It is part of a society that discourages women from excelling in ‘male bastions’

SIFT THROUGH THE reports from the recent Women’s World Cup held in India—which Australia won—and words like ‘sexism’, ‘apathy’, ‘discriminatory’ and ‘insult’ pop out. The two-week long tournament, with matches in Mumbai and Cuttack, hardly created a ripple and was the latest illustration of why the women’s game is languishing in the margins. A few points: 1. A week before the start of the tournament, whose schedules were announced three years ago, all matches were moved from Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium to accommodate a Ranji Trophy final and an Irani Trophy match. The games were held in three other stadiums in Mumbai and two venues in Cuttack, which is in the opposite end of the country. 2. Two days before the start of the tournament Diana Edulji, a former Indian captain and one of the pioneers of the women’s game, slammed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for their disinterest. In an interview to ESPNCricinfo, she said women’s cricket was in danger of dying if the current situation persists. 3. Police outnumbered spectators in many of the World Cup matches. An estimated 300 watched the Australia-Pakistan match at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. This despite entry into the stadiums being free. 4. When asked about the poor crowd response, tournament director, Suru Nayak, said the International Cricket Council (ICC) were responsible for promoting the event. “The BCCI has no say in the tournament, it’s the ICC who are organising it,” he told the Times of India. 5. India were eliminated from the tournament within the first week. And along with them went the little bit of interest that remained. Not that the grounds were full even for India games. Reports suggest vast empty spaces even for matches involving the hosts. These are big issues for a global tournament. There is something wrong when organisers allow domestic matches to take precedence over a World Cup. And one senses a deeper malaise when issues as serious as those raised by Edulji come to the fore only before a major event. The average Indian fan approaches women’s cricket in the same way he approaches the Asian Games or the Olympics: make some noise every four years and then forget about it in the intervening period. There are no raging TV debates about women’s cricket, no online wars over team selection. The BCCI has plenty to answer for. Women’s cricket came under the aegis of the board in 2006. Yes, state associations have allowed women players to use training facilities. Yes, there has been a burgeoning of the back-room staff of the women teams. But none of this can make up for the fact that the BCCI has done little to integrate the women’s game into the mainstream. “If there is more support from the BCCI, then standards will rise,” said Clare Connor, the ICC women’s committee chairman. “The passion is there for the game, people just need to know more about women’s cricket probably, and hopefully that support will grow.” The organisers did little to advertise the tournament. No signboards and hoardings that screamed at you. No serious promotion of the event. Even women cricket fans in Mumbai—who would have flocked to the grounds for an international match or IPL—didn’t show much interest. A review of the tournament in ESPNCricinfo was critical of the lack of atmosphere in the grounds. There was no music to pep up the games, no regular announcements. The participating country’s national anthems were played only in the final. There were no cheerleaders, no mid-innings entertainment. Back in February 2008, I watched India play Australia in a T20 match in Melbourne. As an opening act before the game, England and Australia played a women’s T20. This was a fine initiative on the part of the Australian board. Not only did it allow the women a chance to compete in front of a big crowd but also gave the fans an incentive to come and watch them. There was entertainment through the game. And the women later spoke of how much of a difference it makes to have a big crowd watching them. The BCCI must follow this lead and schedule women’s T20 games during the IPL and international T20s. This can be a great way to introduce women’s cricket stars to the average fan. This can also serve as a chance to allow more interaction between the men and women cricketers. It would give young, aspiring women cricketers a chance to learn from some of the leading lights in the men’s game. And vice-versa. Corporates have to cop some blame too. Advertising and marketing priorities seem so lopsided that even pre-eminent women cricketers like Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami don’t find themselves on hoardings and TV ads. Companies need to recognise that these women would serve as an inspiration for others aspiring to take up the game. Popular culture is yet to embrace women’s cricket. There has been no Bend It Like Beckham or Dare to Dream (the story of US women’s soccer) that has seeped into public consciousness. Movies, documentaries and magazines can play their part in spreading the message. The blame game, though, can only go so far. To see a real change in the profile of the women’s game, we need a collective effort in vitalising the grassroots. Parents need to encourage girls to play with the boys in the neighborhood maidans. They need to push them to attend summer training camps. And they need to be willing to send teenage girls to countries like England to play in clubs and leagues, to hone their skills. Schools and colleges need to have cricket tournaments for girls. Clubs must start women’s-only teams and actively seek out talented players from their respective cities. Women’s cricket in India doesn’t operate in a vacuum. It is part of a larger society that discourages women from excelling in fields that have traditionally been male bastions. It operates in a culture where large number of women cricketers give up the game once they are married. For every Mithali or Jhulan, there are thousands of girls whose parents frown upon them for picking up a bat and ball. Until that equation changes, the blatant disparity between the men’s and women’s game will sadly continue.