The Maiden Summer – Details, episodes & analysis

Australian women's cricket has been a feature of our Summers for 150 years. And today's World Champion Australian team actually stands proudly on the shoulders of some of the most talented, bold, and daring women of every generation.

Pivotal to that success is the first Australia and England women's test series held here in the aftermath of the brutal 'bodyline' Ashes series in 1932/33. It was a moment in time when the crowds turned up in their thousands to watch the women's tests, the newspapers devoted column inches to the contests, and our women's cricketers looked set for a cherished place in the national sporting land. It was the long, hot days at the end of 1934, and the bright start of 1935. It was, for Australia's women's cricketers, the maiden summer.

Featuring re-enactments and archival audio from the formative periods in Australian and International womens' cricket history, this podcast tells the story of the fight for women to play Australia's national sporting pastime. 

Make sure to subscribe to The Maiden Summer so you don't miss an episode. 

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Episode 1 - The Trailblazers: those who battled hostility, scepticism and doubt to forge a path for the next generation of women cricketers.

In this episode of The Maiden Summer we tell the story of the women who challenged the idea that cricket was a game only for men. From early charity matches and newspaper scandals, to the first time a team of women from Australia play a team of women called "England", this is the story of the women who fought for the right to play Australia's national pastime.

ABOUT THE MAIDEN SUMMER:
Australian women's cricket has been a feature of our summers for almost 150 years. And today's World Champion Australian team stands proudly on the shoulders of the bold and daring women who have gone before them. Featuring the voices of some of the women who were there and archival audio from the formative periods in Australian and International women's' cricket history, this podcast tells the story of women's fight to play Australia's national sporting pastime.

Written and Narrated by Nick Richardson, visit nickrichardsonwriter.com.au
Production by Chris Plumridge at Jet Streamer, visit jetstreamer.com.au
Featuring the voices of Jane Longhurst, Hazel Pigrum and Sue Westwood.

RESOURCES:
Audio:
Footage supplied by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia’s Film Australia Collection.
Oral History Collection, the National Library of Australia
Oral history Holdings, the National Museum of Australia
Thanks to Cinesound Movietone Productions

Books:
Jacquie Triffitt, On The Front Foot – The Rise of Tasmanian Women’s Cricket (Forty South Publishing, Hobart, 2021). 

https://shop.fortysouth.com.au/products/on-the-front-foot-the-rise-of-tasmanian-womens-cricket-by-jacqui-triffitt-hb

Louise Zedda-Sampson, Bowl The Maidens Over – Our First Women Cricketers (lszpress, 2021)
https://louisezeddasampson.com.au/shop/bowl-the-maidens-over/

Rafaelle Nicholson, Ladies and Lords: a History of Women’s Cricket in Britain (Peter Lang, Oxford, 2019) 

Richard Cashman and Amanda Weaver, Wicket Women – Cricket & Women in Australia (UNSW Press, Kensington, 1991)

Episode 2: The wheels of change. The fluctuating fortunes of women's cricket as a new generation of players emerge from the challenges of World War I and the Depression.

In this episode of The Maiden Summer we see how the momentum of the early years of women's cricket is lost as the power of international events relegates women's sport to a secondary concern. But as Australia recovers from the War years, a new era arrives, not just on the cricket field, but in newspapers, where the first of a generation of women sports journalists take on the role of reporting and promoting women's cricket.   

ABOUT THE MAIDEN SUMMER:
Australian women's cricket has been a feature of our summers for almost 150 years. And today's World Champion Australian team stands proudly on the shoulders of the bold and daring women who have gone before them. Featuring the voices of some of the women who were there and archival audio from the formative periods in Australian and International women's' cricket history, this podcast tells the story of women's fight to play Australia's national sporting pastime.

Written and Narrated by Nick Richardson, visit nickrichardsonwriter.com.au
Production by Chris Plumridge at Jet Streamer, visit jetstreamer.com.au
Featuring the voices of Sue Westwood, Mitch Cleary and Rosalie Flynn

RESOURCES:
Audio:
Footage supplied by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia’s Film Australia Collection.
Oral History Collection, the National Library of Australia
Oral history Holdings, the National Museum of Australia
Thanks to Cinesound Movietone Productions

Books:
Jacquie Triffitt, On The Front Foot – The Rise of Tasmanian Women’s Cricket (Forty South Publishing, Hobart, 2021). 

https://shop.fortysouth.com.au/products/on-the-front-foot-the-rise-of-tasmanian-womens-cricket-by-jacqui-triffitt-hb

Rafaelle Nicholson, Ladies and Lords: a History of Women’s Cricket in Britain (Peter Lang, Oxford, 2019) 

Richard Cashman and Amanda Weaver, Wicket Women – Cricket & Women in Australia (UNSW Press, Kensington, 1991)

Episode 3 - The Start of Something.

