The Hindu : Sport : Women cricketers on World Cup

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Thursday, Mar 08, 2007
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Women cricketers on World Cup

Nandita Sridhar

Women cricketers are far removed from the mammoth expectations their male counterparts deal with. The men might know little about the 2009 women's World Cup in Australia, but the women are backing their respective men's teams for success at the Caribbean. "We're all looking forward to it. We can't wait for it to start," said Indian captain Mithali Raj.

The Indian women imploded under pressure in their do-or-die encounter in the ICC quadrangular series, and Mithali is hoping the men don't choke as well.

"We would love to see India return with the Cup, but their success will depend on how they handle pressure. When things are going neck and neck, they have to keep their cool and apply themselves," she said. Does she think that the Indian team could go all the way?

"My favourite for the Cup is the West Indies," she said.

Blessing in disguise

Indian-born Australian all-rounder Lisa Sthalekar will be closely following both the Indian and the Australian teams. The 27-year-old believes that Australia's recent reverses in the Commonwealth Bank series and the Chappell Hadlee series might actually benefit the team. "The Australians are an aggressive bunch. The Chappell-Hadlee series gave a lot of opportunities for youngsters to get some matches. One of them might just pull out an important innings during the World Cup," she said.

Will India be her choice after Australia? "I'm a typical Aussie, in the sense that I always support the underdog, even if it's against Australia sometimes. But it's hard to pick a winner this time," she said.

Aussie captain Karen Rolton is pretty sure about the team she is backing. "Australia of course. The last four to five matches have been disappointing, but the guys will fight back. It will be pretty close this time. There are a lot of other competitive teams doing well, like Sri Lanka, and the West Indies. Both teams have a good chance," she added

Rooting for Black Caps

Kiwi captain Haidee Tiffen is right behind her men to go all the way. "When the team's on song, they can beat anybody.

"Totals are getting bigger, and 300-plus doesn't seem good enough these days, but our guys bat right down and they might just surprise a few other teams," she said. She picks India as a dangerous team to watch out for. "They have some world-class players, who will need to perform consistently," she added.

Indian coach Sudha Shah is equally positive about the Indian team's chances. "I think we've found the right combination. This is the best team that could have been picked for the Cup. Our chances are good, since we've done well against the West Indies and Sri Lanka. Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar will be the key for the side to succeed," she said, adding that the format for the showpiece event was a good one.

But the coach is wary of discounting the other teams' chances.

"No team can be written off"

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