Nandu: the only girl.
This is the second in a series of blog posts from Head Coach Olivia, introducing some of the incredible people she has met through coaching and the wider messages that we can potentially learn from the sharing of stories. Here we meet Nandu, an u13 player Olivia coached during the winter of 2018/2019 at Berkshire county indoor trials.
Nandu: the only girl.
By Olivia Rae Head Coach, Rae Cricket Coaching
The best part of playing cricket is that moment when I bowl fast and seeing girls scared to face me, it’s an exhilarating moment which stays in my mind everyday making myself feel proud.
Nandu grew up in Bangalore, India, and unsurprisingly she affirms that cricket is the ‘most loved and played game’ there. A short while back I wrote about Shaa who grew up playing Gully cricket on the streets of Chennai. Similarly, when Nandu was 6 years old she was playing on the streets of Bangalore with the boys. This is where Nandu tells me she picked up the basics of cricket. Learning about her story has had me reflect on my own personal cricket journey and then a wider message that I believe is so important to the development of a persons game and the game as a whole; the art of play. Engaging in cricket activities for the sole purpose of having fun.
It is the passion for the game that takes you to your back garden, street, park, beach… to simply play. Organised club, schools and county sessions they are just a bonus no? At every opportunity growing up I was in our small back yard with my brother Seb or walking round the corner to the local park with bat and ball. I loved the game. There was one boy who lived round the corner and we used to knock on his door to ask if he wanted to join us, when he was allowed it was great to have a fielder. But there was only ever 3 of us. It is the love of the game that kept Nandu playing- despite being the only girl.
I worry a bit that cricket has gone out of the public consciousness in the UK and I hope that the world cup on home soil can not just re-ignite the passion in some who may have fallen away from the game but to inspire new supporters and cricket enthusiasts. I was lucky enough to be at the women’s world cup final at lords in 2017 and even more lucky to see the impact it had on inspiring young girls into the game. Girls were seen walking out of the ground with the plastic bats and balls, that were being handed out to them for free, eager to play the game and beginning to dream. To dream that maybe one day they could be like the England cricket girls they just saw win the world cup. It was inspiring. Those cricket sets were a brilliant idea and a very impactful one.
Nandu’s cricketing journey would not have continued without character, fight and passion for the game. It became difficult for Nandu 
growing up, as the boys got older and went to play on bigger grounds she wasn’t allowed to go alone and play alongside them. It wasn’t safe to be a young girl alone at that time. Did this stop her? Nope. In 2017 Nandu moved to Kochi, Kerala and although the school she joined didn’t have girls cricket there was a boys team and she asked if she could play.
With the coaches support and my passion to cricket, he let me play with the boys and train with them.
Nandu got her first cricket kit gifted to her from her grandpa when she started playing for the school boys team, and he continues to be her biggest supporter. She then joined a club where she trained with 25 boys and recalls how she mainly enjoyed bowling and was the fastest bowler there. After this Nandu’s emerging talents shone through and she reflects
My coach recommended me to the U-19 County selections which was only a couple of days to start. My family and I were thrilled by the news and soon after the practice began. I was the youngest of all of my teammates and I was the highest wicket taker for my team in the first and only season I played in India.
After a couple of months playing U- 19 county in Kochi, Nandu moved to the UK with her family. A month into living in the UK her grandpa got a call saying that she was selected as the U-13 captain for Kochi. She recalls how missing this opportunity made her really sad but she demonstrated resilience to overcome this and started to forge a new part of her cricket journey in the UK. Nandu sought out the contact for Berkshire County Cricket Club and then was invited to the girls indoor sessions which act as trials for selection for the county season. This is where I met her for the first time.
Straight away Nandu’s eagerness and character stood out and a sense of fight and competitiveness to do well, but also for those around her to do well. After all we can’t win a game of cricket on our own, we need everyone to perform around us too. As girls sometimes we hold back from showing fight and it is not always natural to show positive aggression. It is no surprise that Nandu feels the way she does about bowling after fighting so hard to keep playing cricket, it was her bowling that got her selected with the boys at school;
The best part of playing cricket is that moment when I bowl fast and seeing girls scared to face me, it’s an exhilarating moment which stays in my mind everyday making myself feel proud.
From a young age, Nandu has demonstrated fight and character to be able to play the game she loves. She competed initially as the only girl and now she is playing regularly for Berkshire u13s County girls side; always giving her all and remaining humble and grateful to those who support her. To sum up her nature, she insisted that I include her thanks to all of her coaches and teammates for their help and support. The u13s county Head Coach Damaris Hayward had a few words about Nandu too;
Nandu’s passion for cricket along with her desire to learn makes her an absolute pleasure to coach.
Nandu brings a wonderful energy and positivity to her team and in her first match for Berkshire U13 girls, opened the bowling taking two key wickets. We’re looking forward to seeing just how far Nandu can take her cricket
Nandu- thank you for letting me share your story. Keep up the passion, the fight and the fast bowling! Everyone else, find a willing person, grab a bat and ball and go play some cricket!
