Growing up in Trinidad and Tobago, Nadia played with her brothers and watched games on TV with her father. The thought of pursuing cricket as a profession did not come to her mind as there were no role models for her back then.
Nadia came to the USA in 2002 to get a Bachelors degree in Marketing. She continued her education and earned an MBA and a Masters in Sports Business from the University of Central Florida.
Nadia moved to for work where she started her own cricket team. She kept working on her game and her skills, and first represented the USA in cricket in 2010. In 2011, she contributed significantly to the victory against Zimbabwe in the ICC World Cup Qualifier held in Bangladesh. In 2014, Nadia organized a tour to Trinidad and Tobago for USA national players and aspiring players. As part of that program, she also led training camps with Mumbai Indians’ Robin Singh, West Indies Captain Stafanie Taylor and former West Indies Women’s Assistant Coach, Stephanie Power. As the Captain of Team USA, she was the leading scorer in the games against touring MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) Women’s squad in 2016.
Nadia is a champion and role model for women and girls interested in cricket. In an interview with TOI, Nadia shared the initiatives USA Cricket is undertaking to build a pathway for girls and women who aspire to pursue cricket professionally.
1. You started playing cricket at the age of 10 with your brothers but did not think about pursuing it as your career. How and when did you figure out that it’s your passion?
I’ll never forget the first time I saw West Indies play live at the Queens Park Oval. The atmosphere was incredible. People in the Caribbean go to these games not just to watch the cricket but to celebrate the culture of the region and to have a good time. Seeing the crest on merchandise and the players up close was a surreal feeling. I don’t recall hearing or seeing much about women’s competitions then but I had some vague idea that women played the sport.
I started playing hardball cricket as a working adult in California. Once we established our weekly practice schedule, there was nothing more I looked forward to than those practice days. Playing brought back childhood nostalgia but the passion grew quickly with a different intensity because for the first time I played the sport with a goal in mind and with opportunities to compete against other women. Given the stage of my professional career and nascent stage of women’s cricket in the US, making cricket my profession has never been an objective. But there is a younger generation of women cricketers who should have this goal and I want to support them to achieve their goals.
2. What were the biggest obstacles you faced in your journey from Trinidad and Tobago to be the Captain of the USA Women’s Team and now the board member of USA Cricket? What motivated you the most throughout the journey?
The whole concept of women’s cricket in the US started around the same time I started playing so I never had a plan or pathway after leaving Tobago, to pursue cricket. Everything for me has evolved based on my efforts and commitment to the sport. However, the challenges I’ve faced have been around accessibility to quality coaches, facilities, and practice partners.
Having such a large country and by extension, large cities, combined with a small number of players means that it is difficult to maintain a regular cricket practice schedule because players and facilities are few and far between. But just like anything else, there are ways and means to work within the limitations. I have been fortunate to work with many supportive male players and administrators who helped me overcome these obstacles. Slowly, more state cricketers from India started migrating to California and so now there is a group of women players who practice and play together.
What motivated me most throughout the journey is understanding that I am a part of a bigger picture and purpose that is USA’s cricket narrative. So, from putting the USA on the map for women’s cricket, to inspiring future generations of players, everything we do or don’t do will impact how this sport grows in the US.
3. You started your own team in California. How did you get the idea? What challenges did you face while building up your team?
I got the idea from my manager at Oracle. She knew a bit about cricket. On her work trips to India, she’d catch some glimpses on TV. So after hearing me talk about men’s cricket and the work I did to support a local league on the East Coast, she encouraged me to start a women’s team. I inquired about a women’s team at a local men’s league; they expressed interest in starting a women’s team and were happy to have me drive the effort. I didn’t have too many challenges. I recruited most of the players by sending out an email blast at work and I cold-called the guys at the Stanford Cricket Club to use their practice nets.
4. What are the exciting things coming up for USA Women’s Cricket team? Any tournaments?
We’ve got the ICC Americas Qualifier returning for the first time since 2012. We will take on Canada in a 3-match T20 series in May 2019. The winner advances to the global T20 Qualifier in Scotland in August as well as the global 50-over qualifier in 2020. We also have Julia Price, former cricketer for the Australian women’s team that won Women’s World Cups in 1997 and 2005 as our new coach leading us on this campaign so we’re excited about the fresh start.
5. Where do you see cricket moving forward in this country?
The sky is the limit for where cricket can go in this country. Currently, we are focused on two major items – hiring a CEO who will work closely with the Board to help us unlock the massive potential of the US, from a participant, spectator and commercial perspective, and secondly, engaging a long-term partner to launch a T20 franchise league by 2021.
We are taking our time to do the due diligence necessary to ensure we get this right. Success won’t come overnight but once we do this right, in 10 years’ time, the conversation around USA Cricket will be very different.
On the field, the men are one step away from gaining ODI status, which, once achieved, will have positive ripples down from the U19 to the junior development phase. Kids would be more motivated as they see cricket becoming a professional career option in the US and that’s clearly the direction we are working toward. In a few more years, the women’s team would become more formidable as we build a pipeline for the younger players to start flooding the national team.
6. What has the game of cricket taught you? Why do you think girls should play cricket?
Cricket has taught me so many things about life. There have been a lot of disappointments and frustrations but you learn things about yourself along the way. You learn discipline and resilience, which are helpful throughout life. The other lesson is that regardless of how easy some players make success look, these are the persons who work the hardest behind the scenes and sacrifice the most when no one else is watching.