London: The UAE women’s cricket team captain Charvi Bhatt, who has inspired many players to take up the sport here, is now spreading the word in the UK.
Bhatt has been leading the UAE in international matches since 2008 and has proved to be an inspirational leader, recently helping them to their first international tournament triumph in the GCC Cup in Oman.
She is now studying for her master’s degree in marketing at the Heriot-Watt University’s London campus, but still has time to pursue her passion for the game not only as a player but also as a coach. Gulf News caught up with her at Finchley Cricket Club — one of the oldest clubs in the country having been formed in 1832 — where she trains as well as coaches after finishing at college.
“I am coaching the beginners of the club. The Middlesex county has started a Twenty20 league to attract beginners as well as mums to come and play cricket and learn the basic skills of the game. I teach them the basics as well as try and inculcate an interest in the game,” said Bhatt, who also plays for the club in league matches.
“This club has got two women’s teams called Finchley Guns one and Finchley Guns two. I play for the second team and I will be leading them in a league match against Ashford. It is an away game for us in the league.
“The games I conduct here are six-a-side games, five overs of four balls each, just to get them [new players] to know the game, experience the hype and spread the word around so that more women come to play the game. I train women from the UK, India and even America here,” added Bhatt, who has made sure her cricket career does not stop due to her studies.
“Before I came to London, I was Googling to see what clubs are around. I found this particular club on the Middlesex website as the No. 1 club. Joining them turned out to be a huge experience for me.
“Here the competition is very high and I have learnt a lot of techniques as a player. Now they have given me the opportunity to coach too, which is even better. I come every Tuesday for training under our women’s team captain, Sue Benson, who has played county cricket.
“Beth Morgan, who played for England’s women’s team many years ago, also plays with us for our first team. I train with her as well and I’ve got to learn a lot from her as she has played at such a high level. There will be a lot of things that I will take back with me back to Dubai from here.”
Bhatt is particularly delighted to getting exposure to playing in English conditions.
“It is very different from Asian conditions. The Asian conditions are very simple, with hard, flat pitches. Here there is lot of grass and it is wet and it is different when it is wet,” said Bhatt, who began by playing cricket with her relatives, who were all boys.
“I went on to play for Delhi Private School, Sharjah, and got selected for the UAE and played under Natasha Michael in 2007. In 2008 I was appointed UAE team captain and have played in Thailand, Malaysia, twice in Kuwait and in Oman to win the Gulf Cup.
“I was coached by UAE women’s team coach Hyder Ali from the start. I finish my studies here in December and will return to Dubai and continue to play for the UAE feeling satisfied that I learnt and also taught the game to many women cricketers too.”
