women’s county cricket match was played on the 3rd of October 1811 between Hampshire and Surrey at Balls Pond on Newington Green, north London.

Thomas Rowlandson, Rural Sports or a Cricket Match Extraordinary, circa 1811.

The match was played for five hundred guineas and lasted for three days; Hampshire eventually winning by fifteen notches. The bawdy spectacle was of immense appeal to the large group of spectators, resulting in the immediate fixing of a return match.

Jack Plane