Sporting women cricketers get backing for their efforts and dreams

By K.R. Nayar

Women cricketers from six countries are chasing a dream to play in the Women’s World Cup. Contesting in the ICC Women’s World Cup T20 Qualifiers at the ICC Academy ground, they are all also vying for recognition in the world of cricket. Everyone is giving their best and backing their efforts are many supporters waving flags and cheering them from outside the boundary.

Fans cheer for the UAE women's cricket team 

Women’s cricket is not about displaying their skills but the expressions of joy with which they play the game too. They do not have a huge fan following like men’s cricket but whatever support and cheer they get, everyone acknowledges it from the bottom of their hearts.

A large number of fans had turned up to cheer for the Nepal women’s team. Soon after Nepal beat Malaysia on the fourth day of the event, their players lined up near the boundary to bow to everyone and receive their cheers. Fans had turned up with the Nepalese flag which they kept waving to inspire them.

The UAE, after recording their fourth consecutive win, received huge applause from a number of fans who had come to watch the match with the UAE flag. There was a placard hailing UAE captain Chaya Mughal which read “Subse No.1 Chaya”. So touched was the UAE captain that during the presentation she thanked the fans. Among those who came to cheer were parents, coaches and even teachers as some of their students were playing for the UAE.

Providing every support for the teams to give their best with regard to the the facilities are Niteesha Kothari, the ICC Tournament Director, Andrew Russell, the tournament manager, and Iqbal Sikander, the ICC Development Officer for Asia Region.  

Two-time Player of the Match award Kary Chan of Hong Kong  receives one of the awards from Iqbal Sikander, ICC Global Development Officer 

UAE’s Theertha Suresh, Hong Kong’s Kary Chan and Nepal’s Sita Rana Magar have bagged the Player of the Match twice. Their consistency has been the result of their dedicated hard work. They revealed why they want to be match winners and how they have done it.  When asked about her consistency, Magar said: “Being a senior player it is my duty to give my best.  I am happy that our team is doing very well. We want to win this tournament.” When she bagged the Player of the Match for the first time, she said: “I am the most experienced player in the team and hence I should give my best and ensure that my team wins matches.”

Theeertha Suresh receives on of the two Player of the Match awards  from Niteesha Kothari, ICC Tournament Director

Kary Chan is the captain of the Hong Kong team and wants to ensure that her team keeps winning. “I train hard, and I also wanted to see my team post a good total.”

For UAE’s Theertha Suresh, this is her international debut series. “I thank my team and everyone who provided me with the confidence to go out and perform,” she said when asked about her performance.

Nepal's two-time winner of the Player of the Match award receives one of her awards from Niteesha Kothari, ICC Tournament Director 

What is special about all these consistent performers is that for each one of them, their team is of paramount importance and they want to do it for their team.

The joy with which the teams have played revealed that playing in this tournament is more of a celebration for them. On one of the match days was Nepal skipper Rubina Chhetry’s birthday, and everyone including the opponents Malaysia sang for her and wished her a Happy Birthday after the match.

The remarkable feature of this event is that even losing captains appreciate their opponent’s superior game and winning captains make it a point to appreciate the fight from their opponents and also wish them the best for their next match.

 

The joy with which women cricketers play their matches 

The tournament culminates on Sunday with UAE taking on Nepal, Bhutan meeting Malaysia, and Kuwait taking on Hong Kong.  If UAE records a win over Nepal, they will have remained unbeaten in this tournament and will go through to the qualifiers. If Nepal wins, the winner will be decided on the superior run rate since both teams would finish on equal points.