Published: Jul 02, 2017, 02:40 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 02, 2017, 02:40 PM (IST)
If you are an Indian, you have probably found out just now that there is an India versus Pakistan World Cup match on a Sunday and have opted out of the multiplex plans. You have also Googled and got to know that India have a 9-0 record against Pakistan in Women’s ODIs. Then you have got on to social media to gloat about it, finding another tool to have a bash at your neighbours — this, despite the fact that you will not be able to name half the girls in the current squad.
If you are a Pakistani, you have probably found out the same today morning. It is a workday in Pakistan. You will probably not be able to watch the match. However, you will probably begin discussing why cricket is a sport for men. You will conjure up all sorts of logic: after all, men have won you the Champions Trophy last month. As for your male cricketers, if they are asked about women’s cricket, there is a chance that they may respond with “our women have magical hands: they are great cooks.”
When Pakistan Women take field today, patriarchy will be the first thing they will be up against. If anyone back home cares to follow the match, they will probably be criticised for not bowling as quickly as their male counterparts; or not hitting as hard.
It will not be much different on the other side of the border, too, where there was no live telecast of India taking on the world champions at home in a bilateral series last year.
Let me put this simply: fans, especially in the subcontinent, do not care much for women’s cricket. The current buzz is akin to the quadrennial national hormonal rush that goes by the name of The Olympics, where all of India mourns the lack of medals, blames everything on cricket, and follows the next series of cricket anyway. Ask yourself: how many times have you heard of Dipa Karmakar and her Produnova since The Olympics?
It is the same for women’s cricket. It has always been. When the World Cups are on you may come across the had-women-been-given-more-opportunities fans. However, when there is no marquee event, there is little attention for “the female (insert the name of a male cricketer)”.
Obviously, more fans are expected to surface today for the India-Pakistan clash. This is a different breed of fans, ones that thrive on patriotism. They do not care much for the sport (let alone for the women), but it is a free dose of jingoism they are unlikely to leave unattended.
None of these will be of any good to women’s cricket, for today’s support will be as intense and permanent as Shahid Afridi innings.
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Thus, if Smriti Mandhana goes on a rampage again or the Indians drops catches, the social media wars will turn ugly, and will invariably not involve cricket. Not many will point out that Anam Amin might have made a difference; or that Veda Krishnamurthy (there is no reason to drop Mona Meshram at this point) is one of the greatest all-round fielders in contemporary cricket.
This makes one cannot help but wonder: is this really an India versus Pakistan clash that invariably draws adrenaline? Or is it a clash of the twenty-two cricketers that will take field today against the forces that have held them back?
The result will obviously matter, but as is often the case with women’s cricket, much more is at stake. It has been barely a day since Andy Roberts, no less, had put forward the question “let me ask you, women are playing, is it a female’s game?” to Hindustan Times.
No, there are bigger things to conquer today for Mithali Raj and Sana Mir and their girls. Sexism in cricket has been discussed at lengths in these pages before. Rachael Heyhoe-Flint had devoted a lifetime to the cause, and she was certainly not the last one.
No, today’s contest is more than an excuse for the citizens of the two countries to gloat over. There is much, much more at stake than the direct outcome of the match. There is territory to be claimed. There is respect to be earned.
And in this battle, the teams will — whether knowingly or not — play alongside each other, hand in hand, to take on an enemy beyond the confines of the boundary ropes.
Indeed, this is a going to be a battle for women’s cricket against the rest. Whose side are you on?
