Women’s cricket cuppers was cancelled this past weekend, as only one college, Balliol, was able to field a team.
Katie Longo, Balliol co-captain and MPhil in Modern British and European History, placed part of the blame on the lack of pitch time given to women, relative to men’s teams, citing a Catch-22: because women don’t get enough pitch time, not enough women come out to play cricket, and because not enough women come out to play, more pitch time is not allocated.
Cuppers was scheduled to take place over the course of one day last weekend. Longo criticised the one-day format, stating that it limits the number of matches that can be played, stifling the ability of non-cricketeers to pick up the sport.
Torrential rain also played a role this term, as cuppers had to be postponed to this weekend, from the original date of Sunday of 4th week, forcing cancellations from cricketeers unavailable on the later date.