In an exclusive chat for New18.com, Team India coach WV Raman recalls the India vs South Africa test match that happened back in November 2014 and the need for the girls to prepare for the upcoming one-off Test against England.
When asked about his thoughts on the one-off test against England, he said that this decision is the beginning of many more such decisions to come and that Test matches could be played regularly now. But it will be challenging for the girls to adapt to this format of cricket, as they are used to playing the 20 over and 50 over formats. But it’ll surely be an experiment to watch out for because you never know what’s there in the bag.
When asked the reason behind the BCCI being inclined to consider women’s Test cricket, coach Raman said it could be a step towards making the girls stay a bit more on the field and learn to remain there for a longer duration. Another reason could be to check if the women’s test was a viable recommendation, keeping in mind the future of the game.
About preparing the team for the test, Raman said that the plan is to organize a camp to prepare the girls for their skills and fitness. Such a camp would allow the girls to improve their skills as well as physical fitness. The girls need to adapt to a totally different atmosphere and mindset when it comes to Test Cricket. Back-to-back bowling, batting for long and patience is what is the key to learning this process.
Talking about the recent South Africa tour of India, which the visitors lost by 1-4 in the ODIs and 1-2 in the T20I, he said that it was difficult for the girls to catch up to the game after a break of 15 long months. He felt that the girls were nowhere close to a competitive level, meaning they needed to start from scratch. The two games that they won was a chasing game. Along with disappointment, the series also gave some reality checks and some learnings.
He feels that the camp would be beneficial not just for test cricket, but also in deciding the middle order in the team. He agrees to the fact that only the top order of the team was able to put up runs on board and the middle order must do that too. He feels that a minimum of 10 days is required before starting any series to practice on the nets.
During this chat, WV Raman also mentioned how few players like Mithali Raj and Punam Raut showed great skills on the field, and how players like Poonam Yadav and Harmanpreet Kaur needed to work upon their skills with the ball.
To Read the full interview, refer : (Source: News18- Cricket Next; G Viswanath and G Krishnan)
I’m a Senior Masters student pursuing Journalism and Mass Communication. An all time Cricket enthusiast. I could never play the game but always loved watching it, and now writing about it!
