Tammy Beaumont believes Women’s League will help Pakistan unleash new talent

ISLAMABAD: English cricketer Tammy Beaumont believes that a tournament similar to the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for women will help Pakistan unleash new talent and prepare her Pakistani players for international tours.

The 32-year-old has played 103 WODIs, 99 WT20Is, and seven women’s Test matches for England. She is currently in Pakistan to play three exhibition matches on the sidelines of PSL as a soft launch of the country’s women league.

The experienced cricketer said that having leagues are important for the development of cricket and Pakistan’s league is a step in the right direction.

“The countries that have had franchise leagues for quite a long time, their young players come into the national international stage and they’re just ready to perform straight away. They know what playing under pressure is like, they know their games and they know in a pressure situation what they’re going to go to. I think that’s really important, it’s great to see that Pakistan are jumping on board as well,” she said.

She gave the example of her compatriot Alice Capsey “who burst on the scene” at the age of 16 and is now part of the England team.

“I think it’s really clear that franchise leagues can unearth talent that maybe hasn’t gone through a normal pathway or worked its way up at the same time,” Beaumont told Geo News.

She highlighted that franchise leagues can also help girls opt for sports as a career and open multiple opportunities for them.

“A few years ago, if a woman hadn’t made their debut for their country, by the time they’re probably 23,24, they were never going to play for their country. They’d have to go away, get another career, and go and work. And, now the franchise leagues and other domestic structures mean that they stay in the game, and then maybe they have a golden season and that gets them in the team,” she said.

Advice to young girls

Beaumont advised young girls to overcome their fear of failure and play new shots without any hesitation.

“I see a lot of young girls come in and they want to be perfect straight away. And that means that they don’t allow themselves to make mistakes and try to expand their game,” lamented the 32-year-old.

She believes that a lot of girls would hesitate to play shots because they’re a “little bit scared”. However, she advised them to be “okay” with making mistakes

“Just make sure you take those lessons and learn from them and move on and get better each time,” she said.

Praise for Pakistani talent

The English cricketer also praised Pakistan’s new talent and hoped that players like Fatima Sana, Muneeba Ali, and Ayesha Naseem can inspire the next generation of women cricketers.

She also called for using local superstars for the promotion of the game in the country.

“A 6, 7 or 8-year old girl be watching at home and go, I want to be like Fatima Sana or I want to be like my Muneeb Ali and pick up a bat or a ball for the first time and try and emulate them. These girls are just such great role models, they work so hard on and off the pitch and you can see it they’re just desperate to learn,” the English cricketer.

Replying to a question, Beaumont said that Fatima Sana needs to just get a little consistent.

When asked if women cricketers deserve equal wages as men cricketers, the England top-order batter said that she doesn’t think women cricketers should be getting equal pay as men at this stage but they rather need equal opportunity and support.

“I don’t think we should get equal wages, I think equal opportunity and equal support is the big one for me, that’s always been what I’ve kind of been asking for,” said the cricketer.

Beaumont believes that the women’s game does not generate enough revenue at the moment and it will do so in the future.

“I think the money will come in but I do think a lot of people, particularly at my age like I love playing cricket so I still would you know, play to just be able to break even and, and just about live. For me, it’s about making sure we all get the best coaches, the best facilities, the same amount of matches, you know, the same amount of advertising to get the fans in so we can eventually make the same amount of money,” said the cricketer. 

She believes that an increase in wages will be a “byproduct” when the game’s reach increases. 

“Right now my answer is no, I don’t think we should get paid the same. But I think one day and one day soon that will happen,” she said.