She may have recently been crowned the highest run-getter in women’s One Day Internationals, yet the skipper of India’s celebrated World Cup squad has proved that her cricketing credentials are of the most distinguished pedigree. In the midst of the adulation for the display at Lord’s, Mithali Raj “batted” for greater emphasis on the purest version of the game ~ Test matches. And laid bare a most disturbing statistic: in her 18-year career she had played only 10 Tests.
In an observation that is appropriate from a player in the top drawer, Mithali declared that “T20s and ODIs can be popular among audiences but Test cricket is a different ball game. As a player I would like to test my skills in the longer format, rather than T20, or to some extent in ODIs, where a match changes in a short span of time”.
Despite the unprecedented high-profile felicitations in which she and her team regaled, as they were “rewarded” beyond their own expectations, Mithali lamented that the “Indian women’s team has played just five Tests in the last 10 years”, and pointed out that only the EnglandAustralia contests were conducted on a regular basis.
She made that comparison to illustrate the point which explained their domination of the game, even the shorter version. “Test matches are the ultimate test for cricketers, whether it is your temperament, skill or endurance; however women’s cricket needs promotion and so far it has been mainly through T20s and ODIs by the respective cricket boards.”
The success of Mithali’s squad has generated fresh interest in the women’s game in India, and apart from various goodies being dangled many are calling for a female equivalent of the IPL. The skipper appreciated all that, with the rider that “I feel Test matches should be played as frequently as limited-overs games because it churns out quality players.”
Well said Madam, but the difficulty boils down to the commercial support the shorter version generates. Even across the gender-divide, the cash-registers ring essentially for those versions. Mithali was talking of on-field “Tests” but was actually testing the depth and extent of the support the women’s game receives, verily testing the sincerity of those now seeking to ride the bandwagon.
What the second-spot-winning team will have to come to terms with is that the kudos could be short-lived, a couple of reverses and the names now rolling off the tongue could well be forgotten.
For the players that will be another kind of test: will the tremendous success attained in England this summer sustain the team when the limelight fades?
Women cricketers had to virtually wrest training support and attendant facilities from the BCCI, only continuing on-field success will firm up that backing. For space on the front-pages has always to be earned.