Jodie Davis had played cricket for Australia and moved on to coaching when she got a phone call that would change her life forever, forging a new path for Pakistan's female cricketers.
Help keep family & friends informed by sharing this articleIn mid-1997, Jodie Davis got a call that changed her life forever.
"I'm not a spontaneous person, so it was out of character, but I was young at the time and it was an opportunity to do something unique … The next thing I knew I was in contact with Shaiza Khan, who wanted me to come over right away."Shaiza Khan was the inaugural female captain of Pakistan, who, alongside her sister Sharmeen was the driving force behind women's cricket in their country.
But the Khan sisters loved cricket and they loved their home country, and those passions combined when they came up with the idea of starting their very own Pakistan women's team. These efforts were embraced by some but lobbied against by conservatives, and it led to the family receiving death threats as the local police worried about riots. As a compromise, Shaiza was forced to change the opposition to make it an all-female affair, allowing the match to go ahead without spectators.
The Pakistan team pose for a photo at the 1997 Women's Cricket World Cup opening ceremony in Dehli, India. Shaiza and Sharmeen started the PWCCA – the Pakistan Women's Cricket Control Association – which rivalled the PWCA. Despite this, it was clear they desperately needed a coach to give them some direction and that's where Jodie Davis came in.Reaching out again to the WCA and NZWCC for assistance, the Khan sisters leant on the leaders of the game to help them find a coach.
"Back then, we're talking 25 years ago, that was somewhat of an anomaly to have a woman in a senior position like that," Davis said. They received regular death threats, had to train in a barracks under guard watch and made sure their sessions ran early in the mornings to avoid attention. "As far as the girls in the team went, half of the team was made up of Westernised girls who were a bit older and their families had made peace with the fact they were forging careers, but some of the others – especially the country girls – were young, they were probably under 21 and they either weren't yet to be married or their families delayed arranging that and laying out their lives for them so they could go ahead with the hope that cricket would bring them fame, money and...
Beyond this, there was an obvious lack of experience amongst the team, which featured only a handful of players that had even participated in a game of cricket before. "These girls, the first time I took them to the park, they couldn't run, they had zero body awareness … they couldn't brake, they couldn't accelerate, they had no control of their balance or point of motion.
There were many other issues that tested Davis beyond the cricket field and could have seen her walk away at any point. In the end, it was the captain's strong connection with the IWCC that kept them ahead and in the hunt to make their first appearance at the World Cup.
Once the group stage was done and Pakistan was eliminated, Davis linked up with the rest of the Australian team, lugging around the two Persian carpets she'd received as payment. "It would have been great to hold up a win but certainly our campaign not only created ripples within Pakistan, but within other IWCC countries," Davis said.
"It was more than just cricket. If they'd waited for 11 good players to start a team they would have never got there, they just had to get it going and it all started with the two sisters."When the team returned home from the World Cup, there was a lull period because so much energy had gone into their initial campaign, that it was almost like, 'well what's next'?
Shaiza's passion meant she could sometimes be a polarising figure, putting people offside, but Davis believes she is still due a lot more recognition from the PCB.
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