Harmer: It is important to raise the image of women's cricket

For the first time since the Hero Honda Women's World Cup in 1997, an international team has landed in India to play a series. Led by Clare Connor, England take on Anjum Chopra's India in five one-dayers and a one-off Test. On the eve of their warm-up match against the Women's Cricket Association of India (WCAI) XI at Chennai, the captain, coach John Harmer, and assistant coach Jane Powell addressed the press.

"Obviously I am delighted to be here. It is great to be back in India," began Connor, who first came to India in 1997. "We have worked very hard in recent months, and it is now up to us to put all that we learned into practice. We have always had close games against India, and this should be a competitive series," said the skipper.

Sounding confident yet guarded, Connor went on to add, "We know the Indians are a strong batting side. They have got some aggressive batters, and we have that in mind. We are a top fielding side, and there is a fair bit of experience in our bowling attack. We have been here for a few days and adapted to the conditions well." With Chennai being cloudy and windy for most of their stay here, the English team have not really been exposed to the worst of the weather yet. The fact that England are missing star bat Charlotte Edwards, ruled out due to a knee injury, is at the back of everybody's minds.

The press conference saw the England skipper swamped by requests for photographs and interviews, something that she might not get much of back home in Sussex, England. Connor, however, took it all very smoothly and efficiently in her stride. "It has been one of the really exciting parts of being here," she began. "I have been here before, so I knew what to expect. People really love the game here, are fanatic about it even, and that is a good thing."

With every English team coming to the subcontinent is the underlying fear that they might be routed by home spinners on favourable tracks. Connor, however, is confident that this will not be the case. "We have worked very hard on playing the spinners. Specifically, we have been looking at things like playing the ball a bit later and things like that. I watched the action of the England men's team down here recently. In all three matches, the pitches were good - didn't do anything silly - and that is reassuring," she said.

John Harmer, who coached the Australian women's team for almost nine years, feels equally at home coaching the old enemy, so to speak. "It is brilliant to be coaching England. It is a place that is rooted in tradition, and that is a big plus for someone like me. I had coached Australia for nine years and was looking for something different, a bit of inspiration perhaps. That is why I chose to move over, and it is an exciting prospect," he said.

Echoing the views of the captain, Harmer said, "We are confident about our chances in India. We know what is required for the job at hand, and it is up to the team to deliver." But then again, an international women's tour is not simply about the matches played. When the women's side is in the limelight, it is a responsibility on the players and others involved to do all that they can to promote the game. Harmer was quick to concede this. "It is very important to raise the image of women's cricket in the eyes of the public, and we will be conscious of that on this tour. With every major tour and success, the number of kids who take to the game increases dramatically. And we all know that nothing works like having role models to look upto," said Harmer.

At the press conference on Thursday, one would have found it hard to believe that women's cricket did not get the kind of attention it deserves. There was a sense of well-being and bonhomie conveyed by the England team in their manner and their words. All that is left now is some exciting cricket out in the middle, and this tour will go a long way in giving women's cricket a much-needed boost.