When a wife was forced to divorce her cricket-crazy husband

The hearing was held on 25th August 1981 at the Wolverhampton Divorce Court.

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A Cricket Bat. (Photo by Sportsfile/Corbis via Getty Images)

Cricket is currently at a stage where it is equally appreciated by both Men and Women aided by the increase in the number of leagues in Women’s cricket like in the Men’s format. However, it wasn’t the same if we look back to the 1980s when a lesser percentage of women were into cricket like men. There might be many instances where die-hard cricket fans sacrificed their lives for the sport but one such instance led to a divorce between a couple.

Once such occasion was perfectly described in a London’s Daily Mail report published on August 26th 1981 that carried a title “A woman was granted a divorce Tuesday on the grounds her husband’s obsession with cricket constituted unreasonable behaviour.” A couple from Wolverhampton married for 17 years were divorced as the wife complained that his husband was a “cricket mad”.

Mrs Mildred Rowley, wife of Michael Rowley applied for divorce as she couldn’t bear it anymore with her husband who was passionate and crazy about the sport. The 51-year-old Mildred was a nursing sister of Helming Drive in Wolverhampton. “Cricket was not just a hobby it was a total obsession. I had just enough of it,” said Milfred about her husband Michael in an interview.

Too obsessed to attend the hearing:

The hearing was held on 25th August 1981 at the Wolverhampton Divorce Court and it granted her divorce on grounds of unreasonable behaviour by Michael. However, Michael Rowley didn’t attend the hearing as he was in Torquay in Australia with the Stourbridge Cricket Club. His team named Worcestershire Marauders was up against Torquay Cricket Club when the hearing was going on back home.

Even after the divorce, Michael had no regrets. “I don’t blame Mildred for what she has done. I told her from the beginning cricket would always come first, but she did not believe me. I just can’t exist without cricket,” said Michael when interviewed about his divorce.

When asked about his absence during the hearing, he responded by saying, “Really there is nothing more that I can say. I cannot stop…we have to get on with the game.”

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