There’s nothing quite like the palpable buzz of being on a cricket field, 18-year-old Honor Black tells Women’s Health – getting swept up in the celebrations (or commiserations) of your teammates.
‘The clapping, the screaming, and when someone gets a bowl or a catch or a wicket, the uproar and the running in and high fives.’
Her younger sister, 17-year-old Cat, feels the same, pointing to the unique and rewarding ‘sisterhood around [women’s cricket]’.
But like so many other girls and women, the sisters both reached a ‘breaking point’ far too early in their sporting journeys.
A lack of girls’ teams and female coaches, kit designed primarily for male bodies and a general lack of understanding around periods and how girls’ bodies change left Honor and Cat feeling frustrated and unmotivated. It’s for these reasons that they refer to the ages of 14 to 16 as the ‘struggle zone’.
Indeed, Women in Sport research found that 43% of teenage girls who previously considered themselves sporty had disengaged from sport after primary school.
‘I remember I got my period one time during a match and had to run off and literally all the boys were like, “You can’t just run off mid-match,” and even the coach was like, “What are you doing?” And I just thought, you don’t get it at all. I’m playing a sport where no one understands how I’m feeling,’ recalls Cat.
‘I mean, it toughened us up a little bit, but I think it put a bit of a dampener on our cricket experience. Not being able to have our own girls’ team – and beyond that, not being able to have kit in which we felt confident – made us reach the point of feeling like we just don’t even enjoy this anymore,’ adds Honor.
How frustration with (a lack of) women’s cricket kit sparked an idea
Those feelings culminated at the dinner table one Friday evening after school, when Honor and Cat told their dad, a businessman, that they were ready to throw in the towel.
His response? ‘You could try and see if you can create a solution to this problem…’
And create a solution they did – one not just for themselves, but for countless other female cricket players, too.
‘For the next two weeks or so, Cat and I would come back from school and we’d sit in our room and brainstorm like you do at school,’ recalls Honor.
‘We looked at different school PE kits, and what we knew we already liked fashion-wise – because if you’re going to make something appealing to girls and women, you’ve got to make it fashionable at the same time – and came back to our dad and showed him our rough designs.’
Working with a designer to perfect them, the sisters then visited a factory in Portugal to explore fabrics. What had begun as a passion project at home was quickly becoming something with much bigger potential: Maiden Cricket was officially underway.
James North
From mood board to reality: Honor and Cat choosing the all-important fabric
Designing cricket kit specifically for girls and women
Quality wasn’t their only priority. Honor says the sisters wanted to think ‘outside of the box – why can’t professional cricketers be wearing navy trousers? Because at Wimbledon the women are now allowed to wear navy’.
The design features of each product have been carefully considered. Their Navy Training Trousers, for example, are adjustable with poppers ‘because girls grow at such different rates’, while built-in shorts offer extra coverage and comfort.
And the all-important White Test Match Trousers? They feature the same built-in shorts – and, crucially, aren’t see-through.
James North
Kitted out: Maiden Cricket attire in action
Put simply, it’s about giving girls and women more choice, flexibility and comfort.
‘All of the small details that it wouldn’t have taken a genius to think of,’ says Honor.
Hearing from girls and women who say they not only feel more comfortable but are playing better, too, has shown the sisters just how much demand there is for what they’ve created.
Taking Maiden Cricket into the Dragons’ Den
And that’s how Honor and Cat wound up pitching their business to the infamous Dragons.
‘It’s the most nerve-wracking thing we’ve ever done in our whole entire lives,’ says Honor.
‘When I heard that we might be going on Dragons’ Den, I was so nervous, but so excited,’ adds Cat, who was midway through her GCSEs at the time.
For Cat, appearing on the show also represents just how far she’s come personally.
‘Social anxiety really got the better of me when I was younger, I was so shy, but Maiden [and cricket] have really helped with that,’ she says.
BBC Studios
To the Den: Honor and Cat pitching Maiden Cricket to the Dragons
What it’s like starting a business with your sister
So, what’s it like working so closely with your sibling?
‘Having a sister as a partner and co-founder is the best thing,’ says Cat.
‘I think we balance it quite nicely – we try to alternate on things,’ agrees Honor, with both sisters pointing to how effectively they’ve tag-teamed running the business while completing GCSEs and A Levels.
As for life outside the business? They’re still typical siblings.
The latest in a long line of dramatic but short-lived disagreements? An argument over the speaker. ‘Speaker wars,’ in fact.
But when the sisters entered that iconic Dragons’ Den lift, it was straight into business mode.
You can catch Honor and Cat on Dragons’ Den tonight at 8pm on BBC One.
Hannah Bradfield is a Senior Health and Fitness Writer for Women’s Health UK. An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Hannah graduated from Loughborough University with a BA in English and Sport Science and an MA in Media and Cultural Analysis. She has been covering sports, health and fitness for the last five years and has created content for outlets including BBC Sport, BBC Sounds, Runner’s World and Stylist. She especially enjoys interviewing those working within the community to improve access to sport, exercise and wellness. Hannah is a 2024 John Schofield Trust Fellow and was also named a 2022 Rising Star in Journalism by The Printing Charity. A keen runner, Hannah was firmly a sprinter growing up (also dabbling in long jump) but has since transitioned to longer-distance running. While 10K is her favoured race distance, she loves running or volunteering at parkrun every Saturday, followed, of course, by pastries. She’s always looking for fun new runs and races to do and brunch spots to try.