ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the sociogenesis of a model of English 'national character' and the invented traditions of cricket as the 'English game' were highly interdependent processes. It explores the emergence of the cricket and Englishness ideology, identifying aspects of the symbolic annihilation of women within the process. The chapter examines the pan-British manifestation of cricket and the emergence of national representative sides for 'English' cricket. It also examines the role of Englishness in both the male and female versions of the game. The chapter also focuses that the cricket and Englishness ideology relies on a specific narrative of the game's history in which particular elements are brought to the fore and others marginalised. It illustrates the cricket's status as the quintessential English game is both gendered and reliant on a conflated view of English–-British.
