Belinda Clark: First cricketer to score a double century in ODIs

If I were to ask you who is the first cricketer to have scored a double century in One Day International Cricket, there is no doubt that the unanimous answer would be Sachin Tendulkar. The Little Master may have a gazillion cricketing records to his name but, contrary to popular belief, Tendulkar isn’t the first player to score 200 runs or more in a One-Day International.

Let’s go back in time and take a leaf out of the international women’s cricket. 13 years before the master blaster batsman reached this landmark, there was a lady, who had already achieved this feat. On 16^th December 1997, the then skipper of Australian women’s cricket team Belinda Clark had smashed an unbeaten 229 off just 155 balls against Denmark in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup match that was played at MIG Ground, Mumbai to propel Australia to a mammoth 412 for 3 against Denmark. It was a brutal annihilation of an inexperienced attack, and Clark was just too hot to handle for the Denmark eves. The Australian team went on to win the match by a mammoth margin of 363 runs.

Belinda Jane Clark was born on 10^th September 1970 in the metropolitan area of New Castle in New South Wales, Australia. She is a former female Australian cricketer, who played international cricket from 1991 to 2005. In an international career that spanned for close to 15 years, Clark led the Australian women’s team to two World Cup victories (1997 and 2005) and one final (2000) after taking charge in 1994.

On 16 September 2005, Clark announced her retirement after playing in 118 one-day internationals and 15 Tests. She holds Australia's record for Test and ODI runs and also for ODI appearances.

 After her retirement, Clark took on a new role as manager of the Australian Cricket Academy in Brisbane. She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day honours list in January 2000, for service to cricket, particularly through the Australian Women's Cricket Team, and to the promotion and development of the game for women and girls. Clark was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2011. Clark became the first female player inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame during the 2014 Allan Border Medal ceremony. Currently Clark is the manager of the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane. There she has overseen not only the development of the Southern Stars (nickname for Australian women’s cricket team) but an increasing level of interaction, communication and shared training among male and female cricketers at the top level. In 2011, she was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. She was also appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2000 “for service to cricket, particularly through the Australian Women’s Cricket Team, and to the promotion and development of the game for women and girls.” She has also served as the CEO of Women’s Cricket Australia. Clark captained the Australian women's cricket team from 1994 to her retirement in 2005. In 1998 Clark was named Wisden Australia Cricketer of the Year. Clark played one Women's Twenty20 International and 89 Women's National Cricket League matches.

Belinda Clark was a giant of the Australian game both on and off the field, where she combined the roles of player and captain with that of chief executive of Women's Cricket Australia. She has led by example, averaging over 45 in both Tests and one-day internationals. That knock in Mumbai is definitely the highlight of Clark’s glittering career. It is a world record that is bound to stand for ages and it is rather unfortunate that her remarkable achievements are hidden and overshadowed by her male counterparts. Even still, Belinda Clark is proud to be joined by the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Chris Gayle and Martin Guptill in the club she started. Great company to be in, don’t you think?

A tribute to Aloo Bamjee, pioneer of women's cricket in Mumbai

28^th December is an important day in the history of Mumbai women’s cricket. Do you know why? Yes? No? Let me you tell you. Ms. Aloo Bamjee, who is the pioneer of women’s cricket in Mumbai was born today. Let us all thank her on her birth anniversary for starting the first ever cricket club ‘Albees’ for girls.

Albees was established in 1969 and the nets were conducted at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Albees had in their ranks Nutan Gavaskar, Sunil Gavaskar’s sister, and Tina Lalo, a cousin of Farokh Engineer. Diana Edulji, Albees’s most famous alumni, joined the club in 1971.

Aloo Bamjee was not a cricketer herself, but her sheer love for the game gave birth to Mumbai’s first ever cricket club for women which was called Albees. Her husband who stood behind her like a pillar helped Aloo realize her dream of starting a women’s cricket club in Mumbai. Ms. Bamjee looked like an old British lady and was a woman of stringent rules and principles.

