A journey of lost and found chances.
In the making of a champion, primarily two things are needed. Undeniably the first is the talent of the highest level. The other is the opportunity which is as important as the first. If it wasn't for the chance to perform on the big stage, there wouldn't be a way for one to showcase their talent. Often, talent goes to waste when those chances don't keep coming.
This was how most of their cricket careers panned out for the Sri Lankan women's cricket team. It was a team that was deprived of chances to prove themselves to be the competitors to be reckoned with. And never have they felt such a disconnect from opportunities than during the time of 2020 - 2021.
On March 2nd 2020, Sri Lanka played their last group stage match at the Women's T20 World Cup. It turned out to be their last match for a long time, as the world got paused due to the pandemic. But still, cricket began restarting all over the world by 2021. But everyone had forgotten to give these girls a chance to play.
By November 2021, the team finally got to play a set of international matches. But it wasn't any ordinary series the team was called to play. Those matches turned out to be the Qualifiers for the World Cup to be held in 2022. Without a single game under their belt, the team left intending to secure their slot in the marquee tournament. That was the only chance they had now to prove themselves.
The girls hoped the stars would be in their favour once they had got their chance to play. But we know what happened next. The Sri Lankan team could complete only one match before Covid wrecked the team's chances to play any more games. That one game would remain as an unofficial one-day game as well.
They never got the proper chance to prove who they were. They could only return home thinking, "What if we had more chances?"
And within a few months, the answers to their prayers came through another tournament. For the first time since 1998, cricket finally got its opportunity to appear at the Commonwealth games as a Women's T20 series. The Sri Lankan team was keen on this chance to make up for their world cup disappearance. Unlike earlier, they were not going to let this chance go loose.
With a new hunger in them to win, the Sri Lankan women's team went to play the Commonwealth Qualifiers to seize that final spot in the games. The players began their campaign with 3 comprehensive wins. Their bowling and batting clicked well and made good headway through each match. Just one more game and the tickets to the Commonwealth were theirs to savour.
Standing in their way was none other than the Bangladesh women's team. A team that had just made it through to the World Cup qualification. If there was a moment in the recent history of SL women's cricket to prove who they are, it was now. Who other than the stalwart of women's cricket in Sri Lanka - Chamari Athapaththu, was going to guide the team to clinch the win the players craved? An all-round performance from the skipper gave the team a much-awaited chance to show themselves who there are. From a team that had no place in the world cup, this team became a contender for the gold medal at the Commonwealth.
After securing their place in the games, Athapaththu shared a message on Facebook that encapsulated every emotion the team had along this journey.
"We showed our class and ability by dominating the Commonwealth Qualifiers and booking our place for the Games in England. Think for a moment. Why not let us play in the World Cup? We are certainly a very good side."
In the maiden appearance of Women's cricket at the Commonwealth, it is only fitting that this team would go on to represent both the spirit of women's cricket and their country.
A Preview for Cricket at Birmingham 2022
Even though cricket made a short stay in the 1998 Commonwealth Games, it will be the first time the women's format will play at the Games. Eight teams will be taking part in this competition. The teams will be split into 2 groups of 4. The best 2 teams of each group will play in the semifinals. Winners of the semifinals will play for the gold and silver medals, while the other two teams will play for the bronze medal.
Group A will consist of the teams from Australia, India, Pakistan, and Barbados. Sri Lanka will join the teams of England, South Africa, and New Zealand in group B.
Since the ODI world cup was held recently in February 2022, I will use it as an indicator to describe the form of the participating teams.
Australia will be the biggest obstacle standing against all the other teams. Five of the squad members set to take part are part of the top ten rankings in batting or bowling. As the current T20I and ODI champions, they would be the team to look out for in the competition.
India will be looking to challenge group A. They finished as the runners-up at the T20 world cup 2020. The team will look to make amends at this competition, especially after missing out on the semifinals of the ODI world cup. India will be happy knowing they enter the tournament with the most matches played (10) in the past year.
Pakistan enters the competition after having a difficult time at the Cricket World Cup in New Zealand. Their squad does include two of the top-ranked spinners in Women's T20s. They will play along with Australia and Ireland in a tri-series to prepare themselves to bring in a fight.
Barbados will play as a representative for the West Indian Women's Team. The West Indian team held onto a few tight games during the Cricket World Cup to reach the semifinals. Barbados will hope to keep their cool as well in those crunch moments.
Moving onto group B, England will enter as the alpha among the other teams. England will surely be eyeing the gold as they play in home conditions. In addition to playing 8 T20I's in the past year, most English players will benefit from their robust domestic cricket structure.
South Africa boasted one of the most experienced lineups at the world cup and finished as one of the semifinalists. Their performance at the tournament was all about taking control in the vital moments as they managed to secure a few close wins.
New Zealand was a victim of many of these tight games at the cricket world cup against West Indies, South Africa, and England. But with 2 of the top ten T20 batters, and a number of experienced players set to play, New Zealand will fancy their chances at the games.
It is apparent from the looks of the most recent world cup that there would be some very competitive and close games at Birmingham. And it doesn't seem easy for Sri Lankan girls.
What will the Sri Lankan Women's team be like?
Having secured the spot for the Commonwealth, the next task was to avoid making the same mistakes as last year. They were not going to let this chance go wasted. And thankfully, the Sri Lankan team was given two series against Pakistan and India. It was the match practice the players were desperately in need of.
The team headed first to Pakistan to play 3 T20I's and 3 ODI's. The series began as a very tough experience for the team as they had to adapt to much slower surfaces and could only manage low scores. The same was true for the start of the ODI series as well.
But they didn't give up. As the series continued, they managed to keep Pakistan on their toes. The 3rd T20I had Pakistan fighting till the last ball to score their target. And they saved their best performance for the final ODI. Led by Athapaththu's 101 and Harshitha Samarawickrama's 75, Sri Lanka put up a good total of 260, which was the highest total of the series. A well-rounded bowling attack ensured Pakistan would settle for 93 run loss.
A similar storyline followed in the ongoing home series against India. Sri Lanka had never managed to beat India in their ten previous meetings at home. Even though India won the first 2 matches, the biggest highlight for Sri Lanka was their record opening partnership of 87 by the experienced Athapaththu assisted by the young Vishmi Gunaratne. In the final T20I game, the team secured their first win against India on Sri Lankan soil by chasing down 139 in 17 overs with a performance by the skipper that was head and shoulders above the rest. Athapaththu is currently ranked at 6th in the T20 rankings for batters, and ranked 7th for all-rounders.
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It is clear, this team isn’t simply a pushover. The team might have its low moments. But the recent close matches, the comeback performances, and wins - all point toward a new mindset in the players - the aim to fight to the very end.
Looking back, the Sri Lankan Women's cricket team would surely be delighted to reach this opportunity. From having no chances to making their own, they have grown. Now, it is their chance to show the world who they are at the Birmingham Games 2022.
Sri Lanka Commonwealth Games squad:
Chamari Athapaththu (C), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Malsha Shehani, Nilakshi de Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Ama Kanchana, Achini Kulasuriya, Inoka Ranaweera, Udeshika Prabodhani, Sugandika Kumari, Rashmi de Silva, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Anushka Sanjeewani
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