Heyhoe Flint’s Spirit lives on at Lord’s

Lord’s: the flagship of England cricket. A bustling, buoyant bubble of champagne corks and garish blazers. For decades this amphitheatre has provided aspiration for a wealth of male cricketers. A nursery in its own accord, seemingly alienated from the rest of society. A glimpse of the Honours Board, a stroll in the Long Room, a gaze at the Pavilion - present day reminders of an omitted past that remain not for willing, but for tradition alone.

Diversity in the sport has accelerated within the last decade: Lord’s hosting England Women’s World Cup win in 2017, full-time domestic contracts, widened spotlight on international tournaments. On Wednesday afternoon ahead of the first day between England and South Africa, the MCC unveiled the Heyhoe Flint Gate at Lord’s, honouring the life of pioneer Baroness Rachael Heyhoe Flint. A career spanning a smidgen over two decades that preceded her campaign to allow women to become Members of the MCC, her crucial role in constructing the Women’s World Cup in 1973 has helped pave a foundation for female cricketers for generations to follow.

Now, five years on from her death, those achievements have been sufficiently recognised.

This year Lord’s has hosted more women’s matches on the Home Ground than in any other year of its illustrious history. England women are set to walk padded up through the Long Room for the first time in five years. Up until 1997 it was still a requirement for women cricketers to wear skirts on the field of play, and not until the following year were they permitted to be a member of the MCC. Knocking on the seigneur’s door appears to do the trick as Father Time reveals a welcome breeze blowing in across Lord’s luscious lawn.

The difficulties in knitting together a working schedule to accommodate all formats in a mutually beneficial pattern is proving irksome. With The Hundred, Tests and Vitality Blast gracing the hallowed ground the priorities are evident. Six miles to the northwest, the FA offices in Wembley Stadium have seemingly embraced this inclusivity and are reaping the rewards. Football’s counterpart to Lord’s, yet that colossal bowl beneath the acclaimed arch feels like more of a home for its women’s national team than the ‘home’ of cricket.

And how can it not? As England women’s national football side lift the European Championship in front of 87,192 exultant supporters. Five weeks after their triumph they return to a near sold out scene, fresh to face Australia. Meanwhile, cricket’s equivalent wait five years to return to the ground where Heather Knight hoisted the World Cup high into the heavens following their dramatic nine-run victory over India. 1,850 days and rising, soon to reach its zenith as Lord’s is soon to host both an ODI against India and the final of the Rachel Heyhoe Flint trophy in consecutive days.

As England men’s side wilted under a supreme Proteas bowling attack, that renowned murmur turned to a moan with the return of the Lord’s Test woes. But through the murk of the collapse there was some virtue in it all. Heyhoe Flint’s services to cricket are perpetually engraved on the gates of Lord’s as the ECB begin to establish it’s historic jewel as a level playing field. For the stream of supporters who flood through Heyhoe Flint’s gate on a match day the name will now be etched alongside Grace, Compton and Edrich for eternity.