Malmöhus cricket club won two of three competitions last year in which they took part. The key is that they spend a lot of time together outside of the cricket field. “When you have a good bond in the team, it shows in the performances as well”, says Kanchan Rana, captain of Malmöhus cricket club.
Kanchan Rana lives and works in Helsingborg but has been commuting to Malmö for three years to play cricket. Cricket has become a big part of her life since she moved to Sweden.
“I am an introvert, I do not go out very much, not even with my work colleagues, but since I started playing cricket, I am always excited to meet my club members. It is the best part of my week”, says Kanchan Rana.
She also says that the cricket club has become a second family to her. The biggest reason is that she lives alone in Sweden while her relatives and family are in India. “We spend a lot of time with each other outside of cricket”, says Kanchan Rana. “We have around 14-18 people from different countries in our club. It is cool to meet them and try to learn them, it gives you a lot. And when you have a good bond in the team, it shows in the performances as well.”
Developed a lot since her initial days
When Kanchan was new in Sweden, one of her office colleagues told her that a club in Malmö was looking for players. She thus contacted Marie (Williman), who is the contact person at the club. Marie told Kanchan to attend a practice session. She approached Marie during the summer break when Kanchan was on vacation.
“As soon as I came back to Sweden, I went and trained with them. And I remember that I landed in Copenhagen and went with all my suitcases to the training”, says Kanchan Rana.
When she looks back on her first time in the club, she remembers that she was quiet and was not as talkative as she is today. But over time, she has changed. Today she is the one who talks the most in the team. “My coach and teammates feel that I will not shut up now once I started talking this year”, she says.
“Take effort to run a club”
A subtle change in Kanchan’s personality resulted in her being the captain of the team and lead the team to two titles last season.
”We have spent a lot of time in the last two years developing. That is why we are where we are”, she says. ”But it also requires a lot of energy to run a club. You have to be passionate about it. We feel lucky that we have Marie and David who spend so much time at the club.”
David Williman is thus the national team coach for the Swedish women’s national team. In addition to his assignment, he runs Malmöhus cricket club. ”He constantly pushes us to get better”, says Kanchan Rana. ”With other players, Swedish players who do not know about cricket, trying to train them from the beginning and take them up to this level, it requires some doing.”
Want to win SM this year
Currently, she practises twice a week with the team for the upcoming season, which will be different in many ways. 2022 is the first year when the ladies will compete in league games, something they have not done before. To be best prepared for the season, in addition to her cricket training, she spends a lot of time in the gym.
”Lately, I have focused more on my fitness a lot because I feel that training helps me. I have become faster and have better reflexes”, she says.
League games also mean that Kanchan and her teammates will have more match experience. Furthermore, she says that they have never had enough matches, which has made it difficult for them to reach their full potential. ”We can train as much as we like, but there are some things that can only be improved by playing matches”, she adds.
“Therefore, this year will be very exciting and interesting at the same time. We would like to improve as a team and have more players participating in the game. We also want to win the Swedish Championship.”
With league games and the Swedish Championships, Kanchan believes this is the right step in developing women’s cricket in Sweden. She was also selected for the national team during the summer. She was involved in ensuring that Sweden defeated Norway in a three-match series.
Photograph: Personal.
