ILKLEY Cricket Club’s vice-president Dr. David Pendleton is appearing at the Ilkley Literature Festival in an event that should prove to be of particular interest to cricket enthusiasts. He is being joined by Dr. Philippa Velija of Solent University in a discussion entitled ‘Sidelined? Women and Sport’.

Dr. Pendleton has recently had a new book published entitled ‘Kick Off, the start of spectator sports’. The publication covers a large swathe of spectator sports and attempts to understand how spectator sports have become a global obsession. ‘Kick-off’ uses the example of the city of Bradford and sports as varied as the ancient ball game knur and spell, league cricket, both codes of rugby and professional football to arrive at its conclusions.

Dr. Velija is head of sport education and development at Solent University and researches women’s early participation in cricket. Dr. Velija’s latest publication is entitled ‘Women’s Cricket and Global Processes’ and it examines the emergence of women’s cricket as a global game. The two speakers have never met before, so it should be both an entertaining and thought provoking evening. As global audiences for sport, in particular football, rugby and cricket, grow, the thorny issue of whether women have been excluded from sport as both participants and spectators will be aired. The history of sport in Bradford will be examined in an attempt to find answers. Undoubtedly the debate will be wide-ranging and should be of interest to non-sports fans and sports fans alike.

The event takes place on Sunday 7th October at 7.30pm in St Margaret’s Church Hall, Ilkley. Copies of David Pendleton’s ‘Kick-off , the start of spectator sports’ and Philippa Velija’s ‘Women’s Cricket and Global Progress’ will be on sale on the evening and at the Grove Bookshop during the Ilkley Literature Festival. Tickets are on sale for the talk (£7/£5 concessions) from ilkleyliteraturefestival.or.uk or by phone 01943 816714. If any tickets are available on the night they will be sold at the venue from 45 minutes before the start time.