by Christine Davey
Thursday, January 24, 2002

While phoning a prospective interviewee during Melbourne's Boxing Day Test, I suggested a meeting in the press gallery. "How will I recognise you?" he asked. "Simple," was the reply. "I'm the woman."

It's stating the obvious, but Australians love sport. If two ants crawl up a drainpipe we'll form a crowd, discuss race tactics and probably launch an inquiry into corruption surrounding the event. Where cricket is concerned, the word "love" seems inadequate. We watch, play and gloat about it in our thousands.

Given this national obsession, it is anomalous that more Australian women aren't writing about the sport. Only a handful of us earn our living through cricket journalism, none as full time specialists and no Australian television network or radio station has female broadcasters. Cricket, in the land down under, remains a bastion of "blokedom".

It's an insult to the collective psyche, (considering our enthusiasm for trouncing the English at everything) that while Sybil Ruscoe cracks the glass ceiling, we're having trouble raising our efforts above the level of the water cooler. We are proud of our gender politics record and have tried hard to dispel the image that this is a land of Bruces and Sheilas; a place where men are men and kangaroos are nervous.

We were second in the world (after New Zealand, much to our annoyance) to give women the vote. We produced Germaine Greer and we were one of the first cricket nations to admit women as full club members. We possess a thriving and non discriminatory sports cadetship process and thanks to political correctness, the press box is no longer the sexist environment it once was. So why don't we hear a female welcoming people to the M.C.G instead of Richie Benaud?

According to Nabila Ahmed, it's all in the head. She recently finished her apprenticeship with Melbourne's Age newspaper and is heading straight for the sports department. "We lack role models," she says. "We need our own Sybil Ruscoe. We're waiting for someone to gain a profile and show that it's a viable career option. As soon as the precedent is set, others will follow."

Then breaking into the old boy's network is just a matter of more women tiptoeing through the door? Ahmed thinks so. "Often the perception that we're unwelcome comes from our own psychology," she adds. "Some women aren't comfortable with a male dominated environment. It takes time and effort to change the establishment, so we have to be ourselves, accept the gender imbalance and get on with it. I've found the guys really helpful. Some of the older ones raise an eyebrow when a woman walks in, but in general there's no difficulty."

Perth-based freelancer Sally Matheson wants a more proactive stance. Moving from arts journalism to the sports field two years ago, Matheson contributes to the Vcricket Website. "There are still those who think women don't belong at cricket matches," she says. "Unfortunately many of them are editors and television executives. I once got in the lift with a well known radio commentator and he asked what I was doing in the press box. I felt like saying I was there to make the tea."

Then it's a case of smashing down the door with a gender biased sledge hammer? Matheson says yes. "Until we get rid of this post colonial hangover and show that women are just as capable of analysing the game, nothing will change. Maybe we should be thinking about affirmative action."

Ah the affirmative action chestnut. I'd love a dollar for every time I've heard that phrase this season! Why so few women take up seats in Australian press boxes remains a complex issue which time and persistence will hopefully address. Meanwhile, if the ants on the drainpipe are playing cricket, it's Richie, rather than Nabila, Sally, or Christine, calling all the shots.

Christine Davey is a freelance cricket writer from Winchelsea, Victoria. She intends retiring to the West Indies to watch cricket and snooze in the sun. Until that plan is financially possible, she writes sports stories and arts reviews.

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