Cricket: The Women’s Cricket Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board

Whilst the merger in 1998 between the WCA and the ECB may appear egalitarian as both men and women’s cricket are represented, this chapter applies the theory of established and outsider relations to consider the changing roles of women and men in the governance of cricket before, during and after the merger. I argue that by understanding the merger as a long term process in an established and outsider figuration, a process of functional democratisation can be demonstrated whereby there has been a move towards a greater equalisation of power imbalances (seen in more funding, more recognition, more sponsorship); on the other hand, the inequity in coaching positions and leadership roles represent a continuing imbalance of power between the established and outsider groups which enables the established group to have sufficient power to shape the way the game develops and critically monopolise key positions of power in leadership and governance of the women’s and men’s game.