Women in blue made India proud despite losing
When Harmanpreet Kaur walked out to toss at the start of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Twenty20 World Cup Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) she represented many dreams. A packed house at the iconic ground saw the ladies at the center of the world stage of cricket. Their loss, after being put in to field, may’ve been a bit depressing for Indian fans but reaching this stage would have made many people proud.
Women’s cricket in India is just four decades old. Much unlike their opponents and reigning T20 Word Champions Australia, who played their first Test match against traditional rivals England in December 1934. The Indian eves debuted in Test’s four decades later, in 1976, against the West Indies at Bengaluru.
Traditionally, women’s cricket has been dominated by four teams — England, Australia, West Indies and New Zealand. To see India, the first Asian team to play the ICC T20 World Cup final, makes one feel privileged to be there at the very beginning of their arduous journey. For starters, the ladies had to fight the ‘Asian’ mindset of playing what was considered a man’s game and then compete with their peers across the world who had, by then, achieved what one may say ‘freedom’ in the real sense.
It probably was the landmark wins by Ajit Wadekar’s team against the West Indies and England in 1971 that spurred on ladies in India to wear flannels and wield the cricket bat. The movement to promote Women’s cricket in India started soon after the 1971 wins with many traditional cricket centres in India conducting camps for women cricketers.
In Mumbai (Bombay, then) it took a Parsee lady, Aloo Bamjee, to take the lead along with men’s coaches like Vithal Patil and Ramakant Achrekar to conduct tournaments in the megapolis. In Pune it was another legendary coach, Kamal Bhandarkar and Indore saw the original master blaster, Mushtaq Ali step out to pass on their expertise to the ladies.
Since one was part of the system, as a schoolboy cricketer, in Mumbai, I saw the growth of the ladies from the early 70s to date. Am sure there may be many stories, pan India, about people who were responsible for breaking the stereotype of cricket being only a man’s game, but one can only recall what one saw in the first person, in Mumbai.
To begin with, getting a ground in the much busy maidans of the mega city was the biggest hurdle that challenged the ladies. The crowded city had (and still does) a few patches of green where one could play the sport. The maidans had many pitches but had zero facilities like club houses and toilets for the fair sex to play with abandon. Bamjee took the case of helping women in South Mumbai to the legendary Indian batsman and the then Chairman of the Indian selection committee, Vijay Merchant who did not let her down.
Merchant, also the President of the famed Cricket Club of India, gave Bamjee’s team ‘Albees’ permission to play and practice at the historic Brabourne Stadium and put in a good word to his friend and cricketing colleague, Vinoo Mankad to coach them. Soon, yours truly saw Diana and Behroze Eduljee practicing with the cream of talent at the L.R. Tairsee Nets alongside Indian Test stars like Eknath Solkar and Ashok Mankad under the watchful eyes of Vinoobhai.
From Shantha Rangaswamy to Harmanpreet, women’s cricket in India has come a long way. The teams 85-run loss to holders and hosts Australia in the ICCT20 World Cup is not a true indicator of the current health of the game played by the ladies in India. The way the side won all their matches in the league phase shows the kind of hard work team coach Woorkeri Raman and skipper Kaur put while preparing for the tournament.
The Indian teams showing will certainly attract more young girls to pick up the bat and the ball and start playing the sport.
Former England skipper and commentator, Naseer Hussain was appalled to see that there wasn’t a single toilet/shelter for ladies while he was shooting for a cricket documentary in the open fields of Mumbai. It is therefore imperative for the authorities that run the game across the country to provide better facilities for women cricketers if they want the game to flourish. Cricket cannot be called the ‘gentleman’s game’ any more. It is now played at the highest level by Ladies who have a very big fan following. Therefore, they do deserve the same kind of facilities that are offered to their opposite sex.