It has been quite an up-and-down year for the team as well as for me personally but now we need to regroup and look ahead to the World Cup in Australia. I believe our performance in Australia, despite the 0-5 scoreline was better than the one in England. A few of us managed to get runs on the grounds that we will be playing our World Cup matches on.
We have a fair idea of Australian conditions and Australian bowlers which will help us in preparing for the tournament. Australia tried out quite a few young players against us and I have to say none of them played like debutants. Even the Under-21 players played some tough cricket. There is hardly any difference between domestic and international sides while touring Australia. We would do really well to learn from their fighting spirit and don’t-give-an-inch attitude.
In fact I have seen a lot of youngsters in our domestic season this year who have the right attitude for the international level. They don’t worry about names when they play and I appreciate that. I believe there need be no undue respect on the field for star players.
The Australian tour was also the first in three years that I was not captain of the Indian team. But I can honestly tell you it did not affect my playing. I continued to bat in the same position and fulfill the responsibilities that come with being a senior player.
I hope we rediscover our mojo by the time the World Cup starts. The team that reached the 2005 final had been playing together for two years and had really gelled well on and off the field. I’d say that was key to our success then.
One setback we have faced in our preparation this time is that we are playing two-day cricket before heading to Australia. Our 50-over matches were completed earlier and that means we go to the World Cup not having had enough opportunities to practice our one-day shots. What would have been ideal are more tournaments like the Challenger Series – where the level of competition is not skewed.
I am now heading to Bangalore for a camp for the World Cup probables. The final squad is expected to be announced on January 31. This year will be a big one for women’s cricket with two World Cups. We have a chance to raise the game’s profile and an opportunity to make a mark and give the BCCI good reason to extend more facilities to women.
Posted by: Karan Puri at January 20, 2009 11:25 PM
Mithali, I would just like to wish you the best for the upcoming season. You have done a tremendous amount for women's cricket and I hope that you will continue to do so. We are all waiting for the world (and the BCCI about whom the less said, the better) to take notice and yes, this could be the year. Best wishes and make it happen!
Posted by: Raja at January 21, 2009 10:12 AM
Ladies - do us proud. I am sure the Asia Cup will be ours, and a final at the World Cup would then be the icing on the cake. Keep it up. Best wishes
Mithali Raj, India's former captain, has been on the international circuit for a decade. In August 2006, she led India to their first-ever Test and series win in England and capped off the year by winning the Asia Cup - the second time in 12 months - without dropping a game. India, under her captaincy, also reached the World Cup final in 2005. Now, as one of the senior members of the side, and the premier batsman, a lot will be riding on her for the two World Cups - 50-over and Twenty20 - that India will play in 2009.
Urooj Mumtaz managed to juggle a course in dentistry along with captaining Pakistan. Their most recent triumph was qualifying for the World Cup next year and the 22-year old Urooj will lead a young team to Australia in hope of creating a favourable impression of the Pakistan women's team among the other sides as well as back home. A legspinner, she has a hat-trick against Zimbabwe.
Cri-zelda Brits became South Africa’s captain at the age of 23, standing in for Shandre Fritze in the home series against Pakistan in 2007. She followed this by captaining the side to a 3-0 series whitewash against the Netherlands as well as winning the first-ever Test between the two sides by 159 runs. In 2008 she scored her maiden ODI hundred and led South Africa to a spot in the World Cup after beating Pakistan in the Qualifiers final in Stellenbosch. She also coaches the Northwest women's team, based in Potchefstroom, and runs her own academy.
Shelley Nitschke combines playing for Australia and her state with working in cricket, as a school officer. A useful spinner, her batting is also worth talking about – she has developed into a handy allrounder. Her major achievements to date are winning the 2005 World Cup, taking 7 for 24 against England in Kidderminster in 2005 and being nominated for the ICC Women's Player of the Year in 2006-07. Although she has played netball, softball and basketball, cricket has always been her stand-out sport.
Ebony Rainford-Brent made history as one of eight England players to be handed a Chance to Shine coaching contract, allowing her flexibility around training. A top-order batsman, she fought back from what doctors thought was a career-killing back injury and could one day bowl again – calling her determined is an understatement. She is on the Surrey Academy and her Super 4s side is Diamonds. Proficient in basketball and athletics, she settled for playing cricket … and the drums.
Haidee Tiffen has played for New Zealand for more than ten years and is now their captain, having begun her career with Otago Under-21s before heading to Canterbury. She has played representational hockey, basketball and rugby – but cricket is her passion and won out over New Zealand junior hockey. She is particularly proud of winning the World Cup in 2000, reaching the 100-ODI milestone and being skipper. Her experience also includes playing for Sussex for two winters and she was also part of the first female academy in Lincoln. Somehow she also finds time to teach Health and PE at Hillmorton High School.
Isobel Joyce,a class bat with a steely mentality, comes from a family full of cricketers - twin sister Cecilia plays alongside her for Ireland and brother Dom for the men’s national team, while another brother, Ed, plays for England and Middlesex. Her first half-century came against a strong New Zealand attack in Dublin in 2004 and her figures of 4 for 20 helped her side beat Scotland by six wickets in the European Championship in 2001, where Ireland won all their three matches. Her 46 against Netherlands in the summer of 2007 helped to maintain her place in the World Cup qualifiers in South Africa. She was in outstanding form with both and ball during the tournament, scoring 148 runs at 37 and taking 10 wickets at an average of 7. She ran out five Pakistani players in Ireland's first match, before earning two successive Player-of-the-Match awards against Scotland and then Zimbabwe, against whom she scored 70 and took 4 for 10. She was named captain for their next series, against West Indies, after Heather Whelan pulled out because she was expecting.
Nadine George has been a regular for West Indies since her debut in 1999. She first led the side on their tour of Europe in June-July 2008, when West Indies thrashed Ireland and Netherlands while putting up a respectable performance against England. Nadine combines playing for West Indies and her national team, St.Lucia, with her day job as a Sergeant in the Police Marine Unit of the Royal St.Lucia Police Force. A left-hand batsman and wicketkeeper, Nadine says the highlights of her career are receiving an MBE at Buckingham Palace in 2005, being the first West Indies woman cricketer to score a century in a Test (in Pakistan in 2004), playing in the World Cup in South Africa (2005), and playing club cricket in Australia in 2006. Nadine also plays netball and volleyball and loves the marine environment and is passionate about diving. She is a qualified open water diver and during her working hours captains a 65 and 82 ft vessel. Her motto in life is "with hard work and dedication one can achieve".
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