This Goregaon-based cricket club is calling women back to the pitch

The sound of leather on willow echoes across the field emboldened by cries of encouragement as two games play out in two adjoining pitches On each a male coach stands in the middle of the action while the playersmdashall womenmdashgive it everything they have got The teams are surrounded by more women proud fellow members of the Goregaonbased Sarvashreshtha Cricket ClubAs an over finishes and bats change hands Mayura Amarkant 46 turns her bat over to another player and walks up to meet this writer Smile in place the sweatsoaked mother of two is not out of breath Twice a week on Wednesday evening and Saturday morning members of the club come together to practice turning this from a ragtag group of strangers into a community At the heart of the action is Amarkant its founder and driving forceFrom a small group of five friends the Sarvashreshtha Cricket Club has become a community of 265 members over the last two years The allwomen cricket club is the brainchild of Mayura Amarkant a digital marketing and public relations professional who took up the sport to understand her husband Amarkant Jainrsquos love for cricket and soon became passionate about it PicsShadab KhanCuriously her love for the game stems from once being exasperated at her husband Amarkant Jainrsquos love for cricket The Goregaonbased couple offer digital marketing services to clients and the Lshaped couch in their living room often doubles up as their work space One of the most played out scenes here is she typing away on her laptop and Jain cheering players on the television screenldquoThe man is married to cricketrdquo she chuckles ldquoAnd I would be at a total loss Once I tried to bridge the gap by asking Amarkant how many goals his favourite team had scored earning a wrathful look in returnrdquo In mid2019 she asked her husband a popular cricketer at a local club to teach her the game For months he was her teacher It was then that she met Deeya Sanghvi Namrata Gala Dr Shrutika Tawari and Meghna Gala all frequent visitors to the club Their willingness to learn led them to gravitate towards each other and soon they were playing regularlyMayura and her husband Amarkant Jain who was her first coach and continues to be one for the ClubIn 2020 Amarkant played her first practice match with another club at the Citimall Turf in Andheri and gave away 18 runs as wide balls while bowling ldquoThis was just days after Irsquod won a national level award in digital marketing and public relations This crushing defeat on field came as a reality check Playing inside a club with my husband as coach was one thing I needed practice before I could call myself a cricketerrdquo she recallsThatrsquos how the Sarvashreshtha Cricket Club was born Over the next few weeks she and her four cofounders sent out WhatsApp messages by the dozen inviting likeminded women and coaches whorsquod agree to mentor Meanwhile slots were booked at various turfs in the city with Chetan Bagde a twotime winner of the Maharashtra Gaurav award coaching themAvani Soni Zaveri Mamta Gajria and Prerna ParwaniAs word spread and enthusiasts started to get in touch the tribe grew First the women would come and watch the members Then theyrsquod join in While the sessions had to be suspended during the lockdowns they resumed practice in earnest last year Today the club boasts of 265 members the youngest is an indefatigable 12yearold and the oldest is a sprightly 70yearold who has laid down an open challenge she will dedicate her recently earned award to any coach who teaches her how to hit a sixerAvani Soni Zaveri credits the club with helping her overcome personal anguish and improving mental health She suffered a personal loss recently and the support from fellow club members and the discipline that the game had brought to her routine has helped her cope ldquoI am already a good bowler I want to be a great batterrdquo she tells usMamta Gajria used to play when in college but lost touch after she was married Amarkantrsquos WhatsApp invitation changed everything ldquoSarvashreshtha has given me my youth back Outside this pitch I am a wife mother daughterinlaw an employeehellipIn here I am the young girl who used to love cricketrdquoFor all the sisterhood Sarvashreshtha is strict about rules No gossip no politics Those not actively participating will be removed from the WhatsApp group And nothing comes for free Even the Tshirts given to the players have to be earned For each achievement they accomplish they get a new teeThe Club has its own inspirations like 57yearold Prerna Parwani a marathon runner for eight years who took up cricket for the challenge ldquoI needed something new to learn I had never played cricket before and my running takes up a lot of my time Despite everything I find myself looking forward to the biweekly sessions I have mastered the basics and I hope I can start hitting fours and sixes soonrdquoAmarkant is the glue that holds all of them together She added the Woman of the Match award to her achievements after she took three wickets in a mixed gender match held in Thane in November 2022We ask her whatrsquos next and she smiles ldquoWersquore just getting startedrdquo