‘For cricketing glory look to girls’

A cricket match between student teams organised at Garrison Academy.

LAHORE: “Our men’s team is no good at all. The focus should be on girls who are more competitive globally than boys.

They will surely do better.” These were the jubilant words of Madiha Rajput, a member of the winning team at a cricket match at the Garrison Academy for Girls (GAG) on Tuesday.

The match was arranged between two teams of the GAG students to honour the Pakistan women cricket team following its recent victory in the Asian Games.

The match was watched by a sizable audience of students who stayed till the end. The target had to be revised to end the match on time. The presence of Mansoor Rana, the Pakistan women cricket team coach; Sana Mir, the team’s captain; Javeria Wadood, the vice captain; and Marina Iqbal, one of the team’s bowlers, added to the enthusiasm of the students. Bushra Aitzaz, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) women wing’s chairperson, Shamsa Hashmi, the Punjab Board deputy secretary, Ali Zia, the senior general manager of the National Cricket Academy and Mian Javaid Ali, the Lahore City Cricket Association secretary were also present.

Sana Mir encouraged the students saying, “Earlier, it was very difficult but now the horizon of opportunities has expanded and great things have become easier to accomplish.”

Marina Iqbal said that their victory was helping eliminate negativity about women in sports. Sultan Rana said, “The national team has provided the schools with justification to start and promote their girls cricket teams.” He said that the PCBA had raised funds to promote cricket and women could pursue it as a career. Other speakers at the event talked about the situation of women cricket and its recognition in the country. Bushra Aitzaz, a former student of the Garrison Academy, shared some of her memories of her time at the school.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2010.