It's the summer of 1934-35 and the first team of women's English cricketers are on their way to Australia for the inaugural Test series. In this episode, we capture Australian anxiety about the legacy of the bitter Bodyline summer but also the high hopes that our women's cricketers will show how far the game has come. The crowds turn out in their thousands to witness Australia's new sporting spectacle.

ABOUT THE MAIDEN SUMMER:
Australian women's cricket has been a feature of our summers for almost 150 years. And today's World Champion Australian team stands proudly on the shoulders of the bold and daring women who have gone before them. Featuring the voices of some of the women who were there and archival audio from the formative periods in Australian and International women's' cricket history, this podcast tells the story of women's fight to play Australia's national sporting pastime.

Written and Narrated by Nick Richardson, visit nickrichardsonwriter.com.au
Production by Chris Plumridge at Jet Streamer, visit jetstreamer.com.au
Featuring the voices of Sue Westwood, Mitch Cleary and Rosalie Flynn

RESOURCES:
Audio:
Footage supplied by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia’s Film Australia Collection.
Oral History Collection, the National Library of Australia
Oral history Holdings, the National Museum of Australia
Thanks to Cinesound Movietone Productions

Books:
Jacquie Triffitt, On The Front Foot – The Rise of Tasmanian Women’s Cricket (Forty South Publishing, Hobart, 2021). 

https://shop.fortysouth.com.au/products/on-the-front-foot-the-rise-of-tasmanian-womens-cricket-by-jacqui-triffitt-hb

Rafaelle Nicholson, Ladies and Lords: a History of Women’s Cricket in Britain (Peter Lang, Oxford, 2019) 

Richard Cashman and Amanda Weaver, Wicket Women – Cricket & Women in Australia (UNSW Press, Kensington, 1991)

Episode 4 - From ship to shore: Buoyed by the success of the first summer of international cricket, the Australian women's team embarks on its first tour of England, at a pivotal moment in British history. And while the advent of War will disrupt many competitions, there's a burst of activity after 1945 that puts Australian women in the ascendancy before the arrival of the exciting Swinging Sixties makes cricket look old-fashioned, for everyone.

ABOUT THE MAIDEN SUMMER:
Australian women's cricket has been a feature of our summers for almost 150 years. And today's World Champion Australian team stands proudly on the shoulders of the bold and daring women who have gone before them. Featuring the voices of some of the women who were there and archival audio from the formative periods in Australian and International women's' cricket history, this podcast tells the story of women's fight to play Australia's national sporting pastime.

Written and Narrated by Nick Richardson, visit nickrichardsonwriter.com.au
Production by Chris Plumridge at Jet Streamer, visit jetstreamer.com.au
Featuring the voices of Sue Westwood, Mitch Cleary and Rosalie Flynn

RESOURCES:
Audio:
Footage supplied by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia’s Film Australia Collection.
Oral History Collection, the National Library of Australia
Oral history Holdings, the National Museum of Australia
Thanks to Cinesound Movietone Productions

Books:
Jacquie Triffitt, On The Front Foot – The Rise of Tasmanian Women’s Cricket (Forty South Publishing, Hobart, 2021). 

https://shop.fortysouth.com.au/products/on-the-front-foot-the-rise-of-tasmanian-womens-cricket-by-jacqui-triffitt-hb

Rafaelle Nicholson, Ladies and Lords: a History of Women’s Cricket in Britain (Peter Lang, Oxford, 2019) 

Richard Cashman and Amanda Weaver, Wicket Women – Cricket & Women in Australia (UNSW Press, Kensington, 1991)

Episode 5 - Taking on Tradition: Cricket is in the doldrums and it takes some energy, innovation and on-field success for the game to keep its momentum. Some inspiration and grand piece of timing helps ensure that women finally enter the male haven at Lords, while a friendly chat over a game of golf ushers in a period of growth in Australian women's cricket, courtesy of the game's first major sponsor.

ABOUT THE MAIDEN SUMMER:
Australian women's cricket has been a feature of our summers for almost 150 years. And today's World Champion Australian team stands proudly on the shoulders of the bold and daring women who have gone before them. Featuring the voices of some of the women who were there and archival audio from the formative periods in Australian and International women's' cricket history, this podcast tells the story of women's fight to play Australia's national sporting pastime.

