At this summer’s edition of the Hundred, a short-form cricket tournament in England, umpires for the men’s games — all of them men except for Redfern — were paid three times as much as umpires at the women’s games, seven of whom were women.
Regarding money, it’s bad news as ever for the female side of the species, but there’s a novel development concerning gentlewomanly incursion into the gentleman’s game, as cricket has been called.
Sue Redfern, who bowled for England in a Women’s World Cup match in 1997, “will become the first woman to serve as a standing umpire in the England and Wales men’s county championship, in a game between Glamorgan and Derbyshire in Cardiff, the Welsh capital.”
(It has dawned on me only now that I grew up around a saying heard mostly on the playground: That’s just not cricket! “Cricket” was an adjective to us. The comment meant, “That’s just not fair!” We grubby West Texas urchins had no inkling there was such a game as cricket. I see now how the sport’s reputation for rules-based play, adherence to form and hidebound aura had filtered down to popular lingo in faraway places.)
Surrey, by all reports, is the one to beat:
The county championship is one of the oldest organized sporting activities in the world — the first official champion (Surrey) was crowned in 1890, and unofficial titles date back to 1864 (also Surrey). As if to underline the slow rate of change, the leader of this year’s championship is … Surrey.
(Victor Mather, “Female Umpire Breaks Ground in Tradition-Laden Cricket League,” New York Times, 9-22-23)
(c) 2023 JMN — EthicalDative. All rights reserved
EthicalDative 
Goodness, that batter has got right in front of their stumps. Must be LBW.
We like Sue Redfern
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Thank you, OA, I think. I put a positive spin on your observation about stumps and LBW without quite understanding it. Nothing new there, cricket is an abstruse game. Cheers and regards! 🙂
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💜
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