No more a gentlemen’s game, we ‘gentlewomen’ too play ...
Women are in no way inferior to men and that was evident in yet another way during the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2017 which culminated at the prestigious Lord’s cricket ground this past Sunday.
The women in blue did all that their men counterparts have done all these years - and more, triggered a renewed passion among their fans, and announced effectively that women's cricket is here to stay in India.
Not only did the Indian women cricketers win many a heart as they progressed from the qualifiers to the major stage and then the summit show, the enterprising female cricketers gave hosts England a torrid time, before faltering only at the last hurdle.
The performance has already triggered a revolution and the 'goodies', including jobs, promotions and attractive gifts, have begun in free flow - as they do after some of our shadowed athletes hit big fame.
Very soon, these cricketers could well be seen in every form of the media selling or promoting products as their male counterparts do.
The revenue-earning path has opened finally for these cricketers, who once even struggled to get paid for playing in big tournaments.
Skipper Mithali Raj may continue for some more years, but the long-serving Indian batswoman has always recalled how difficult it was for a girl to play cricket and represent the nation.
She rewrote record-books in every match of the World Cup, including becoming the top ODI scorer in women’s cricket. However, she had to do with the second spot on the run-scoring chart, with England’s Tammy Beaumont topping it.
Incidentally, both were separated by just one run.
Shrubsole the wrecker
When India looked cruising towards the target of 228, a collapse resulted in the 9-run loss. Anya Shrubsole turned out to be the chief-wrecker.
Shrubsole bowled a beauty to get rid of the steady Punam Raut, who contributed 86 runs, and then the English bowler picked wickets at regular intervals to complete a six-wicket haul.
When Mithali ran herself to the pavilion an experienced hand was lost and when Raut fell India’s chance slipped out of the hands. One can even say that the turning point of the match was Raut’s dismissal and no other batswomen withstood the nerves and pressure of playing in a World Cup final.
Only Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami - who is the highest wicket taker - have played a World Cup final before. After the match, Ms. Raj wisely said it was panic and inexperience that cost her team dear.
Even Harmanpreet Kaur could not match her swashbuckling 171 not out against Australia in the semifinals, though she contributed a significant half-century in the run chase.
With the ball not bouncing much at Lord’s the free-flowing bat of Harmanpreet could not produce the runs in her normal pace, though she helped India stay in front on the Duckworth-Lewis par score.
In a way, India faced some problems with luck too, as the the dark clouds hovering over the Lord’s only flattered to deceive. Had the rains poured India could have carried home the cup with rules helping their cause until a certain stage.
But the collapse in the end turned the rain rule in England’s favour. However, the hosts did not need the support of rain to win their fourth World Cup title in the end. Three of their World Cup triumphs have come as hosts.
Analysing India’s performance
Through the entire tournament there were a few others apart from Punam Raut, Mithali, Jhulan, Deepti Sharma and Harmanpreet who propelled India’s fortunes. They were Veda Krishnamurthy, Ekta Bisht and Rajeshwari Gaekwad. The latter two notched five wicket hauls. Bisht shattered Pakistan claiming five wickets for 18 runs and Rajeshwari scalped 5 for 15 against New Zealand.
Now that Mithali & Co have done enough to gain recognition, it is for the national governing body to treat the women on par with the men.
Not long ago, the women cricketers were barely followed and admired. This World Cup has changed that perception and the tremendous following on all media platforms has signaled a revolution, which will not die soon.
The BCCI must be thankful to the women cricketers for diverting attentions from their recent controversial deeds including coach selection.If the men in blue took a silent route to Sri Lanka, it was mainly due to the exhilarating performance of the women.
Increased interest
Meanwhile, there has been an increased interest for women’s cricket lately and the International Cricket Council has also taken a note of it by increasing the prize money 10 times from the 2013 edition to 2 million dollars.
Simultaneously, the spectators who filled the Lord’s stand were another example of the growing popularity of the women’s games.
The final had attracted approximately 26,500 people at Lord’s and if you compare it to the 1993 final in the same venue, the number attended was just 4,426.
As Mithali Raj said, the performance by her team has opened many channels and women’s cricket in India will not be the same anymore. She also hopes, she has said, that the BCCI will begin a separate T20 tournament for women on the lines of the lucrative Indian Premier League.
The skipper must be really thankful too as the BCCI had announced a huge bonus of Rs. 5 million to each member of the team for reaching the final. The loss of Sunday will not take away the windfall..
Now, it is our hope that the women cricketers get the best facilities and also the chance to play and practice at big international venues as the men's team has for so long.
The ‘best of the best,' as Mithali Raj put it the other day, is indeed the need of the hour for women’s cricket.