Written and Narrated by Nick Richardson, visit nickrichardsonwriter.com.au
Production by Chris Plumridge at Jet Streamer, visit jetstreamer.com.au

RESOURCES:
Audio:
Footage supplied by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia’s Film Australia Collection.
Oral History Collection, the National Library of Australia
Oral history Holdings, the National Museum of Australia
Thanks to Cinesound Movietone Productions

Books:
Jacquie Triffitt, On The Front Foot – The Rise of Tasmanian Women’s Cricket (Forty South Publishing, Hobart, 2021). 

https://shop.fortysouth.com.au/products/on-the-front-foot-the-rise-of-tasmanian-womens-cricket-by-jacqui-triffitt-hb

Rafaelle Nicholson, Ladies and Lords: a History of Women’s Cricket in Britain (Peter Lang, Oxford, 2019) 

Richard Cashman and Amanda Weaver, Wicket Women – Cricket & Women in Australia (UNSW Press, Kensington, 1991)

Episode 6 - The Final Frontier: Those at the top of the women's game know there's only one solution if women's cricket is going to thrive, and that's to amalgamate with the men. But how is that going to happen? And who will help deliver it? It takes some inspired help from a future governor general plus several key moments - on field and off - to keep the momentum building. And to set up that golden moment at the MCG in March, 2020, when 86,000 fans turn up to cheer Australia on to win the T20 World Cup.

ABOUT THE MAIDEN SUMMER:
Australian women's cricket has been a feature of our summers for almost 150 years. And today's World Champion Australian team stands proudly on the shoulders of the bold and daring women who have gone before them. Featuring the voices of some of the women who were there and archival audio from the formative periods in Australian and International women's' cricket history, this podcast tells the story of women's fight to play Australia's national sporting pastime.

Written and Narrated by Nick Richardson, visit nickrichardsonwriter.com.au
Production by Chris Plumridge at Jet Streamer, visit jetstreamer.com.au

RESOURCES:
Audio:
Footage supplied by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia’s Film Australia Collection.
Oral History Collection, the National Library of Australia
Oral history Holdings, the National Museum of Australia
Thanks to Cinesound Movietone Productions

Books:
Jacquie Triffitt, On The Front Foot – The Rise of Tasmanian Women’s Cricket (Forty South Publishing, Hobart, 2021). 

https://shop.fortysouth.com.au/products/on-the-front-foot-the-rise-of-tasmanian-womens-cricket-by-jacqui-triffitt-hb

Rafaelle Nicholson, Ladies and Lords: a History of Women’s Cricket in Britain (Peter Lang, Oxford, 2019) 

Richard Cashman and Amanda Weaver, Wicket Women – Cricket & Women in Australia (UNSW Press, Kensington, 1991)

In the midst of another Ashes' contest, in our concluding episode, we hear from some of the pioneers of Australian women's cricket about the way the game helped shape their lives and we track their post-cricket careers as the game becomes more professional and recognition slowly arrives.

ABOUT THE MAIDEN SUMMER:
Australian women's cricket has been a feature of our summers for almost 150 years. And today's World Champion Australian team stands proudly on the shoulders of the bold and daring women who have gone before them. Featuring the voices of some of the women who were there and archival audio from the formative periods in Australian and International women's' cricket history, this podcast tells the story of women's fight to play Australia's national sporting pastime.

Written and Narrated by Nick Richardson, visit nickrichardsonwriter.com.au
Production by Chris Plumridge at Jet Streamer, visit jetstreamer.com.au

RESOURCES:
Audio:
Footage supplied by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia’s Film Australia Collection.
Oral History Collection, the National Library of Australia
Oral history Holdings, the National Museum of Australia
Thanks to Cinesound Movietone Productions

For a full list of resources, go to nickrichardsonwriter.com.au

Books:
Jacquie Triffitt, On The Front Foot – The Rise of Tasmanian Women’s Cricket (Forty South Publishing, Hobart, 2021). 

https://shop.fortysouth.com.au/products/on-the-front-foot-the-rise-of-tasmanian-womens-cricket-by-jacqui-triffitt-hb

Rafaelle Nicholson, Ladies and Lords: a History of Women’s Cricket in Britain (Peter Lang, Oxford, 2019) 

Richard Cashman and Amanda Weaver, Wicket Women – Cricket & Women in Australia (UNSW Press, Kensington, 1991)