The future of France‘s women’s cricket team is in doubt in an unexpected turn of events, as 17 players have asked for an investigation into claims that their governing body staged fictitious matches in order to collect funding from the International Cricket Council (ICC).
When French cricketer Tara Britton showed up for the women’s national team’s training camp in November 2023, she was surprised to see that she was one of just two players there. Britton was one of the 17 players for the national team who signed an open letter the day before this incident, demanding an investigation into the claims made by FRANCE 24 in November, including the claim that the governing body was holding fictitious women’s matches in order to obtain further funds from the ICC.
“As members of the national women’s team, we strongly and firmly dissociate ourselves from the behavior and actions of France Cricket and, if the allegations are true, we condemn the actions as outrageous,” the letter stated.
As they concluded their workout, Britton recalled seeing France Cricket’s sporting director Saravana Durairaj arrive at the track in the 15th arrondissement (district) of Paris. Since 2019, Durairaj has served as the French women’s team’s coach. Under his direction, the squad defeated Sweden, Turkey, Jersey, and Germany en route to advancement to Division One of the ICC 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier. Recently, the association named him as its CEO.
After telling us that we were suspended, he told us that we were no longer welcome. Britton is a right-handed batter and wicketkeeper who has played 29 games for France.
He was clearly very irate. He refused to listen to us or to provide an explanation of our position. In essence, he expressed his disappointment with us. After all the time and work he put into us, he felt let down that we treated him this way “explained Britton.
We ventured to declare that we were aware of certain issues within the federation: Armas
Players who sign a code of conduct stating that they will risk being “excluded from the French national team” for publicly criticizing the governing body of cricket are in violation of France Cricket’s regulations.
We ventured to assert that we were aware of certain issues within the federation. Is that actually criticism, in your opinion? It’s true,” remarked Lara Armas, who made her stage debut in 2021 as Britton.
In addition to serving on the committee of France Cricket, Armas was named head of the organization’s women’s division commission. Durairaj stated that a decision regarding the women’s team would be made in May, via FRANCE 24. When asked about specific accusations, he remained silent.
The national team’s female cricket players were cut off from WhatsApp groups without any notice. They learned via social media on November 19 that they would not be taking part in the inaugural Women’s European Cricket Championship, which was supposed to start on December 17 and last less than a month.
After an incredible 128-year break, cricket will make a triumphant return to the Olympics when it takes place in Los Angeles in 2028. For the first time, there will be 20 teams in the next T20 World Cup. Even though cricket is attempting to expand outside national borders, the situation in France is extremely disheartening and discouraging.
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