Cricket
Cricket is a sport where two teams each have eleven members play with each other using a bat and ball 🏏 at the centre of 22 yard pitch. many other equipment are also required in it which are wickets (stumps, bails), and protective equipment (helmet, leg pads, gloves, elbow guards). It was first played in the 16th century in South East England.
Women's Cricket
Cricket player by female team members. It is similar to that of men's cricket but here all the team members are female. It follows similar rules as that in men's cricket, but the ball used is of a smaller size than that used in men's cricket. On 26th July, 1745 the first recorded women's cricket match was played. There were no clubs for women at that time so as they saw men playing cricket, they too started to play cricket.
There is a huge interest of people in cricket but most of them think of it as a men's game while women proved that they can also play well this high-energetic game. Women are not less than men, they play cricket with high enthusiasm and dedication without thinking what people's opinions about cricket as a men's game, not a women's game.
Difficulty women face in cricket
Criticism
As people have made the stereotype that cricket is a men's game they are not ready to accept the reality that women can also play cricket very well. They criticise those women and try to take her step out of this game. People realise them women are not able to play this game as it is a very highly energetic game, and if the ball hits someone then women can't handle that pain and are more likely to get injured.
Less popularity
Women's cricket is not as popular as men's cricket. Those people who have a huge interest in cricket might not even know who is the captain of the Indian women's cricket team. Media also take less interest in the promotion of women's cricket and are less likely to talk to women players as they do not get so much attention. Even women who used to watch men's cricket do not take an interest in watching women's cricket and ignore it.
Women's performance in cricket
Indian women's cricket team is governed by the board of cricket council in India. India's first women's test match was played against West Indies in 1976, but India won first time in 1978. Nowadays, women are doing well in cricket and are coming into the limelight. Mithali Raj is one of the famous and growing Indian female cricketers who has scored the highest run in women's international cricket. Many women like her are performing their best in the field of cricket and proving to the world that no one can beat a woman in any field whether it is cricket.
ways to promote women's cricket
providing more opportunities for women
Promoting women's cricket in countries where they are unaware of this game can help women players and help to gain confidence. Creating more and more opportunities for young girls to encourage them to take part in sports. There are various career opportunities for women so that they get involved in cricket as they can be coaches, umpires, and physiotherapists, these can help to generate more employment opportunities for women.
opposing gender inequality
having a perspective of seeing both genders as equally capable can help to remove many stereotypes and also help in encouraging both genders, more probably, women. Seeing cricket as only a men's game and thinking of women as unable to play that by saying that she is not physically capable is not a good perception, one should oppose this thinking and promote awareness that women can be physically active in such games and play that very well.
socializing about women's cricket
as we know many people are active on social media in today's world, so a better way to promote women's cricket is we upload short clips of women players playing cricket, we can take a step towards encouraging them. many influencers are promoting their business, profession, skills and other things on social media and engaging the audience towards their work. this can be a better option to promote women's cricket.
Why participation of women is important in cricket?
In breaking stereotypes
cricket is an energetic and competitive game. It is termed as a men's game, so the participation of women and giving excellent performances there can not only boost confidence in oneself but also help in breaking stereotypes created by people. women can increase their values by achieving a good position in cricket and by making their parents and country feel proud.
A means of empowerment of women
Engaging in a competitive sport is not an easy task, it can be a way to encourage, be aware and empower women by helping them to show that it can lead to better opportunities for them in future if they dedicate themselves and in a disciplined manner work towards it. helps them to feel self-motivated, and self-sustained.
making a unique position in the world
As we know cricket is the second most loved game in the world and has a huge fan following so if any woman tries to enter this field and work dedicatedly on this sport then one day she can make her unique identity with her passion towards and her growth say all about that. She can be a charm everywhere and can turn into a role model or ideal for many young girls who have an interest in cricket.
Cricket is a wonderful sport, it fosters strategic thinking among players. It demands time, effort, constant practice, dedication, determination and faith. If any woman is fully dedicated towards it and chooses cricket as her career then it can help her to hold a good position one day. We need to encourage more women to participate in sports such as cricket and for this, we also need to promote awareness among people and society regarding women's cricket.