MCA announces senior women’s squad for T20 league

Domestic women’s cricket in India will welcome the New Year with a bang. Women cricketers will play the T20 tournament from 2^nd January - 12^th January 2016 at different venues like Uttar Pradesh, Goa, West Bengal, Assam and Haryana.

On Wednesday, Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) announced the senior women’s squad for the T20 tournament. Mumbai has made three changes in their T20 squad from the one day squad. Tanvi Bhuskute, Sayli Satghare and Prakashika Naik make way for Shraddha Chavan, Vrushali Sawant and Hemali Borwankar. Mumbai will play their league matches in Uttar Pradesh.

Mumbai squad: Sunetra Paranjape (C), Sulakshana Naik (WK), Prajakta Shirwadkar (WK), Mugdha Joshi, Bhakti Tamore, Sheral Rozario, Nancy Daruwalla, Shraddha Chavan, Vrushali Sawant, Manali Dakshini, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shweta Haranhalli, Fatima Jaffer, Hemali Borwankar, Humaira Kazi

MCA to organize inter-school girls cricket tournament

Walk into any school in India and you will see a group of boys playing cricket, organized or unorganized, on the playground. Have you ever seen a bunch of girls playing this sport? My guess is no. This is the defining point of the state of women’s cricket in India. However to promote the sport among the fairer sex, inter-school girls cricket tournament will be organized under the aegis of Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) in Jan-Feb 2016. This will be the 8^th year when the girls from different school across Mumbai will participate in a leather ball cricket tournament.  The tournament will be of 20 overs each side. The schools are encouraged to send more than one entry, provided that a single player can play only for one team.

In India, women’s cricket at the grassroot needs to be developed and with MCA organizing such a tournament, it is just doing the needful. With the BCCI applying some fairness cream to women’s cricket in India by way of giving central contracts to women cricketers, the wheels of women’s cricket have started rolling and are all set to go a long way.

All interested schools in Mumbai and Thane jurisdiction seeking participation in the tournament are requested to submit their entries on school letter head at the office of MCA during working hours or e-mail on mcacrik@vsnl.com on or before 8th January 2016.

For more details please contact Ms. Veena Paralkar on cell no. 9321868833.

  

Mumbai girls finish runners-up in the All India inter-university women’s cricket tourney

Mumbai University finished runners-up in the All India inter-university women’s cricket tournament that was played in Mumbai, when they suffered defeat at the hands of GNDU University (Amritsar) by 45 runs. Neelam Bisht (79*) and Nikita Chouhan (41) played brilliantly to take GNDU to a formidable total of 185-6. In reply Mumbai managed to score 140-9 thanks to Mugdha Joshi (42) and Bhakti Tamore (41). The match was called off in favour of GNDU when Mumbai’s all-rounder Humaira Kazi was unfortunately struck on head by the throw from a fielder in the deep.   

Mumbai girls reach the finals of All India Inter-University Women’s Cricket Tournament

Mumbai University women’s cricket team came hard at Rohtak University in the semi-final of All India Inter-University women’s cricket tournament, when they cruised to a 169-run victory at Matunga Gymkhana today. Riding on splendid batting performances of Mugdha Joshi (105*) Hemali Borwankar (59) and Humaira Kazi (49*), Mumbai posted an almost unattainable target of 265-2 in 40 overs. They mercilessly smacked the Rohtak bowlers all around the park and there was no respite for the latter. Later in the day, Manashree Gavande struck 4-29, not allowing Rohtak to even inch closer to the target. Rohtak was bowled out for a paltry 96 in 26.4 overs. Mumbai will lock horns against JNPT Amritsar in the final which will be played on Monday, 21^st December at Police Gymkhana.

MU women’s cricket team thrashes University of Calcutta

Mumbai University got off to a flying start when they defeated the University of Calcutta by eight wickets in their first match of All India Inter-University Women’s Cricket Tournament that was played at Matunga Gymkhana today. Winning the toss and electing to bat first, University of Calcutta were done and dusted for a paltry 98 in 40 overs. Aheerita Mukherjee (49*) was the top scorer for Calcutta. Continuing her golden run in the inter-university women’s cricket tournament, Bhakti Tamore (34) again played a handful knock and gave a good solid start to Mumbai. Hemali Borwankar (22) and Priyanka Golipkar (21*) too chipped in to see their team home.

