By IANS
Kolkata : She has a hundred One Day International (ODI) wickets and has helped India win a series overseas. But strapping Bengal fast bowler Jhulan Goswami still feels humbled at being nominated for the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s Woman Cricketer of the Year Award.
“The nomination came as a big surprise and certainly I feel deeply honoured and humbled. It can only motivate me to try harder and bowl better. I am on cloud nine and even if I fail to bag the award I will have no regrets,” Jhulan told IANS Tuesday.
Asked about her bowling style, she said, “I hit the seam quite hard and try to move the ball. I concentrate on my line and length particularly.
“Cathryn Fitzpatrick is the best bowler I’ve ever seen. If somebody compares me with her, I feel good, but I’ll have to work hard (to be as good as her),” the 23-year-old cricketer said when asked to compare herself to the Aussie spitfire bowler from Victoria.
Goswami made her international debut against England on home soil in 2002 and her progress has been steady since then. Accuracy is her greatest strength. She has an economy rate of around two runs per over in one-day cricket and only three per over in Tests.
The profile of Indian women’s cricket has risen, especially since they reached the 2005 World Cup final in South Africa. And Goswami is keen to do her best to ensure that the team continues to move forward, especially away from home.
She brings a breath of fresh air to women’s cricket, having come a long way from the dusty lanes of Nadia in West Bengal through the MRF Pace Foundation to the international circuit.
Jhulan and Rumeli Dhar from India have been short-listed for ICC’s Woman Cricketer of the Year Award.
Jhulan’s immediate goal is to break into the elusive hundred-wicket club. “I’m just four short of 100 wickets in the one-dayers. I want to get there as soon as possible,” she said.
After a training programme at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai, under the hawkish eyes of Dennis Lillie and T.A. Sekhar, Jhulan is ready to take on the world.
This Glenn McGrath fan has already claimed 10 wickets in a Test match against England in 2006 in Taunton.
Bowling at 120 km per hour, faster than many of the top line bowlers in the men’s game, Jhulan is the fastest woman on earth with the cherry in hand. But she is not satisfied with having bagged 10 wickets in a Test. Now she wants to complement her speed with an unerring line and length to make her invincible.
“Glenn McGrath is my idol. I idolise him for his consistent ability to maintain an impeccable line and length. He can bowl such long spells, and is always dot on.
“He is like a bowling machine. I only hope that one day I’ll be able to bowl like him,” said the not-so-new kid on the block.
At 5-feet-11-inches, Jhulan has got everything going within a span of five years.
“I am never bogged down by the situation. No matter who is at the other end, I just do my job. Being quick is my forte and I love to intimidate the opposition,” she said.
Eyeing greater glories in the future, Jhulan said, “We always had complaints that there is hardly any money or sponsors. But now with Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) taking over the reigns of women’s cricket things can only improve. They are professionals and have years of experience in selling cricket to the public. We will surely benefit from this association.”
Jhulan has 33 wickets from eight Tests at an average of 16.36. In one-dayers, she has scalped 96 victims from 79 games. She is also no mug with the bat, with 263 runs in Test matches at an average of 29.22. In ODIs she has 3,820 runs.