THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Though won the ICC Women’s World Cup, it was India who won the most hearts — and catches — on the field. Statistics prove India were the best fielding side in the eight-team affair which helped the country, who were eliminated in the group stages of the previous World Cup in 2013, to reach the final where they fought valiantly against the superior England women.
While India registered 34 catches, nine run outs and eight stumpings, Australia, had 32 catches, seven run outs and two stumpings. Champions England were third with 30 catches, seven run outs, and two stumpings.
The credit for their marked improvement in this area goes to Biju George, the team’s fielding coach who was roped in a month after Tushar Arothe replaced Purnima Rau as the head coach of the women’s team.
“We focussed on improving our fielding which is attested by the stats. We also had close to 16 direct hits which did not yield a wicket,” said Biju, a Sports Authority of India coach who has worked with the India U-19s, Kolkata Knight Riders, and the Kuwait national team. “We repeated drills for two and a half hours daily — 30 minutes with the team and the rest with groups of three. But we still had a lot of fumbles and dropped simple catches early on in the tournament,” he said.
The fielding coach also called for more domestic competition for women before the proposed IPL-style T20 league. “There are hundreds of domestic players in the IPL. To start, say, a five-team women’s IPL, we should have 50 quality women cricketers which will be difficult to find at the moment,” Biju said.
“It’s only the Railways that recruit women cricketers and they do not have enough quality teams to play against decreasing the level of the game,” said Biju. “Our players can match those of Australia and England, but the situation at home must change for that,” he said.
Biju believes the hard work almost paid off in the final which was decided by nine runs. “The crosswind was an issue and even England dropped a few catches in the final. On the other hand, we had a clean slate except for a couple of misfields. But the English were agile and fit and cut a few boundaries which gave them the win. The players were very committed. Harmanpreet (Kaur) was recommended two months’ rest for a shoulder injury, but played through the pain barrier.”
adwaidh@newindianexpress.com