MU wins the West Zone Inter-University Women’s Cricket tournament

Mumbai University Women’s Cricket team emerged victorious in the West Zone Inter-University Women’s Cricket tournament that was played in Mumbai. MU faced Barktullah University of Bhopal in the final and chased down a paltry target of 60 runs with nine wickets in hand. Manashree Gavande picked up 3-9 and received good support from Mugdha Joshi (2-14) and Humaira Kazi (2-4). Later in the day, Bhakti Tamore (35*) led from the front to help MU have a smooth chase and win the match single handedly.

MU Women’s Cricket team enters the final of West Zone Inter-University Cricket Tourney

Nothing can go wrong when we join the two words Mumbai and Cricket. Mumbai University Women’s cricket team made their way into the finals of West Zone Inter-University Women’s Cricket Tournament that is being played in Mumbai. Playing their semi-final game against the Nagpur University, Mumbai emerged victorious, winning the match comprehensively by seven wickets. Early in the day, Nagpur won the toss and elected to field first. They scored 126 in 25 overs, with Jyoti Bhagat (26*) and Harsha Bokde (26) top scoring for their team. Anagha Narvekar was the pick of the bowlers accounting for 3-21 in her five overs. Mumbai’s batting was too good to handle for the Nagpur bowlers, with Bhakti Tamore (48) and Shweta Haranhalli (62*) taking their team home comfortably. They chased down the target in just 21.1 overs, which showed the sheer batting class of Mumbai. Mumbai face off Bhopal in the final that will be played tomorrow at MIG Ground.

ICC Women's World T20 in India

The ICC Women's World T20 kick starts on 11th March 2016 in India. There are ten team participating in the T20 World Cup. There are two groups of five teams each and the matches will be played in Round-robin format, that is every team plays against every other team in its group. The teams in Group A are Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Ireland, whereas in Group B we have England, West Indies, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. A total of 23 matches will be played in the tournament. The tournament will be played across different cities in India like Bengaluru, Chennai, Dharamshala, Kolkata, Mohali, Mumbai, Nagpur and New Delhi. The final match is staged in Kolkata on 3rd April 2016.The winning team gets a handsome prize money of $400,000, which is a whooping 122% more than that of 2014.

The defending champions Australia would have to fight hard to retain their title as they have the likes of South Africa and New Zealand in their group. India on the other hand should make use of the home advantage and look to better their performance compared to their previous T20 World Cup outings. A lot would be dependent on senior players like Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami who have been around for over 10 years in world cricket.

Defending champions Railways continue to reign the domestic women’s cricket

Amidst the buzz around Ranji trophy and India-SA series, the senior women’s one day cricket tournament quietly bit the dust last week. The first leg of the tournament (15^th Nov -23^rd Nov) was played in Gujarat, Jharkhand, Goa and Kerala and the super league (1^st Dec - 5^th Dec) was played in Hyderabad and Una. A total of 26 teams participated in the tournament, which were divided into Elite Groups (Elite Group A and Elite Group B) and Plate Groups (Plate Group A, Plate Group B and Plate Group C). The first part of the tournament was played in Round-robin format, which means that every team played against every other team in its Group. Top two teams from each of the five groups progressed to the super league. There were four teams from the Elite Groups who fought for the National Championship title and six teams from the Plate Groups locked horns eyeing two berths in the Elite Group next year. 

The defending champions Railways remained invincible throughout the tournament and went on to win the National Championship when they comprehensively defeated a powerful Maharashtra team by 57 runs. In the Plate Group, it was Baroda facing off against Madhya Pradesh in the ultimate final. Madhya Pradesh had an easy victory over Baroda, chasing a small target of 113 keeping five wickets in hand.

