Legends League | A proud moment as women umpires make history of sorts

An entire men’s cricket tournament is being officiated by five of them

The appeal is loud and confident from the bowlers, the ’keeper and the close-in fielders. But the umpire’s dreaded finger doesn’t go up. The decision is reviewed, but it still isn’t lbw: the replays show the ball is going down the leg-side.

A couple of days later, Humaira Farah recalls the incident with pride. She is not proud just because she got it right, but also because she, along with four other women, made history of sorts at the Legends League Cricket. It is not every day that you see only women officiating in an entire men’s tournament.

Besides the four umpires, the match referee is also a woman. “The organisers need to be congratulated on their decision to have female umpires for all the matches,” says Shubhda Bhosle Gaikwad, who hails from Gwalior. “For me this is nothing less than a dream.”