Record crowds flock to watch Pakistan vs England Women’s T20Is

BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan women’s captain Nida Dar is overwhelmed by the crowd support during the ongoing England tour as record numbers of spectators flock to watch the Pakistan vs England women’s T20Is.

In the first leg of the tour, where the Green Shirts took on the home team in a three-match T20I series, more than 27,000 spectators including thousands of Pakistanis and British-Pakistanis turned out to watch the women’s cricket in action in Birmingham, Northampton. and Leeds.

Stadium attendance records at Edgbaston and Headingley were also broken during the T20I matches between Pakistan and England women’s teams.

Although the Pakistan team did not fare well and lost the series 3-0, Pakistan skipper Dar was surprised to see the support of her girls in all the three courts.

“The support we’ve had from the crowd so far on this tour has been amazing, the venues have been pretty full, which isn’t seen very often outside of world tournaments. So far, we have enjoyed the support and appreciation of the fans. Overall, the focus on women’s cricket around the world has been strong and women cricketers definitely needed it to get more exposure,” he said.

The Pakistan men’s cricket team has always enjoyed a huge fan base in Birmingham and Leeds, whose neighboring city is Bradford, and both Birmingham and Bradford are known as mini-Pakistans due to the high proportion of the community originating from Pakistan and Kashmir.

But this time, even the Pakistan women’s team had strong support from the diaspora community, which was a real boost for Dar and her team as they looked to improve their performance especially in the batting department during of the ODI series.

“The fans have been very supportive, talking to us, supporting us, which is a very positive sign and a real morale and confidence booster. I am very happy that we played in front of an amazing audience. It is also encouraging to see that so many of them did not come to support Pakistan or any team, but only for cricket,” said Dar.

England captain Heather Knight is also pleased to see huge crowds turn out for the women’s matches. Last year she captained England at Edgbaston in front of more than 20,000, which was the biggest attendance at a women’s match in the country outside of ICC tournaments. In Heather’s opinion, these numbers suggest that women’s cricket is flourishing around the world and that bilateral international matches can be organized in bigger stadiums.

“It is one of the best atmospheres to play in where people come to the grounds in large numbers to watch women’s cricket and it is a new norm now. We play in big stadiums and in the first hour, so it’s really nice that people come to watch us in action.

“It’s great to get such good support from the fans. I’m sure we’re putting on a show to entertain people and keep them coming back to watch cricket in the future. The crowds have been consistent as Pakistan also have a huge fan base in the whole world the world,” he said.

Figures released by the management of Birmingham’s Edgbaston Stadium and Headingley Stadium in Leeds suggest that a record number of spectators flocked to watch women’s T20I matches. During the first match of the three-match T20I series at Edgbaston on May 11, more than 12,000 fans turned up to watch the women’s teams in action. This is the largest ever women’s world in a bilateral series between Pakistan and England anywhere in the world.

More importantly, 48% of tickets were bought by women, which is almost half of the total attendance and now a new record for female spectators, which is also a new record for any bilateral women’s match at this venue.

Meanwhile, for the final match of the T20I series at the Headingley Stadium in Leeds, more than 10,000 tickets were sold, which is a new record for a women’s international match at this ground. In a statement Stephen Vaughan, Chief Executive for Yorkshire County Cricket Club, described the crowd and atmosphere around Headingley Stadium during the match as “tremendous”.

“You could feel it walking around the ground. It was a really great crowd, with people from all communities, families and children, and lots of smiling faces. I hope the girls watching from the stands will be inspired to continue to pick up a bat and ball, if they haven’t already, and continue to play cricket, either recreationally or at a higher level, potentially enjoying rewarding careers in the sport.”