To speak about a few highlights from the tournament, India’s no. 1 batswoman and Railways skipper Mithali Raj was the highest run-scorer (264 runs in 6 innings), while Railways left arm spinner Ekta Bisht and Baroda’s medium pace bowler Nancy Patel were the top wicket-takers picking up 15 wickets apiece. Mumbai’s 13-year old child prodigy Fatima Jaffer (7 wickets), niece of cricket veteran Wasim Jaffer, was a new find for senior women’s domestic cricket. 

After the successful completion of the one day tournament, the domestic women’s cricket will welcome the New Year with the T20 tournament that commences from the first week of January 2016. Let the party begin.

Railways women defend the National Championship

Mithali’s ‘Raj’ continued in Indian women’s cricket when Railways emerged victorious against a strong Maharashtra team at Secunderabad. Winning by a margin of 57 runs, Railways registered a comprehensive win over Maharashtra. Skipper Mithali Raj (68) and all-rounder Niranjana Nagarajan (53) helped Railways to post a formidable total of 218-6. Anuja Patil picked up three important wickets but did not receive much support from the other end. Smriti Mandhana (78) had set the stage for Maharashtra but her efforts went in vain when none of the other Maharashtra batswoman could carry the baton till the end. Niranjana Nagarajan (2-31), Sneh Rana (2-29) and Harmanpreet Kaur (2-22) were too good to handle for Maharashtra. 

Madhya Pradesh women win the Plate Group final

Madhya Pradesh won the Plate Group final of senior women’s one day cricket tournament against Baroda by five wickets, which was played at Una. Winning the toss and electing to field first, Madhya Pradesh bowlers validated the skipper’s call as they bundled out Baroda for 112. Nidhi Buley (3-14) was the pick of the bowlers for Madhya Pradesh. Apart from Heena Patel (43), none of the other Baroda batswoman looked in shape.  Later in the day, we saw an all-round batting performance from Madhya Pradesh as they chased down the target in just 37.3 overs. 

Baroda women emerge victorious against Karnataka women

Baroda emerged victorious against Karnataka in the Plate Group semi-final match of senior women’s one day tournament. Baroda chased down 105 runs and won the match by four wickets. Yastika Bhatia (26) played the anchor role and guided her team to victory. Earlier in the day, Baroda’s Zulekha Yakubwala accounted for three of Karnataka’s wickets (3-25) not allowing Karnataka to score big. Akanksha Kohli’s all-round performance (26 and 2-16) went in vain as none of the other Karnataka players looked in shape, except Prathyusha (35*), who batted well lower down the order.

Madhya Pradesh women thrash Kerala

Kerala suffered defeat at the hands of Madhya Pradesh by five wickets in the Plate Group semi-final match of senior women’s one day tournament. Winning the toss and fielding first, Madhya Pradesh bundled out Kerala for a paltry 74, courtesy Pooja Vastrakar’s 4-12. Jincy George (23*) and Asha S (14) were the only two Kerala batswomen who could manage a double digit score. 

It was not a smooth sail as far as Madhya Pradesh chase was concerned. They lost half their side on the way. Mrudhula (2-28) and Aswathymol (2-17) picked up two wickets apiece. It was Varsha Choudhary (26*), who anchored the innings and successfully chased down the total for Madhya Pradesh.

Hyderabad surprise Maharashtra in the senior women’s one day tournament

Maharashtra faced a 6-wicket defeat at the hands of Hyderabad women in the Elite Group match of senior women’s one day tournament. Posting 134-7 on board, Maharashtra’s batting was shouldered by Shweta Mane (34*), Anuja Patil (26) and Smriti Mandhana (25). Skipper Naidu made use of eight bowlers in the game, seven of them picking one wicket apiece.

After the initial blow, when Shweta Mane got rid of Sneha More (0), there was no looking back by Hyderabad women. Other Maharashtra bowlers could not capitalize on the dream start provided by Mane. Shalini (44) and Ramya (31) chipped in at the right time to create a strong foundation for the batters to follow. Senior player Diana David (35) contributed with the bat to see her team home. Hyderabad chased down the target in 42.1 overs keeping their hopes alive in the tournament. 

