Around the world – and around the U.K. – the “OG” cork and leather cricket ball goes by a range of names which I have had to assimilate into my vocabulary; from a “corkie” (Yorkshire) to a “season ball” (India and, by extension, inner city Leicester). Here in Nepal, it’s a “Dukes ball”, and so this weekend we had 18 girls from Udayapur take part in an “introduction to Dukes Ball cricket” session.
Arriving at the ground a few minutes early, Lee and I enjoyed the kind of scene you see all around the world – a group of middle aged blokes enjoying a sociable game of tennis ball cricket. Bowling on the concrete strip was all from the – possibly conveniently located – concrete factory end, while the on strike batter took guard from the far more photogenic hills end.
Local coach Mithun, who is the beating heart of girls cricket development here, holed out to cow corner with 18 needed off 18 balls, but the chasing team kept their cool with a few lusty blows from a stocky lad in the lower middle order. Just as well – we found out as handshakes were scattered around that the opposition were from the local badminton association, saving a few blushes from the team representing the Udayapur cricket association!
With the game completed it was time for the girls to take over – 18 all together, we started with a simple dynamic warm up and bowling and batting in pairs with the wind ball to gauge the level of the group. It was clear that well over half had pretty sound foundations – straight arms in the bowling and balanced stances in the batting abounded. Mithun later confirmed that since the festival break they had been training for 2 sessions – each of one hour – every week, and this had clearly paid off.
Time then to get into the hardball kit itself. After a brief “in flight safety video” demonstration of what we wear and why, 4 girls at a time got padded, gloves and helmeted up.
Some minor modifications to plans – batting tees had migrated to the other kitbag which had stayed at the hotel, so a kitchen knife was found to fashion tees from used plastic bottles – and soon a carousel of batting, fielding, and a mini bowling clinic was underway.
With some minor technical tweaks soon everyone was smashing the ball straight through their target areas. When we chatted afterwards, reflecting on how it felt it wear the kit and hit the hardball, the girls were overwhelmingly enthusiastic – “I felt great! Powerful!” said one girl, squaring her shoulders to highlight the embodied feeling. Others liked how the ball pinged off the bat. A few noticed how they had to use their hands more when they were fielding – and be a bit brave.
I think everyone was excited to keep working on their skills and represent Udaypur who do not yet have a senior women’s team. I’m pretty sure we met most of the future squad today – including the captain in one girl who’s bowling and batting skills stood out above the rest. The good news for the growth of the game is she was quick to guide newer girls, showing them how to control where the ball goes. Girls leadership continues to be a theme as our work in Nepal grows – onwards and upwards together!
Sara
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