MiD DAY, July 18, 2006Indian ladies for Lord's
By: Suhrid Barua
Bangalore: The Lord’s cricket ground has always been a male bastion though women have played there before. But for Indian women cricketers, it would be a moment to savour when they square off with England in the first of the five-match NatWest one-day series at the Lord’s next month.Excited girlsDoubtless, the Indian women are excited at the prospect of playing at the Mecca of cricket.“It will be a big moment for us. Playing at Lord’s is a dream of every cricketer, I’m sure our girls would relish the occasion,” India coach Sudha Shah told MiD DAY after the conclusion of the 21-day camp at the Infosys ground at Mysore for the forthcoming tours of Ireland and England.Icing on the cakeThe Indian coach believes the occasion could be even more memorable if her side manages to pull off a win. “It will be the icing on the cake. Striding out at the home of cricket would itself be a great feeling and what better than to a win on that day,” she said.Only AnjumThe Indian women had earlier endured disastrous tours of Australia and New Zealand where they failed to win a single match, with only seasoned Anjum Chopra stacking up two half-centuries in each of the series.Shah agreed there were lessons to be learnt from those two series.“I admit we didn’t bat as well as we could have, but we’ve worked on our game in the camp. Our batswomen should stand up to the task in England. “It’s important that they put runs on the board, as it would give our bowlers cushion to go for wins,” said Shah, who is a former India captain.All setSkipper Mithali Raj said her side was looking forward to playing at Lord’s. “We are all keyed up to play there. It would be a dream come true for all the girls.”Mithali said India are high on motivation even after the mauling in Australia and New Zealand.Motivated lot“We’re highly motivated because the last overseas tours were pretty terrible for us. Our batting went haywire, while we fielded poorly. As far as the conditions are concerned, we didn’t know what to expect in Australia and New Zealand, but I’m confident our batters will get it right and fire in England,” Mithali said.
Bangalore: The Lord’s cricket ground has always been a male bastion though women have played there before. But for Indian women cricketers, it would be a moment to savour when they square off with England in the first of the five-match NatWest one-day series at the Lord’s next month.Excited girlsDoubtless, the Indian women are excited at the prospect of playing at the Mecca of cricket.“It will be a big moment for us. Playing at Lord’s is a dream of every cricketer, I’m sure our girls would relish the occasion,” India coach Sudha Shah told MiD DAY after the conclusion of the 21-day camp at the Infosys ground at Mysore for the forthcoming tours of Ireland and England.Icing on the cakeThe Indian coach believes the occasion could be even more memorable if her side manages to pull off a win. “It will be the icing on the cake. Striding out at the home of cricket would itself be a great feeling and what better than to a win on that day,” she said.Only AnjumThe Indian women had earlier endured disastrous tours of Australia and New Zealand where they failed to win a single match, with only seasoned Anjum Chopra stacking up two half-centuries in each of the series.Shah agreed there were lessons to be learnt from those two series.“I admit we didn’t bat as well as we could have, but we’ve worked on our game in the camp. Our batswomen should stand up to the task in England. “It’s important that they put runs on the board, as it would give our bowlers cushion to go for wins,” said Shah, who is a former India captain.All setSkipper Mithali Raj said her side was looking forward to playing at Lord’s. “We are all keyed up to play there. It would be a dream come true for all the girls.”Mithali said India are high on motivation even after the mauling in Australia and New Zealand.Motivated lot“We’re highly motivated because the last overseas tours were pretty terrible for us. Our batting went haywire, while we fielded poorly. As far as the conditions are concerned, we didn’t know what to expect in Australia and New Zealand, but I’m confident our batters will get it right and fire in England,” Mithali said.
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