Women Cricketers Who Have Played For Men’s Teams (Source: AFP & X.com/@FirstTrojans)
In an unusual move to prepare for the Women’s Asia Cup 2026, which gets underway on August 23, Pakistan women’s team played 2 T20 matches against a men’s side before travelling to Dubai for the continental tournament.
Pakistan have never won the Women’s Asia Cup. The closest they went was in 2012 and 2016, when they reached the final in consecutive editions, only to lose to arch-rivals India on both occasions.
Notably, it has been a decade since the Women in Green last reached the summit clash, having been knocked out in the semi-finals in each of the previous two editions.
Thus, leaving no stone unturned this time, Fatima Sana’s side played those 2 fixtures against the men’s team, featuring senior and junior players at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.
Such incidents remind us the moments when women have broken barriers by competing in men’s or co-ed teams at different levels of the game.
Indeed, women are not inferior to men in the talent they possess, and the fact that a few women cricketers have competed with or against men is ample proof of this.
Along the same lines, let’s take a list of 5 notable women cricketers who played for a men’s team.
5) Clare Connor: Brighton College 1st XI cricket team
In February 2026, Clare Connor stepped down from the role of ECB Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of England Women.
Notably, in a trailblazing career in administration, Connor oversaw the transformation of women’s and girls’ cricket in England and Wales for more than 18 years at the ECB.
She led women’s cricket from an amateur game into a professional era, introducing the first central contracts for England Women, and overseeing the introduction of a professional structure and professional contracts for domestic female players.
Also read: Father-Son Duos To Grace Cricketing World
Notably, Connor’s remarkable impact on women’s cricket had been a result of the fact that growing up, despite being a girl, she was trusted to play for Brighton College.
Years later, in an interview with her school, Brighton College, as an alumnus, Connor revealed that her coach did not care whether the sport was “too dangerous. Too physical? Too demanding?”
He remained consistent on his stance, “If Clare's good enough to play 1st XI cricket, then I will pick her". She was treated fairly and given the opportunity in return for her hardwork.
This helped her attain an impeccable attitude that helped her play for England for ten years, six of which as captain, and finished shortly after they regained the Women's Ashes in 2005.
4) Arran Brindle: Owmby CC Trojans
On May 23, 2021, a mother-son duo went viral for making history when they stitched a partnership worth 143 runs to win a men’s club match.
Former England all-rounder Arran Brindle, who had taken a break from international cricket from 2005 to 2011 to become a mother, stitched the historic partnership with her 12-year-old son, Harry.
Opening for the Owmby CC Trojans, the duo single-handedly defeated Nettleham Cricket Academy XI by 10 wickets in the Lincoln and District League Division 3.
Notably, Brindle is also the first woman to score a century in men’s Premier League cricket, the Lincolnshire Premier League for Louth against Market Rasen.
Thus, apart from her trailblazing 15-year-long career for the national team during which she amassed 2,852 runs, Arran Brindle made headlines playing for a men’s team.
3) Chloe Wallwork: Walshaw 1st Team
Women have matched men in almost all fields of work, and the then 20-year-old Tottington student, Chloe Wallwork, became yet another proof of the same.
Uncapped England cricketer Chloe Wallwork, in 2013, became the first woman in history to play alongside men in Lancashire's oldest league, the Bolton Association.
Chloe had already played for Walshaw, bowled her way into the first team after proving herself in her team matches over the years, since joining the Bury club at the age of eight.
2) Kate Cross: Lancashire Cricket Club
Kate Cross, who recently announced her retirement from professional cricket at the age of 34, had made her senior county debut for Lancashire aged just 13 in 2005.
A year later, she became the first woman to join Lancashire’s Academy, beginning a remarkable journey that saw her represent the nation for 12 years.
Also read: England Legends Bash Jay Shah’s ICC For India Favour, Reminded Of England’s Groupings
As the only woman playing for the Lancashire, she has taken 239 wickets across different levels.
For the unversed, in Kate’s early career, women’s domestic programme hadn’t become fully professional. Nonetheless, she played for men’s teams across all Red Rose teams, professional and non-professional, including spells with Thunder and Lancashire Thunder in the Kia Super League.
1) Ellyse Perry: Sydney grade cricket
How often do people get to see a player represent a country in two different sports? The only woman to represent Australia in both the cricket and football World Cups has an even more unique feather in her hat.
Back in 2010, Ellyse Perry became the first woman to play against men in Sydney grade cricket.
A young Perry made her inspiring and historical debut for Sydney in a Poidevin-Gray Shield Twenty20 against Blacktown and also stood as the chief enforcer to destroy her opposition. Perry finished with brilliant figures of 2/14 in four overs and was rightly named the most dangerous seam bowler of the match.
With this, she laid the foundation to become the youngest woman to play for Australia. Since her international debut in 2007, Ellyse Perry has been a core member of the Australian women’s team. She has been part of the Australian squad that has won 7 World T20 titles and 2 ODI World Cups.
Moreover, in 2020, the all-rounder challenged Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar on social media to come out of retirement for a single over to raise extra funds for Australian bushfire relief.
Tendulkar accepted the challenge. The special one-over event helped the charity match raise millions of dollars for communities affected by the bushfires.
Also read: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Turns Bowler, Bags 2 Wickets In 4 Balls
