Pakistan hail Sana Mir over milestone

KARACHI: Pakistan showered praise this week on Sana Mir, the former women’s cricket team captain who rose from bowling in the streets to become the most successful spinner in women’s one-day international history.

The 33-year-old took her 147th wicket in her 118th game when she dismissed South Africa’s Sune Luus in the third one-day international (ODI) of the ICC Women’s Championship in Benoni on Sunday. That took her past Anisa Mohammed of the West Indies and Australia’s Lisa Sthalekar — both at 146 wickets — to the pride of Pakistanis, who hailed the achievement with joy on social media and in proud newspaper editorials.

“Kudos to you girl!” tweeted the German embassy in Islamabad. “Makes us all proud,” added Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN. Mir recalled the obstacles against her in an interview published by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). “The journey started by proving at every street, where I played cricket, that girls could play this sport. We didn’t have any role models, girls taking part in cricket was not that common,” she was quoted as saying. “From street cricket to playing on the grounds and moving to stadia donning the Pakistan kit were moments of immense pride.”She is now third on the all-time list of most successful bowlers in women’s cricket, behind fast bowlers Jhulan Goswami of India (218) and Australia’s Cathryn Fitzpatrick (180).