The South Asian Cricket Academy (SACA) has opened applications for its inaugural women’s programme, a 12-month, fully-funded scheme aimed at British South Asian players without professional contracts. Between six and ten women, all aged 18 or over, will be offered places, mirroring the men’s pathway that has already steered 18 cricketers into county and franchise squads since 2021.
Those headline numbers matter. SACA’s men’s graduates include Worcestershire run-maker Kashif Ali and Yorkshire leg-spinner Jafer Chohan, the latter becoming the first alumnus to join a senior England tour last winter. Now the organisation wants to repeat that progress on the women’s side.
“This is our first dedicated Women’s programme and we can’t wait to get things up and running,” said founder and managing director Dr Tom Brown. “Having worked in the Women’s game as a scout and coach for the past six years I’ve seen first-hand how the game has grown and [am] excited that SACA will take on a leading role in helping to develop talented young British Asian female cricketers and helping them achieve their ambitions to break into the professional game. We are thrilled to have the support of Take Her Lead, and are sure support from their experts in Women’s performance can emulate the success of the SACA men’s programme.”
Brown’s PhD research, produced with backing from the ECB, Warwickshire and Birmingham City University, highlighted just how few British South Asian (BSA) players reached professional level once the old MCCU and MCC Young Cricketers schemes were scrapped. The men’s programme was a response to that gap. The women’s equivalent is an obvious next step, though it has taken nearly three more years to reach this point.
Practical details first: fitness testing and net sessions will start in early spring. Selected players receive weekly skills coaching, fast-bowling and spin clinics, plus match exposure against county and regional Second XI sides. Travel costs are covered — a small point on paper, but a major barrier removed in reality.
Coaching back-room staff is deliberately diverse. Fast-bowling coach Shahbaz Choudhary, former Pakistan and Scotland Women’s assistant Gemaal Hussain, and Amar Rashid, brother of England leg-spinner Adil, are on board. The pilot was unveiled on social media by Hampshire all-rounder Naomi Dattani and ex-England seamer Sonia Odedra, both long-time advocates for South Asian representation.
An external advisory group chaired by broadcaster and former England bowler Isa Guha will add strength and conditioning expertise, nutrition plans and sports-psych mentoring. “We are thrilled to be involved in the inaugural SACA Women’s Programme, which will provide a much-needed focus for South Asian Women in cricket,” Guha said. “Our role is to ensure the environment created makes these women feel like they belong in cricket, taking their background and gender into account.”
From a wider perspective, the move lands at a moment when women’s domestic cricket is expanding yet still grappling with limited professional contracts. Regional squads hold around 120 full-time deals across England and Wales; competition for those spots is fierce. A targeted pathway such as SACA’s, offering regular high-quality overs and innings, may give overlooked talent a clearer route.
Sceptics will rightly point out that the men’s scheme worked partly because counties needed ready-made players at short notice, especially during pandemic-hit seasons. The women’s calendar is shorter, so opportunities might be harder to find. Brown, though, remains bullish. “We are confident that with the right approach, we can very quickly start to see similar results from SACA’s female programme and start to emulate the success our Men’s programme has delivered for so many talented cricketers.”
No one expects overnight transformation, but creating a visible, resourced space for South Asian women to train, play and be noticed feels overdue. The next task is simple on paper, tough in practice: turn that opportunity into professional contracts, runs and wickets.
