The Women’s World Cup is currently underway and the tournament, while showcasing some thrilling performances, has also given us many moments showcasing the spirit of cricket. We are certain that the cricketers will only add gestures to this wonderful list by the time the tournament ends. But till then, here are some instances from the past World Cups, and this one to look back and cherish.
1. Smriti Mandhana recently shared her ‘Player of the Match’ trophy with Harmanpreet Kaur as both of them had made centuries and she felt like her teammate deserved the award equally.
The two stitched together the biggest partnership for India in the Women’s World Cup and Mandhana only had words of appreciation for Harman as she took the stage.
I’m really happy that she has come back. She has been batting well since the practice games, so we’re really confident she’ll be able to continue scoring runs in this tournament. I’m really happy that she has got back-to-back fifty-plus scores. More importantly, today’s century will give her and the entire team a lot of confidence. We weren’t in a great position to start with but for her to come in from there and get us out of it was incredible.
2. The Indian cricket team spent time with Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof’s daughter after the match between the two sides. The pictures and videos from this interaction soon flooded the internet as people applauded the camaraderie shown by the players.
3. After the match, Smriti wrote this heartfelt message on her Instagram story, expressing her appreciation for Maroof and little Fatima.
4. In the year 2017, England played the World Cup semi-final against South Africa. The English side defeated the opponents and the first thing their batter Anya Shrubsole did after the initial celebration was to console SA’s captain Dane van Niekerk.
Dane van Niekerk needed support at that moment and Anya came through.
5. During the 2018 T20 World Cup, Ireland’s Clare Shillington, Ciara Metcalfe, Cecelia Joyce, and Isobel Joyce bid adieu to international cricket after their side’s last match. The scenes were emotional as they said their last goodbyes to the game, and the extremely respectful opponents, New Zealand, did their part in making the moment special for the players.
They exchanged jerseys and gave a guard of honour to the quartet as they were leaving the ground.
6. People have their own opinions on mankading and they should be heard, given the form of dismissal has been declared legitimate according to the rules. However, to not go for it in the final over of a World Cup match with the opposition needing 7 runs from 4 balls, that has to be appreciated.
It was Katherine Brunt who refused to run-out Sune Luus. South Africa won the match, eventually.
It’s so nice to see so much respect in the circle because competitions of this level have sometimes gotten the better of players. Not these athletes, though. To more of this camaraderie.