Opening Test between India and England to have women scorers

The opening Test match between India and England at Rajkot, Gujarat will be a historic fixture for not one but two reasons. On 9th November 2016, The Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Khandheri in Rajkot will be hosting its inaugural Test. But, this test match also has another unique record to be made in the Indian cricket history.

For the very first time, there will be two women scorers – Hemali Desai and Sejal Dave – in a Test match. Both ladies will be the official BCCI Scorers for the first test match in Rajkot.

“This would be the first time ever in the history of Indian Test cricket that both women would be donning this extremely crucial role.”

There are almost 8 to 10 women scorers in various states but this is the first time when both the scorers would be women. Women have never got a chance to officiate a full match. Hemali Desai, associated with Saurashtra Cricket Association as a scorer since 1994, had been scoring in first-class matches as well as ODIs and IPL matches.

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Hemali comes from a coaching background while Sejal is a former hockey player. Together, the duo has worked in almost 150 matches. Both the ladies were excited about the fresh path-breaking opportunity they have got as a reward for their persistence and dedication.

Hemali said, “We have covered other formats like first-class matches, one-day internationals and IPL matches. But we are very excited to officiate in a Test match as BCCI scorers.”.

Sejal said, “We are rarely able to enjoy the matches. We have to watch every ball and movement of players and umpires’ signals. All focus is on numbers and there is no scope for error.”

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A scorer in Cricket matches needs to have a perfect coordination among themselves and also with umpires. As any minor error could mess up the things for the players.