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I Never Had A Role Model With Which I Could Identify Abtaha Maqsood First Hijab Wearing Cricketer In Uk

I never had a role model with which I could identify: Abtaha Maqsood, first Hijab-wearing cricketer in UK

Stereotypes are created by continuous repression of somebody’s desire by societal pressure. Sometimes it takes generations and many interventions to break that, at other times, just the free will of a determined person achieves it in a splash.

Abtaha Maqsood, a British Muslim of Pakistani descent, who represents Scotland Women in International cricket and Birmingham Phoenix Women in the inaugural edition of The Hundred seemed to have broken a stereotype by her sheer willpower.

A dentistry student from Glassgow, not only does Abtaha became the first woman to wear a Hijab (sacred headscarf worn generally by Muslim women to cover their head) in her international games for Scotland, but she also became the first cricketer to play a game in England and Wales sporting the Hijab. It happened during The Hundred where she has so far played seven games for Phoenix.

Talking about this unique feat, the 22-year-old said, "When I was a young kid and I first started wearing the hijab and started playing cricket, it was tough for me back then.” “And now that I'm on this big stage and I feel so comfortable with myself, it just feels amazing to me,” she added in an interview with Sky Cricket.

Saying that she didn’t feel she belonged on the biggest stage as she was having problems making her teammates and cricket board understand her needs and limitations, the leggie now feels that things have changed for the better.

"Cricket Scotland has learned a lot and now things like halal food, and wearing long-sleeved shirts and stuff like that, not wearing shorts, all that sort of thing is just like second nature to them. They just kind of know now not to give me non-halal food and always to make sure that there is food available for me. We've come really far,” said the bowler who has represented her national team in 18 T20Is and has so far picked up 23 international wickets.

Abataha feels that Birmingham Phoenix has been a great experience for her so far. But she focuses on the fact that representation of all ethnicities and all kinds of diversity is necessary for cricket and especially for young children to identify themselves with their role models.

"I think representation matters so much. When I was growing up I never really had a role model to look up to who looked exactly like me; I really hope to be that person for a lot of people and I really hope that The Hundred shows me in that light and people are hopefully able to be inspired by that,” she said.

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The Hundred | Meet Sonia Odedra: Second South Asian to represent England Women after Isa Guha

It’s not easy to play competitive cricket at the highest level, it gets hard to play it if you are a woman because of the lack of money, and hardest if you are a woman of South Asian descent trying to play the game in the United Kingdom, having very few role models. Similar problems were faced by England International Sonia Odedra, a British Indian woman, whose father tried everything to make her brother an international cricketer, but instead, it was Sonia who went on to represent England. "My dad was a massive cricket fan and he wanted my brother to become a cricketer actually, so all the focus was on him," Sonia was quoted as saying to Sky Cricket. "So I just used to play in the garden with him just casually. And the first game I actually played was at primary school. I got into the boys’ team there and we went on to become school champions,’ she added narrating her childhood story. But the path got a bit blurry after primary school for Sonia. "I remember after that when I went to secondary school, there was no opportunity for girls to play cricket. It was just boys only. So it kind of stopped there," she said. Even without any cricket during her growing up days, Sonia, now 33 years old, never left her dream of playing cricket. "At the age of 20, I decided that I want to play cricket professionally. It was just after I finished my studies and I just thought that this is what I want to do," said the Nottinghamshire Women represent. Odedra, who has represented England Woman in a Women’s Test against Indian Women in 2014 started her journey from Leicester. "My journey started here at the City Cricket Academy (in Leicester). There was a little job advert here and I thought I'd do a part-time job and at the same time train and achieve the goal to play for England." She did achieve the goal. However, she could only play one Test but became only the second Asian Woman after Isa Guha to represent the English Women’s side.

I'm trying to pave the way for young Asian girls: The Hundred’s London Spirit star Naomi Dattani

