Amily Aziz has been playing cricket as a hobby since she was a little kid. Now, she said she is thrilled to be playing the sport she loves as part of a team.
"I am over-excited,” said Aziz. “I can’t tell you how I feel. It’s speechless, I can’t explain in words. I love cricket.”
Regina's first-ever women’s cricket team was established less than four months ago. The team initially started with only seven women willing to join. Since then, it's grown to include nearly 50 women.
"It was hard to find some people, but now, as you can see, we have probably 45 girls that are playing on this team right now. Forty-five is unbelievable. We never expected that many people,” said Aziz, proving that women want to and can play just like the men.
"There’s a guy’s team and they have been playing, I think, for the last couple of years. So, why not (us)? Never underestimate the power of women. Nothing can stop us,” said Aziz.
It’s a sentiment echoed by teammate Khansa Irfan, a professional cricket player who represented Kuwait in 2008 as a member of the women’s international cricket team. When Irfan moved to Regina in 2012, there wasn’t a local women's cricket team, so she became part of an initiative to create one.
"(It has been) a great experience getting to know a couple of girls and starting something that I hope that will continue on in this province for years and years to come,” said Irfan.
Irfan hopes to expand this initiative to other parts of Saskatchewan.
“I really hope that, first of all, this tournament becomes a big success and we get to recognize stars and players, and hopefully attract more players, more woman players, to come in and be part of our team,” said Irfan. “It’ll obviously take time to develop the game here in Saskatchewan, so we can make a provincial team, not just from Regina, but elsewhere in Saskatchewan."
Next year, eleven female players from Regina will be chosen to compete provincially against other women’s team across Canada.
