The First International Women's Cricket Tour

Australia V England

In 1934 the secretary of the Australian Women's Cricket Association, Margaret Peden, sent invitations to both England and New Zealand to tour Australia during the summer of 1934-35 and take part in a triangular series. New Zealand declined the offer however England accepted with delight and began making preparations for the tour. It was envisaged that the English team would travel to Australia, arriving in Perth, via the Suez Canal, and return by the Panama with the estimated cost of the return journey of £80 to be borne by the players.

In addition to being secretary, Margaret Peden was also appointed Captain of the Australian team.

In preparation for the Test series, Peden along with her equally talented sister Barbara (1907-1984), an architect and cricketer, set up the first indoor coaching centre in Australia located at the Salvation Army Building on Elizabeth Street, Sydney.

The three-Test series was comprehensively won by the more experienced English, captained by Betty Archdale who later emigrated to Australia. Archdale was conscious of lingering unrest from the Bodyline tactics employed by England during the 32-33 men's Ashes series, believed her team might help heal damaged relations. It appears to have worked.

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1934-1935 England Women's Team, captained by Betty Archdale

Back row, left to right:
Doris Turner, Mollie Child, Mary Richards, Molly Hide, Joy Liebert, Mary Taylor and Grace Morgan.

Front row, left to right: Mary Spear, Carol Valentine, Myrtle Maclagan, Betty Snowball, Betty Archdale (Captain), Betty Green, Joy Partridge, Mary Burleston.

The England team relax on board the SS Cathay enroute to Australia. The voyage, via the Suez Canal, took 32 days and ended at Fremantle, Western Australia, November 1934.

P&O cruise liner menu used on board the SS Cathay. The ship was powered by steam and unstabilized, making it pitch and roll in rough weather.

The first two Tests were to be three-day games whilst the last was to be played to conclusion. The hours of play were from 1.15pm to 6.15pm with the tea break taken between 3.15 and 3.30pm. The 59 day tour included 23 days cricket.


The uniform for the Australians consisted of a linen divided skirt and shirt blouse in the same style as the English. Some of the Australians wore the divided skirt as adopted by the English but generally their skirts were longer and more cumbersome. The English uniform consisted of a divided skirt (coming to just above the knee) and blouses of airtex. The skirts had pleats and flares to provide the necessary fullness and were to be worn with lisle stockings. Due to the expected hardness of Australian fields some of the English players wore canvas shoes with crepe rubber soles in place of the leather-soled nail-studded shoes they would normally wear. It is interesting to note that prior to the tour the accepted dress for cricket in England was a white dress, not sleeveless.

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1934-1935 Australian Women's Team, captained by Margaret Peden.

Back row, left to right:
(Umpire unknown), Nell McLarty, Lorna Kettles, Margaret Peden (Captain), Amy Hudson, Barbara Peden, (Umpire unknown).

Front row, left to right:
Hazel Pritchard, Esther Shevill, Kath Smith, Rene Shevill, Joyce Brewer, Anne Palmer. Absent; Peggy Antonio, Ruth Preddey (Manager)

News article from The Telegraph, heralding the arrival of the English side to Australia. Labelling bowler Enid Taylor as the 'Larwood the Englishwomen". 'Bad blood' was still felt by the Australian audiences at the beginning of the women's series, after the acrimonious Bodyline series 2 years prior.

From their opening tour match in Perth, the English team were feted across the country. Large crowds turned out to many matches, rivalling contemporary Sheffield Shield audiences.

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Image: The official programme for the women's 'first international' cricket match, played on the W.A.C.A ground, Perth.

Cricket in their blood
Lola Edwards going out to bat for Western Australia in Perth, against the English.

Lola was the aunt of former Test player and former Cricket Australia Chairman, Wally Edwards. Photo at the W.A.C.A in November, 1934.

Tour matches against most states and some country teams led to the first women’s Test series, played at Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Along the way, sceptical male spectators were won over, and even the press championed the quality and spirit of the cricket played.