A litany of woe

	They're out there somewhere: Chopra and Co. had to sit in the stands for the 1997 final, though they were special guests © Getty Images Enlarge

Cricinfo asked former and current women players for their lasting memories from each of the eight World Cups so far. Anjum Chopra, the former India captain, who is playing in her fourth World Cup at present, looks back at the sixth tournament.

1997, India
Anjum Chopra

We played the semi-final against Australia at Delhi's Harbax Singh Stadium. There was no one to move the sightscreen, so with a right-hander and left-hander batting, the Indian fielders had to run from mid-on or elsewhere to move it for them.

To make things worse, we were fined for slow over-rate and docked two overs from our chase. After our loss, we were invited by the association to watch the final between England and Australia at the Eden Gardens. But when we got to the game, there were no pavilion seats kept for us, so we had to sit in the stands. We were told to come down to the presentation ceremony after the game but when we tried to make our way to the ground, we were stopped by security men who refused to let us through even when we told them we were members of the Indian team.

The tournament was also scheduled poorly - with warm-ups in the warmer south and the World Cup matches in the cold, foggy north. We spent a lot of our time waiting at airports or at grounds, and even missed a day of practice because it took so long to get to where we were staying. I can laugh at it now but back then it felt miserable to be in such a situation.