Railways get the better off Mumbai women

A smattering of grass on the 22-yard strip made the Railways skipper Mithali Raj opt to field first against their clash against Mumbai women at Vijaynand Ground, Secunderabad. Mumbai started off well, playing the new ball well, before Mumbai captain Sunetra Paranjape (7) was dismissed by Kavita in the 12^th over. Mugdha Joshi (30) and Prajakta Shirwadkar (20) were building a nice little partnership but Kavita struck again to send Joshi pack to the pavilion. After getting off to a good start, the Mumbai middle order failed to capitalize on it and was bundled out for 114. Sneh Rana (4-20) was the pick of the bowlers, who was responsible for rattling Mumbai’s batting line up.

Riding on Thirushkamini’s batting brilliance, Railways managed to clinch yet another comprehensive victory and have been invincible so far in this tournament. There was not much for Mumbai bowlers as the Railways openers Poonam Raut (35) and Thirushkamini (65*) were too hot to handle. They defeated Mumbai eves by 9 wickets and are just a step away from defending their National Championship title.

It’s Railways all the way..

Inching closer to the fag-end of the tournament, the defending champions Railways women went all guns blazing against Hyderabad at Vijaynand Ground, Secunderabad. Winning the toss and opting to field first, Railways skipper marshalled her troops well who skittled out Hyderabad eves for a paltry 60.

Apart from Pranathi Reddy (16), no other Hyderbad batswoman managed to cross the double digit mark. The Hyderabad batting line up tumbled like a pack of cards. The experienced Railway bowling was too good to handle for the Hyderabad eves. Kavita Patil (3-15) was the pick of the bowlers, who was well-supported by Niranjana (1-13) and the spinning trio of Ekta Bisht (2-14), Sneh Rana (2-13) and Rajeshwari Gayakwad (2-4). 

Chasing 61 runs off 50 overs was nothing less than a cake walk for the Railways. Ananya Upendran struck for Hyderabad when she got rid of opening batswoman Thirushkamini (10) in the 11th over. Soon Railways lost another wicket when Sravanthi Naidu sent Veda Krishnamurthy (8) back to the pavilion. A patient knock by Poonam Raut (33*) ensured that Railways chased down the target without any further hiccups.

The defending champions have continued their winning streak in the tournament and are in the driver’s seat to defend their national championship title. 

Mumbai succumb to Mandhana’s blitzkrieg

When the old rivals meet on the cricket field, a lot is expected to happen. It was expected to be a cracker of a contest, but all in the end, it just turned out to be a one sided affair.

Winning the toss and electing to bat first at Vijaynand Ground, Secunderabad, Mumbai eves managed to post 150 runs on the scoreboard. Sheral Rozario’s unbeaten innings of 51 was the best for Mumbai in today’s game. Though the Mumbai skipper Sunetra Paranjape would have extended a bigger total, Mumbai batters didn’t look in best of the shapes. Jemimah Rodrigues (22) and Bhakti Tamore (22) were the other batswomen who contributed with the bat for Mumbai. Mane (3-37) was the pick of the bowlers for Maharashtra rattling the Mumbai top order. She was well-accompanied by Patil (2-22) and Magre (2-26).

Defending a precarious target of 151 runs was always going to be difficult. Maharashtra openers Mandhana (84*) and Jadhav (24) went off to a flyer stitching a much needed partnership of 86 runs for the first wicket. The 13-year old child prodigy Fatima Jaffer came to Mumbai’s rescue when she got rid of Jadhav in the 23^rd over. There were mixed reactions in both camps. Maharashtra was happy thanks to Mandhana’s terrific run-making and Mumbai was tensed as its bowlers failed to deliver in this all important match. Though Rodrigues got the wicket of Vaidya (7) in the 32^nd over, it was too late in the day for Mumbai. Maharashtra had to just complete the final few formalities to secure a comprehensive victory over Mumbai. Mandhana and Patil (21*) took their team home, beating Mumbai by 8 wickets.