Women’s Cricket Week Still Finds Its Home at Colwall

What happened:

Watch the highlights:

The Guardian’s cricket newsletter The Spin highlighted the continuing tradition of Women’s Cricket Week at Colwall, a village in Herefordshire on the western side of the Malvern Hills. Each summer, a group sets up camp there and spends five days playing cricket, maintaining a tradition that the piece says is still celebrated 100 years on.

The source positions Colwall as the real home of women’s cricket, while noting that other places have claimed that label. Taunton did so in 2006 when the England and Wales Cricket Board named it the new “permanent” base of the England Women’s team, a status the Guardian says proved anything but permanent. Lord’s has also recently attempted to claim the moniker after hosting one women’s Test in 142 years.

Why it matters:

This is not a match result, but it is tournament intelligence in a broader sense: it speaks to where the sport’s continuity actually lives. Elite venues and governing-body labels can dominate the official record, yet Colwall’s case rests on repetition, community, and survival. A five-day summer gathering may not carry the commercial profile of a major international fixture, but it can tell fans more about a sport’s roots than a branding exercise.

The contrast with Lord’s is especially sharp. Lord’s has immense symbolic power in cricket, but the Guardian’s point is that symbolic power alone does not create a home for women’s cricket. One women’s Test in 142 years is presented as a thin basis for that claim. Colwall’s strength is different: it is not prestige first, but lived continuity.

Tournament impact:

For women’s cricket, historical memory matters because the modern game is growing quickly and institutions are competing to define its story. As formats expand, venues professionalise, and more women’s fixtures move into major stadiums, traditions like Women’s Cricket Week offer a counterweight. They remind the sport that progress is not only measured by bigger stages, but also by whether long-running spaces are protected and valued.

There is also a fan consequence. Supporters trying to understand women’s cricket often receive the story through recent milestones: larger crowds, televised competitions, central contracts, or international fixtures. Colwall adds a deeper timeline. It shows that women’s cricket has long-standing communities that pre-date the latest wave of visibility.

What to watch:

The important follow-up is whether places like Colwall remain connected to the sport’s future rather than being treated as heritage footnotes. If women’s cricket continues to grow, the strongest ecosystem will be one that can hold both the elite calendar and the community traditions that kept the game alive.

Confidence:

Confirmed by The Guardian: Women’s Cricket Week continues at Colwall, the gathering lasts five days each summer, and the tradition is being celebrated 100 years on. Still needing follow-up: the full schedule for this year’s week, participating teams or players, and any formal recognition from cricket authorities.