To say it was not the done thing for girls to play street cricket with boys on the suburban streets of Karachi is an understatement. But that did not stop Fatima Sana.
At 13 years of age, she was small but quick and soon learned to love the feeling of hurling a ball at her friends and neighbours. And in a country where cultural and religious traditions have not always been conducive to female participation in sport, Sana was fortunate to have an elder brother, Sheroz, who recognised her talent and encouraged her to join in.
“My brother realised that I was a good cricketer,” says Sana, speaking to Telegraph Sport during a break in Pakistan’s current tour of England. “He told me every time, turn your arm and do some bowling. So I did and after two or three months, he chose me for a cricket academy with the boys. So after a lot of street games I started my cricket journey in the academy with boys and they were all bigger and taller than me because they were proper club members.”
Now a handy batter and a key weapon in Pakistan’s bowling attack with her pace and natural ability to swing the ball, Sana is keenly aware of the effect success can have in her cricket-loving homeland. She refers to the theme of “cultural problems” several times during the interview; changing perceptions is something that motivates her to constantly improve.
“When I started there was not women’s cricket as much as [there is] now. But after some time, when our women won against India in the Asia Cup or anything like that in big events, it was almost like PCB [Pakistan Cricket Board] supported us a lot more. And now we have an under-19s team and the emerging team and the Pakistan A team. So now PCB has produced a lot of cricket in Pakistan. We all know that our society is male dominated, so that’s the biggest problem.”