‘They are deserving of much more’
Bangladesh men's cricket team made a giant leap in their cricket fortunes more than two decades ago when they defeated Pakistan at Northampton in the 1999 cricket World Cup. Former national captain Mohammad Ashraful likened the Tigresses' victory against Pakistan today to that match in 1999 and was hopeful that bigger achievements will follow the women's team's triumph if their domestic cricketing structure is taken care of.
The Tigresses defeated Pakistan women's team by nine runs to pick up their maiden ODI World Cup win. Ashraful was hopeful that more would be done for women's cricket following this win.
"It feels really good. The girls are always playing well and they had won the Asia Cup first by defeating India. Now they have won their first [ODI] World Cup match by defeating Pakistan. We also defeated Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup. They are deserving of much more," he said.
The Tigresses were awarded Test Status in April last year, though the BCB has not yet scheduled Tigresses' maiden Test match yet. Ashraful, who was speaking a day ahead of the start of the Dhaka Premier League (DPL), urged the board to take care of the cricketing structure in women's game.
"Since the girls got Test status, if their domestic structure can be improved, better cricketers will come. It's a great achievement to win the first World Cup match. Congratulations to the management and the players. I hope after this win, the cricket structure in women's game will get better so that they can play regularly. Since they got Test status, plans should be made for when they can play Tests. In domestic cricket, the board should think about four-day matches so they are prepared for Test cricket," Ashraful said.
He also reiterated that the experience in the Bangladesh team led the way in today's win against Pakistan.
"We've beaten Pakistan before and the women's team has experience. In this side, there are five captains. Experience has an impact and that was seen today. I hope they will do well in the upcoming matches too. Whatever the results, we will be happy," Ashraful commented.
Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, a mentor to many of the stars in the men's national side and a former national manager of BCB's women's wing felt that a lot can be done at domestic level, starting with two-day games.
"I feel that at the senior level, two-day matches should get underway soon along with age-group cricket. Within this year a U-18 tournament took place but plans should be made to organise these kinds of tournaments better so that more matches can be played. We also need another platform between the national team and U-18 level if we really want to do well.
"I think that considering the interest that exists among people or the girls that are playing, we can go further [in terms of organising the domestic structure]. It will help us play better cricket if more investment is made. Around 100 to 150 players take part in domestic competition like premier league or national competitions and if we can create opportunities for investment, it will bring a great change. It doesn't mean cricket board will have to arrange the investment alone. If the big clubs come and form teams, they will pay a good amount to players and if a competition begins, they will be willing to spend more. That in effect will create a good source of income for the girls," Fahim told The Daily Star today.
Fahim dictated that interest existed among clubs but right now the financial incentives was not available for every women cricketer.
"Perhaps there are a few clubs who do pay some money but they will obviously be giving it to only a few number of players. The environment is yet to be created so that the clubs can pay everyone and the clubs don't have that strength yet. We need to bring a lot of players under the same umbrella so that they can focus on the game without financial worries," he concluded.