Go Dutch is in effect what the Pakistan women’s cricket team had to do to hold a one – day international series against the Dutch women’s cricket team.  They may have won the series comprehensively, but victory came at a cost: the Pakistan Women’s Cricket Control Association had to use its own resources to pick up the rather sizeable tab of the enterprise.

            The Dutch team may not be the strongest in the world, but it is about at par with the home team so nothing should be taken away from the latter’s victory – even if the chauvinists play it down – and  never mind all those pathetic performances by the Pakistani male team against assorted supposedly ‘inferior’ sides over the years.  Never mind also the fact that unlike the support extended at every official level to the national male outfit, the women were battling on two fronts – on the field and against official apathy if not outright resistance.  In fact, given these odds the Pakistani women acquitted themselves rather heroically.

            Of the seven one-day internationals played, Pakistan won the first four, the Netherlands the last three.  The captain of the Pakistan side, Shaiza Khan emerged as the best player of the series, having captured 22 wickets at 12.90 apiece.  The ‘small wonder’ of the team, 13-year-old Sajjida Shah topped the batting average by scoring 134 runs.  Rival skipper, Pauline Te Beest was by far the best player from the opposition camp.

            However, more than the event, it was the manner in which this series finally materialised that makes for interesting reading.  From the time Pakistani women cricketers have donned flannels, they have had to face a variety of opposition – not only from the mullahs (as expected) but also from a breed of male that unfortunately figures at various levels of the official hierarchy  and simply cannot understand why a woman would want to play cricket.  And then there is the opposition from rival factions of women trying to wrest control of the running of the game in the country.

            Not to be deterred, the group that constitutes the women’s team today have worked against every odd to gain national and international recognition.  They were finally rewarded for their dedicated pursuit of this goal when they gained life affiliation with the governing body of the game, the IWCC.  Credentials in place, the women then proceeded to build an infrastructure and get the show on the road by inviting foreign teams to Pakistan and undertaking tours abroad.

            Locally, they managed to generate a tremendous amount of interest amongst the girls, as is evident from the impressive numbers thronging to their camps and trials.  And the participants have come not only from big cities like Lahore and Karachi, but from smaller towns as well – and they form part of the team now.  Another breakthrough was achieved  when the Board of Secondary Education announced that it would be introducing cricket in the girls schools of Karachi.  This is a major step forward.

            However, essentially, money is the name of the game, and this is the one ingredient they have been unable to include in their game plan.  Stuck in a chicken and egg situation they have to have at least some measure of success under their belt in order to attract sponsorship, but success without sponsorship is difficult to come by.  Thus for each venture, they have had to dig into their personal resource pool, which in turn means they cannot organise tours on the scale that would generate the interest and success required to attract potential players, sponsors or an audience.

            Full credit to the team then, for persevering against every odd, and doing everything possible to raise the profile of the game, such as the holding of camps, the establishment of a ground and the publication of a magazine, in addition to their regular cricketing activities.  Their efforts were finally rewarded when their services were was acknowledged at the highest level – the MCC, who gave three of their senior-most members, Shaiza and Sharmeen Khan and Kiran, the membership of the prestigious club, and a chance to play in their first ever match.

            The trio have been regular players on the English circuit during the summers, and have accumulated over 10 years of experience.  In fact, they are presently in England for the summer cricket season that has just begun.  So cricket is serious business for them.

        Considering the opposition and difficulties the three have had to face, they could have latched on to the international affiliation and given up on the cause of Pakistani women’s cricket.  But they were not ready to abandon this cause; in fact, they redoubled their efforts to promote the game in Pakistan.  To this end they decided to launch the initiative of holding a series of one- day internationals, and inviting the Dutch team to Pakistan for starters.

        In a welcome turnaround, the PCB got into the act, and agreed to offer them the National Stadium for the series, which included two day/night matches.  As always, the media in Karachi were supportive, and former players such as Hanif Mohammad and Waqar Hasan provided valuable guidance.  Sikander Bakht, pitched in by coaching and coaxing the women to victory in the series.

            At the official level too, support and acknowledgement came from the enlightened Sindh Minister for Education, Professor Anita Ghulam Ali, and both the teams were invited to meet the Sindh Governor, Mohammad Mian Soomro, as a token of recognition of their efforts to promote the game.  However, the promise of television coverage from official quarters did not materialise.

            Unfortunately, that was what sponsorship hinged on: the corporate bodies would, in all probability, have consented to dish out the required funds even if there was not a single soul at the stadium, if the TV cameras had been there to zero in one their logos.  Certainly, as far as men’s cricket is concerned, advertising revenues keep pouring in, pathetic play and empty stadia notwithstanding.

            Thus, the million rupee question: how to finance the series.  Hence there began a round of frenetic activity wherein the women not only had to organise the mechanics of the series, but also chase sponsors to convince them to come on board.

            To no avail.  Despite several promises, apart from the Sheraton Hotel, which made it possible for them to host the guest team, the money never came through, and literally till the very eve of the first match, the women were devising means to meet the expenses.  Ultimately, the bulk of the funds came  from the United Carpets Group of Companies – Shaiza and Sharmeen Khan’s family concern which has remained the economic mainstay of women’s cricket in Pakistan.

            Clearly, as far as women’s cricket in Pakistan goes, nothing succeeds like success, and in our part of the world, success it seems, is measured by gender.