India’s Eves: cricket’s laudable losers

NEVER has the hackneyed cliché “defeated but not disgraced” had more authentic resonance than at cricket’s Mecca on Sunday. True that “Mithali’s Mermaids” did not replicate the feat of Kapil’s Devils in1983, but their superb performance all through the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup has fired the imagination of a cricket-passionate people, blasted gender-biased myths, and put the Eves on a pinnacle few had ever dreamed attainable.

In stewarding her squad to those heady heights Mithali Raj has emulated the legendary Tiger Pataudi – she has helped the girls believe in themselves. Sure it was the lack of a bigmatch temperament that caused them to implode with one hand on the trophy, but even before England “called correctly” at Lord’s the Indian team had proved their winning ways.

It is oft-forgotten they had to play “qualifying rounds” before making the trip to England, had their ups and downs before the final – and that their mental reserves had been tapped when (after losing to South Africa) they fought their way past former winners New Zealand and Australia to undertake the ultimate challenge.

It were those drained mental resources, resulting from inexperience, that caused glory to slip from their clasp. Genuine lovers of the game will not see the nine-run loss as any kind of indictment, it is a pity that so many who profess to be cricket-crazy place so much stock in “victory”. Hopefully, only the time-factor came in the way of the “national leadership” extending their congratulations to the squad that has done India so terribly proud.

Having proved its class, women’s cricket in India has invited a challenge for itself. There has been some recent recognition for the players in terms of remuneration, creature-comforts, training facilities etc – that has to trickle down so that a full complement of competent players is groomed to carry forth when Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami eventually quit the trail they had blazed in the wake of Shanta Ran- gaswamy, Diana Eduljee and so on.

Sponsorships and media exposure are too often calibrated in accordance with performance, it is the duty of the men’s squad to share some of the goodies – congratulatory statements are good but not good enough. Since Indian cricket is now IPL-dominated, a bold move could be to mandatorily have two women in each playing XI.

True growth must come from within, the game’s administration needs to cease to be male-dominated. Mithali should never again have to “shoot” a questioner who inquired after her favourite male cricketer: her Mermaids have bridged a stereotyped divide.