March: ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2022

Celebrating Women’s Cricket and International Women’s Day

Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature was pleased to partner with DCC Community Development and Events, to produce Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 decals for display at key venues and locations throughout the city during this international sporting competition. Dunedin hosted three matches at The Oval on Saturday 5 March, Monday 7 March and Wednesday 9 March. International Women’s Day is 8 March so perfectly timed for a double celebration.

The City of Literature worked with local poet Ruth Arnison (Poems in the Waiting Room) who composed a poem celebrating the game of cricket. Lynn Benson and her wonderful team at Hocken Collections unearthed a c. 1909 photograph of the Dunedin Ladies’ Cricket Club at The Oval. The vibrant decal was installed around and because they are easily removed it is probable that many organisations will choose to leave them hanging as a memento of a wonderfully organised visit to Ōtepoti.

Ōtepoti has a long and proud history of women’s cricket that culminated in the establishment of the Otago Ladies’ Cricket Association in 1932. During the decade competitive women’s cricket flourished in popularity and went from strength to strength locally, national and internationally. By the close of the 1935 season, 20 women’s teams played in the Otago Ladies’ Cricket Association competition, doubling the sides fielded just two years prior. Ōtepoti’s Suzie Bates is a White Ferns star player who currently holds the highest score and highest batting average in the New Zealand Women’s Twenty20 cricket team.

When Cricket meets Poetry: empower women in Dunedin | Creative Cities Network (unesco.org)