Going to Bat

Winifred Anne Duraisingam, captain of the Malaysian women's cricket team, tells us what compels her to dream big in this sport, and why other women can too

- Tania Jayatilaka

Winifred Duraisingam’s students at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Lembah Keramat, Selangor, were told one day that their P.E and geography teacher wasn’t at school because she was out participating in a cricket tournament.

Curious, some students went back home and Googled their teacher for the first time, thrilled to discover that she is an internationally renowned cricket player and the young captain of the national women’s cricket team. “They’d come up to me and say, ‘I saw you on Google and on TV!’” says Winifred with a grin. “I’d play around with them and say, ‘Are you sure? I didn’t see anything about myself online!’”

Imagine the effect it would have had on the young, aspiring athletes in Winifred’s class—boys and girls who found themselves up-close with one of Malaysia’s rising cricket talents—with a firsthand look at the grit, hustle and hard work required to climb to the top in this sport.

Discovering her love for cricket as young as 10 years old, Winifred’s late uncle, David Mahadevan, offered to train her to bowl (the act of propelling the ball) when the boys in her neighbourhood wouldn’t let her join in their game. Her uncle, who eventually became her coach, recognised her talent from the start and was instrumental in developing her skills. He pushed her to play competitively in their neighbourhood club, the Kemboja Kuala Langat Club, when she was just 12 years old. As it happened, he wasn’t the only one to recognise her potential. During her first friendly club match at the Royal Selangor Club, she was the only girl on the team and managed to bowl out ex-Malaysian national cricketer Hector Durairatnam.