The mere participation of Pakistan’s women cricket team in the recently concluded ICC Women World Cup 2017 is an achievement in itself. You! takes a look...
The mere participation of Pakistan’s women cricket team in the recently concluded ICC Women World Cup 2017 is an achievement in itself. You! takes a look...
In the world of sports, Pakistani women are not lagging behind. Be it cricket, football, squash, tennis, boxing etc, our women have proved their mettle in their respective sport disciplines. Once considered a man’s domain, our sporty ones have surely come a long way.
Captain Sana Mir
Last year, it was a moment of great pride for the entire nation when our ‘girls in green’ defeated arch-rivals India in the group match by two wickets in the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup in India. Pakistan’s women cricket team once again made headlines when they qualified to participate in the recently concluded ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 held in England. Sadly, our girls lost all the six matches on the trot against South Africa, England, India, Australia, New Zealand and West Indies in the preliminary round of the ICC Women’s World Cup. With the defeat against New Zealand in Taunton, Pakistan became the first side to be dumped out of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017. The display of poor performance by the green shirts was observed in all the matches. Our batting line wobbled and the female athletes were not able to fight the opponent’s outstanding bowling performance. In almost all the matches, the wickets usually fell in quick succession, henceforth creating frustrations for the skipper, coach and of course the eager spectators. Moreover, the bowling standards and fielding techniques were also not up to the mark. Collectively, the girls in green failed to deliver and were unable to win a single match in the World Cup 2017.
However, it was quite heartening to observe glimpses of some periodic good patches of play at individual level from captain Sana Mir and Nahida Khan. Sana Mir debuted in 2005 against Sri Lanka. Mir has also become the first woman player to represent the country in 100 One Day Internationals (ODIs). During ICC, Mir top scored for Pakistan with 45 in the match against Australia. Also, she was the second last to go after she scored fifty and stood out with the only mentioned performance of the day in the match against New Zealand.
As far as Nahida Khan is concerned, she became the country’s high scorer in the big event. In their first game of the World Cup, which was against South Africa, Pakistan’s batting line-up started to crumble early, but it was Nahida Khan who made a blistering 76 from 101 balls, including nine fours and a six. Nahida is a true fighter and she showed that on the field as well. It would have been a one-sided affair without her contribution with bat and ball. The Quetta-born player made her international cricket debut in 2009 in a match against Sri Lanka at Bogra, Bangladesh. She was also part of the team that participated in the 2010 Asian Games and won a gold medal.
According to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shaharyar Khan, the team was given special training before the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017. “In my opinion, making Sabih Azhar coach of the team at the eleventh hour did not turn out to be productive. I believe the team could have performed better but well there is always a next time. Making to such a mega event is a feat in itself and I am sure the girls will do a brilliant job in the upcoming events,” he hopes.
Even though, women cricket team’s captain Sana Mir is quite disappointed by their poor show in the World Cup, she is hopeful that the team would outdo themselves in the future tournaments. “We qualified for the tournament only a few months ago. Our team particularly our newcomers have learnt a lot from the ICC Women’s World Cup and hopefully we will build on that experience. Not having Bismah Maroof around made things tougher for our batting department. Most of our players failed to make an impression as they fell in quick succession,” shares Sana.
Some remarkable achievements in the past
Recalling some milestones, Akhtar Munir, Cricket convener, Karachi Gymkhana shares, “Women cricket team won its group match against India in 2016 T20 World Cup. It was the very same day when our men’s cricket team failed to counter their Indian counterparts in Men’s World Cup event. With that win they also rose to sixth place in the ICC rankings, with four of its players featuring among the top 20.”
“This is not all. Our Pakistani women cricket team won two back-to-back Asian Games gold medals. In 2010 the team won their first cricket gold at Asian Games held in Guangzhou, China. They created history by beating Bangladesh by 10 wickets to win the first-ever Asian Games women’s cricket tournament. Again in 2014, Pakistan retained the women’s Twenty20 cricket gold medal at the Asian Games by defeating spirited Bangladesh in a rain-affected final,” shares Akhtar Munir.
“The team is down but not out and may play well in future outings. The fact that we have played regularly in the recent years in the ICC tournaments and against better opposition is a testimony that these girls have made tangible progress,” he asserts.
What analysts have to say...
According to former national cricket selector Iqbal Qasim, we should stand by our women cricketers despite bad show in the ICC Women World Cup 2017. “When it comes to sports, we should support our women athletes, whether it is cricket, boxing or hockey. They need to be lauded and given due commendation. These girls have to face way more obstacles than men in this field. They are Pakistanis, they represent us and every compatriot should support them regardless of their gender,” stresses Iqbal Qasim.
On the other hand, cricket aficionado Mahnoor Nadim is of the view that nations like India, Australia and England have extensive facilities and supportive staff that help their women contingents, coupled with widespread public support. “Compared to them, Pakistan’s cricket setup for women is still in its nascent stages,” says Mahnoor.
Prominent women cricket organizer, Asma Muhammad Ali Shah, who is also Chairperson of the women wing of Karachi Hockey Association shares, “In 1997 when our girls embarked on playing cricket, we have witnessed a few matches where they played brilliantly. Even if the girls didn’t perform well in the ICC World Cup and lost all the matches, doesn’t mean that we should forget their past victories.”
But what measures should be taken to train players and improve their performances? “For real cricket, we need to revise the current structure of the game. Grounds need to be built across underdeveloped areas with facilities at par with those of men, and educational institutions across Pakistan must emphasise developing school and college-level cricket for girls. Moreover, the PCB must take steps to boost the players’ morale by giving them financial incentives at the departmental level. What girls need is a future with broad avenues and financial security. Unless these hurdles are addressed, the women cricket team will continue to lag behind,” she concludes.
* Some sources claim that Sana Mir might lose her position as the captain of Pakistan’s women cricket team due to the poor performance at the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017.
