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On a village green near Guildford in Surrey, eleven maids of Bramley played eleven maids of Hambledon. It was the first ever recorded game of cricket involving women – and the year was 1745.

But the history of women’s cricket gives us a familiar tale of failure to thrive at a sport controlled by, played by, and largely watched by men.
There were some trailblazers. Rachael Heyhoe Flint helped organise the first Women’s Cricket World Cup in 1973, and Enid Bakewell scored a century on her England debut in 1968.

But as in men’s cricket, the battles between England and Australia have always been the most intense, and with great tradition. The women’s side play for the ashes of a cremated miniature bat – ceremonially set alight in a wok sometime in the late 1990s.

The 2005 season promised it all and delivered. Not only the greatest-ever Ashes series of the men’s game, but also a triumph for the England Women’s team with a 1-0 victory in their two-match series against Australia.

In a symbolic first, the two teams shared a celebratory open-topped bus tour through central London.

Joining Kirsty Wark are Claire Taylor, the first woman to be named as one of Wisden’s Cricketers of the Year in 2009; Holly Colvin, who took part in the Ashes in 2005 aged just 15; women’s assistant coach and manager Neil Rider; Rosalie Fairbairn, lower middle order batter; off-break bowler Laura Kelly MacLeod; and Â鶹Éç Sport reporter and commentator Alison Mitchell.

Presenter: Kirsty Wark
Producer: Howard Shannon
Editor: David Prest
A Whistledown production for Â鶹Éç Radio 4