European Cricket Network will again showcase the best women’s cricket in the world this summer with Germany hosting neighbours France in a five match T20 Series at the National Performance Centre in Krefeld.
August 2020 was a memorable month in the cricketing history of the German Golden Eagles, Germany's women's cricket team. The Golden Eagles completed a comprehensive 5-0 whitewash of Austria to extend their stunning winning streak to nine consecutive matches.
Next month, this emerging team will host neighbours France in a five-match T20I series LIVE on the European Cricket Network. The hotly-anticipated series between July 8-10 sees hosts Germany, world ranked 25th pit their wits against France, ranked five places lower, at the magnificent new home of German cricket, the National Performance Centre in Krefeld.
In the heat of the Golden Eagles’ run in T20I cricket is Anuradha Doddaballapur, an Indian-born former Karnataka player, who skippers the women’s team. A medium pacer, Anuradha also seamlessly switches to spin, and against Austria she completed a rare double hat-trick, picking up four wickets in four balls, finishing with incredible record-breaking figures of 5-1 - best ever bowling by a captain in international cricket.
Drawn to the sport by her family, Anuradha played age group cricket in India before moving to England in 2008. From there, Germany beckoned as she tackles her PhD in Cardiovascular Biology.
Cricket might be her calling, but so is science. Juggling between the two acts hasn’t been easy, but Anuradha has managed it well.
“Many times, work takes precedence ‘cause that’s what I do as a professional and there are times when I go to work late on a weekday or sometimes I have to go on a weekend to continue an ongoing experiment,” Anuradha said in an exclusive interview with the European Cricket Network.
“There has been many a day where I have had to skip training sessions. I try and plan my work so I don't have to go on a weekend...I have that flexibility, although there are times where I cannot do that. I have to go and do that, which is often when we play most of our games.
“There are occasions when I have to rush from cricket to the lab. That happens a lot. If I am able to schedule work late in the afternoon or evening in the weekend, then I can have my morning training session. If I have to go then I go directly from my training session to lab. This is during my PhD that I am working. So that happens a lot of times. I think that’s just how you juggle two different things [laughs].”
With all the focus on her and the Golden Eagles in the past year, when Germany women's team were the first international side to play a game amidst the COVID-19, the France series is likely to attract more global attention. For Anuradha, it’d be just another day in office, rushing from the match to the lab and returning for practice sessions, more cricket, and some more science.
