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December 1, 1997
NEWS
MATCH REPORTS
STAT SHEET
DIARY
OTHER SPORTS
SLIDE SHOW
DEAR REDIFF
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Ladies day out
Archana Masih
Thanks to the overcast sky, the players could linger over their breakfast of bread and eggs.
Though unexpected showers had cut short the women’s cricket camp by a full two days, the girls had lugged their gear to the table anyway. Chatting with each other about the upcoming Hero Honda Women’s World Cup over a clutter of forks and spoons, the Indian team seemed, and sounded, gung-ho and ready to go.
With under two weeks for the premier women's cricket competition to begin, the probables seemed on fire with enthusiasm. "We will definitely make it to the semifinals, and even have a good chance of winning the title," says captain Pramila Bhatt.
Struggling with a bad cold, the skipper explained the strengths and weaknesses of her team.
"Going with the Indian tradition, we have a strong spin attack, but we have to work on pace bowling and fitness," said Pramila, a friendly soul and currently employed with Air-India.
A great fan of South Africa's cricket captain Hansie Cronje and Indian star Rahul Dravid (the latter, incidentally, being Pramila's fellow Banglorean, who she sometimes meets during workouts and practise), she feels the greatest threat to her team comes from the South Africans.
"Australia is a tough team, but it is South Africa we really have to watch out for. Since we have hardly seen them play, they are an unknown quantity."
Engaged to be married in February, this will be Pramila’s last tournament before she joins her fiance overseas. "We play because we love this game. Now that I have spent ten years at cricket, it is time to move on," she smiles.
Twelve nations -- Australia, Canada, England, Denmark, Ireland, The Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies and hosts India -- will participate in the sixth Women’s World Cup between December 9 and 29.
As the players see it, the competition could be decisive to the future of women’s cricket in India. That the distaff side does not get much attention, when it comes to cricket, can be judged by the fact that India last played an international tournament in 1995. Before that, in 1991. And before that, 1986.
"Our main problem has been funds, and an organisation that was poorly managed for a very long time," says manager-cum-coach Srirupa Bose. "Now that the organisational side is getting better, we can generate more funds by performing well in this competition. If we do well in the World Cup, it will be a big boost to women’s cricket in the country."
A former player herself, Bose feels the forthcoming season will give people a chance to see women’s cricket for the first time, since the World Cup is being aired on Doordarshan. This, the players feel, will help a great deal in generating sponsors for the game. "At present, the women's cricket association can pay just Rs 2,000 per month, but we would like to pay at least Rs 10,000," she added.
Though the players are aware that their male counterparts earn a staggering Rs 96,000 per match, they digest the news without much bitterness. As Bose rationalises it, "We have to build our image first. Barring men’s cricket, no other game is given importance in India. What is important is for the media to notice us. After all, it is media hype that makes a Tiger Woods familiar even to people who don’t know a thing about golf."
Speculating on the possibilities for her team, Bose believes there is every reason for optimism. "I think this is the peak for women’s cricket in India," she says.
The mood of optimism noticeably pervades the rest of the side, now stretching their limbs and going through the warm-up exercises on a soggy ground. "Since we are playing on home turf, the conditions suit us," felt left-arm spinner Sangita Dabir. The Western Railway staffer moved to Bombay from Nagpur, and has been playing with the national side since 1993. The mangalsutra peeking out of her sweatshirt proclaims her married state, and Dabir is quick to give credit to her husband for supporting her and encouraging her to play.
In fact, most players give credit to Air-India and Railways, the two organisations that employ them. "It’s like a paid holiday," they say, about being employed to play cricket.
To get the cushy jobs, the players first have to merit selection to the national side, and get a certificate to that effect. Once in, they are free to pursue their sport. And the cricketers are grateful -- since the corporate sector hasn't come forward with much by way of sponsorship, government employment is their safest bet.
Parental opposition? Not likely, they laugh -- most of them having grown up playing cricket with their brothers and the neighbourhood boys. "My mom first enrolled me into a table tennis camp, but on hearing of a cricket camp in Madras she sent me there," says Bangalore-based Smitha Harkrishnan.
Leftarm spinner Neetu David, from Kanpur, is young, and enjoying it. "I have a long time left to play, before my elder sisters get married and my turn comes," she grins. When at home, David goes to the Green Park stadium for pactice every morning.
The youngest member in the squad of fourteen, though, is 15-year-old Mithali Raj from Hyderabad. A standby in the side, her colleagues believe that she is akin to what Sachin Tendulkar was when he first hit the headlines. A comparison, incidentally, of which Bose disapproves. "The entire spectrum of men’s and women’s cricket is different," she says. "They cannot be compared, and it is best to coexist."
Coexistence, here, means a fight for a share of the spotlight. For even as the Indian team -- ranked fourth behind England, New Zealand and Australia in the 1993 World Cup -- fights for a place in the semifinals, the men will be playing the Quandrangular tournament in Sharjah against England, the West Indies and Pakistan, and then taking on Arjuna Ranatunga's all-conquering Sri Lankans on home ground.
The fight, obviously, is for a share of the television viewer's attention. But the players themselves are riding the confidence of their recent performances, having defeated England in England in 1996 and, a year earlier, won the triangular series in New Zealand, and focussing on just doing well.
For the women, their first real test will be on December 9, when they take on Sri Lanka in the tournament opener. "It would be nice if the performance of our team gets noticed," says manager Srirupa Bose.
The team:
Pramila Bhatt (captain),
Chandrakanta Ahir (vice-captain),
Anju Jain (wicket keeper),
Anjum Chopra,
Smitha Harkrishnan,
Deepa Kulkarni,
Sangita Dabir,
Poornima Rau,
Renu Margret,
Purnima Chaudhary,
Neetu David,
Shyama Shah,
Kalyani Umbrani,
Reshma Gandhi,
Mithali Raj,
Meenakshi Gupta.
Additional reportage: Syed Firdaus Ashraf. Photographs: Jewella C Miranda
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