THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-May 13, 2017- Topic 2

Jhulan Goswami’s haul of wickets, simply the best

Jhulan Goswami’s successful appeal for leg before wicket against South Africa’s Raisibe Ntozakhe in the Quadrangular Series match at Potchefstroom in South Africa is as historic as the late cut that Sunil Gavaskar essayed off Pakistan spinner Ijaz Faqih in the Ahmedabad Test in 1987. Both were path-breaking moments. Goswami’s strike helped her get 181 wickets and emerge as the highest wicket-taker in women’s One-Day Internationals, breaking Australian Cathryn Fitzpatrick’s haul of 180. 

Gavaskar’s stroke helped him reach a then-unheard-of batting milestone: 10,000 Test runs. The obstacles Goswami has had to surmount, though, are perhaps more formidable than what Gavaskar had to counter, in the sense that hers is also a contest against a patriarchal system steeped in gender prejudices. In the context of women’s cricket and the limited opportunities it offers or the sexist disdain for a woman fast bowler’s claim to greatness, the achievement is mind-boggling. The 34-year-old from Bengal astutely led the seam attack, her tall frame and the power in her sinews used to good effect at the bowling crease. The rewards for her speed and consistency have been emphatic, and currently with 271 international wickets spread across ODIs, Tests (40 wickets) and Twenty20 Internationals (50), she is the highest wicket-taker among women.

Goswami’s rise from Nadia in Bengal to her current iconic status is an inspiring tale. It isn’t easy to sustain as a woman cricketer over an international calendar that has more gaps than games. Sample this. Since her debut in 2002, Goswami has played 153 ODIs while M.S. Dhoni, following his maiden limited overs game in 2004, has represented the country in 286 matches. This, while Test matches are becoming a rarity in the women’s international calendar, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India adheres to the priorities of the men’s team while sending, or not sending, teams to tournaments such as the Asian Games, thus depriving Indian women cricketers of the precious opportunity to prove themselves on a big stage. Certainly, the Board has helped in the rise and recognition of Indian women’s cricket, but it is still too gradual. The BCCI offered central contracts to the women’s team since 2015, and this year, thanks to the Committee of Administrators’ (CoA) recommendation, gave the Lifetime Achievement award to former India captain Shantha Rangaswamy. This in itself is a remarkable turnaround for a sport that even at the beginning of the new millennium banked on the players to sustain themselves more than any other sports federation. If Indian women’s cricket has gained a foothold over the recent years, Goswami and teammates like her skipper, Mithali Raj, have played a decisive part in it. Jhulan Goswami is a pioneer.

Vocabulary

Haul: a quantity of something that was stolen or is possessed illegally.

Example: They escaped with a haul of antiques

Synonyms: booty, loot, plunder, spoils, stolen goods, ill-gotten gains

Surmount: stand or be placed on top of.

Example: The tomb was surmounted by a sculptured angel

Synonyms: cap, top, crown, finish

Patriarchal: of, relating to, or characteristic of a system of society or government controlled by men.

Example: A patriarchal society

Disdain: the feeling that someone or something is unworthy of one's consideration or respect; contempt.

Example: Her upper lip curled in disdain

Synonyms: contempt, scorn, scornfulness, contemptuousness, derision

Sinews: a piece of tough fibrous tissue uniting muscle to bone or bone to bone; a tendon or ligament.

Example: Surely he's made of rubber and elastic, rather than skin and bone, muscles and sinews .

Sustain: strengthen or support physically or mentally.

Example: This thought had sustained him throughout the years

Synonyms: comfort, help, assist, encourage, succor, support

Rarity: the state or quality of being rare.

Example: The rarity of the condition

Synonyms: infrequency, rareness, scarcity, unusualness, uncommonness

Foothold: a place where a person's foot can be lodged to support them securely, especially while climbing.

Example: Twice she had to stop to rest, her arms trembling with the strain, locking her feet into semi-secure footholds and leaning into the rock.