Women’s cricket requires a fillip

[1]

Even as the country’s one billion-odd cricket fans get out of the hangover of their team winning the Cup after a gap of 20 years, men’s cricket’s poor cousin — women’s cricket — is left to fend for itself on the sidelines. While it is true that women cricketers are definitely an improved lot after the Board of Cricket for Control in India (BCCI) merged with the erstwhile Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI), Hyderabad players feel that there’s so much more that can be done to better the situation for them.

Former India captain and the country’s premier batswoman Mithali Raj feels it would benefit the players immensely if the number of fixtures — both international and domestic — were to be increased. “We definitely need more international matches. We currently play just two series a year and if we get more matches against quality opposition like Australia or New Zealand, it would benefit us immensely, especially since we have an ODI World Cup in 2013,” she said.

Mithali also would like it if there are more two-day games, more for the sake of the youngsters taking up the game. “As we don’t play Test matches any longer, the administrators are only concentrating on one-day and Twenty20 games. This is affecting the technique of young players are they’re looking to score innovatively as opposed to getting their basics right. I feel this could be set right if we play more two-day games at the first class level.” The players are off the road at the moment, but as Mithali’s India and Hyderabad teammate, Diana David, said, the season ended earlier than usual for them.

“Our season normally begins around August and ends late March or early April. But with the men’s World Cup scheduled to begin in early February, the BCCI made us rush through our season, winding it up almost two months in advance. That made it very hectic for us as we had very little recovery time between matches. That ultimately affected our performances,” Diana said. Mithali concurs. “It was unfair on the part of the BCCI to force us to rush through our motions. We need proper recovery time if we are to perform well,” she said.

It was the 1983 World Cup triumph that lionised men cricketers in India and made men’s cricket what it is today. Perhaps women’s cricket needs a similar fillip if they are to see better days.