Among Women of South Asian origin, Naomi Dattani is part of the privileged three who have got professional contracts to represent sides in England and Wales. But the British Indian, Middlesex captain’s way to this height hasn’t been easy one bit. Now playing the inaugural edition of The Hundred (Women’s), Dattani, has to make her way out of an orthodox Indian family in the UK. Although she grew up in Ealing in west London and went to the same Greenford High School as England football star Bukayo Saka, getting into cricket was something that didn’t come her way without a fight. "As I grew up through my 20s the questions around 'when are you getting married?' start coming in, and constantly trying to persuade or challenge those comments became quite tiring,” said the 27-year-old, who had her first senior game for Middlesex as early as 14 years of age. "I think it's been a long journey from playing in the back garden with my older brother smashing my mum's pots and plants everywhere!" the London born added in her interview to Sky Sports News. If the road has been so hard and arduous then why did she take it, when she could have had an easy career in law, medicine and other businesses like many other South Asians. Answering that Dattani says, "It spurs me on to keep going to know that I'm trying to pave the way for young Asian girls so they don't have to face that and they can go through that pathway a lot easier.” One among the 41 women to receive regional domestic contracts this year, the left haded Sunrisers batter is also spreading the idea of being proud of one’s culture without fearing being a minority. Narrating her own story, Dattani says, "I didn't really embrace my culture at that time. I just kind of wanted to fit in with everyone and not really make a big deal about it. But the older I've got, I've realised ... embrace my culture. I'm proud of who I am.” The all-rounder, who has had a decent season with Spirit Women side said how she now makes it a matter of pride that she wears and lives the way she wants to instead of trying to fit in. "I wear a necklace with a Ganesh (the Hindu God known for removing obstacles) that I hold on to every time I play a match. And I'm proud to come from where I come from,” she said. “I want to see people embracing their culture from a young age and not being shy to show it in front of others when they feel like they might be the minority,” added Dattani, whose team currently stands at sixth position on the table, but wins their last two games could well see them getting into the Playoffs by finishing in top three.

Root surpasses Graham Gooch, stands behind only Cook on list of England's leading run-scorers

Joe Root has gone past former England captain Graham Gooch on the list of leading run-scorers for England in Test cricket. Gooch has 8,900 runs to his name while Root breached the mark with two boundaries off Ishant Sharma on the second day of the Lord’s Test against India. He needed 14 runs to surpass Gooch and he did that in 16 innings fewer than Gooch to reach the landmark. Gooch had taken 215 innings to amass 8,900 runs at an average of 42.58 with 20 centuries and 46 fifties. Root, on the other hand, has taken just 196 innings to go past his runs tally. Root now stand just after Sir Alastair Cook on the list of leading run-scorers.. Cook had taken 291 innings to pile on 12, 472 runs in the longest format at an average of 45.35 with 33 centuries and 57 half-centuries. Root has not had a great time in home Tests but came roaring back to form in the last Test against India at Trent Bridge. It was his efforts with the bat in the second innings that reduced England from a position of trailing by 95 runs. England are once again reliant on his bat in reply to India’s 364 in the first innings of the ongoing Lord’s Test.

Marnus Labuschagne eyes spot in T20 World Cup squad on the back of stellar BBL, Vitality Blast

Marnus Labuschagne known for his Test and ODI exploits had a great Big Bash League with Brisbane Heat, picking up more than 10 wickets with his leg break and also scoring quick runs. To back that up, he has now come back home from a great English summer, once again scoring heavily in T20 cricket, this time around for Glamorgan in English T20 Blast. With his 390 runs coming at an outstanding average of 55.71 and strike-rate of 140.79, with four half-centuries, Labuschagne believes that it will help him get into the Aussie side for the World Cup in UAE and Oman. "I certainly think the games I played in England have helped me a lot with just learning my own game in T20 cricket and it's shown that if there's that sort of role that (selectors) need (to be filled), then I'm available,” he was quoted saying to cricket.com.au It was not only his batting, but his part-time leg break did its good thing as well and the STS (Stranger than Smudge) believes that he has done everything he could to get the selector’s attention. "Pretty much everything I could've done (for T20 World Cup selection), I did in England. I played eight games in the Blast and that was really fun, just to play that role at three and four and bowling a lot of overs,” he said. The 27-year-old hasn’t yet debuted for the Kangaroos in the shortest format yet. With Mitchell Marsh in good nick and Steve Smith getting back from injury, it is going to be a tough competition for him to get into the team at the number three and four positions. However, his ability to pick spin from the hand could be handy in the turning conditions and with 24 T20s under his belt in which he also has 20 wickets, the South Africa born is hoping that tides would turn in his favour. "I think it (play against spin) is certainly in my favour, but I'm not a selector so it's hard to judge how they're viewing it. But I certainly think where we're playing in the UAE, and with conditions being more spin-friendly, it might be an option,” he said. Australia have had a horrid time in T20 cricket, losing both their five-match series against West Indies and Bangladesh away from home 4-1.