NAVI MUMBAI: Earlier this year, while batting against England during the Ashes Test at Trent Bridge, Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry, one of the most decorated athletes of the sport, kept smiling throughout her innings. It was almost unmissable. So much so that it made former Australia captain Lisa Sthalekar tweet, "Has anyone else noticed Perry smiling almost most deliveries when she is on strike?."
That's what playing a Test match means for the women cricketers — testing your skills in a format that demands and rewards patience, but does not get to play as often. For the 22 women from India and England, that joyride starts on Thursday at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai.
Understandably, the mood in the camp has been a mix of excitement and anxiety irrespective of whether you are putting on the whites for the very first time or being called a ‘veteran’ after playing four Tests in your 10-year-long international career. "The four Test matches have made me a senior player," India's Smriti Mandhana laughed when she was told about the number of times she has donned the whites for India.
“It's just the feeling of wearing the whites for India. We got them today. There is a lot of excitement around the camp, especially for those who got it the first time," she said, before adding, “That excitement has to be channelized in getting things done for the team. That's the message.”
Mandhana and captain Harmanpreet Kaur have experienced what a Test win feels like. They were part of the playing XI that won the last home Test match against South Africa in 2014. However, for every other member of the Indian squad, the Tests they have played have either ended in a draw or haven't played in one at all.
"My memories from that Test was watching MD Thirush Kamini and Punam Raut just batting for more than one and a half days. We enjoyed playing that Test match on home soil," Mandhana smiles ear to ear while recalling the memories of that win in Mysore almost a decade ago.
| India women in tests | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Period | Played | Win | Loss | Draw |
| 1976-2021 | 38 | 5 | 6 | 27 |
1976 — India women played their first official Test against West Indies in Bengaluru
2014 — India women's last home Test was against South Africa in 2014 at Mysuru
20 — In 47 years, Indian women have got to play 20 Test matches at home
For Tammy Beaumont, who became the first England batter to smash a double ton in Tests this June, there is a sense of responsibility and butterflies in her stomach ahead of her second Test of the year. She acknowledges the novelty that is associated with the format.
"I certainly think as a group of players, you feel a little bit more anxious around a Test match week just because it is so novel. You've got the likes of myself, Heather Knight, and Nat Sciver-Brunt, we have been playing international cricket for almost 14 years and we haven't even played that many tests. We've played 10-11 (games). So, if you think of that in terms of white ball cricket, that's your first year.
"Of course, there are more nerves (while playing Tests), but I think that's because we haven't mastered it. We haven't had the opportunity to master it. And then, you look at someone who's the same age as me, Danni Wyatt, she made her debut at Trent Bridge at 32. So I think that's where that comes from. You're constantly a young player in test cricket, no matter how old your body feels, you're still very much a young player. In the men's game, 10 Tests is not even a career. That's a start," Beaumont said.
Men's Test cricket, which has seen the world pass around, has a history that has been meticulously well-documented, and built over centuries. That might not be the case for the women, but whatever little they have is cherished by those who have advocated more of it even when those voices didn't reach the intended audience.
In that context, Beaumont knows exactly what is expected out of them in this Test match. "Coming in here, we will be trying to push for a result," she said. "Trying to play a brand of Test cricket that guarantees us more Tests in the future. I think, probably five years ago after every Test, it (the conversation) was like, ‘do they deserve another test as women's cricketers?’ Whereas now, it's ‘how much Test cricket (do) we want?’. It's great that we have changed that narrative and that's come from the way teams have played the game. Hopefully, this Test against India will be no different in the way both teams play women's Test cricket.”
Perry's double century in 2017 Ashes, Shafali Verma's delightful knocks on debut in 2021, Sneh Rana and Taniya Bhatia's relentless counterattack against England, Mandhana's class in the pink-ball Test, Jhulan Goswami's terrific spell at Wormsley, Marizanne Kapp's resilient defence last year, the last hour of the Canberra Ashes Test in 2022, Ashleigh Gardner's 12-wickets in June are the building blocks on which the two upcoming Tests would be standing. Such is the scarcity of matches in this format that the upcoming eight days of red-ball cricket in India — four more days of Test cricket against Australia from December 21 — will have to create more building blocks for the future. And the 22 cricketers who take the field on Thursday would want to ensure the future of Test cricket for women doesn't fade away.
As for the fans who are quite used to watching these teams dominate each other in the white ball, it's going to be different. Over the next few days, take the overs out of the equation. Make it about days. Take strike rate out of the conversation. Make it about resilience. Forget the short bursts for a while, and enjoy the setup by the spinners.
After all, it’s about 'not throwing away the shot' while smiling through it all like Perry.