The Hundred, England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) 100-ball cricket tournament has attracted a lot of attention from fans and pundits all over the world. The tournament began on July 21, with the Oval Invincibles taking on the Manchester Originals (Women’s).
In the second match, Scotland’s Abtaha Maqsood stole the limelight when she bowled wearing a hijab, setting an example for other Muslim women to take up the sport. Abtaha made her debut for the Birmingham Phoenix playing against the London Spirit. Batting first, Birmingham Phoenix posted a total of 128/6 on the board. In the second innings, Abtaha came into the bowl as the sixth bowler for her team.
Abtaha Maqsood the 22 year-old leg-spinner who was playing for Birmingham Phoenix today. She could turn out to be a huge inspiration for Muslim women to take up cricket in future #TheHundred pic.twitter.com/LvGOT0rYcQ
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) July 23, 2021
After getting hit for a boundary by Deepti Sharma off the very first delivery, Abtaha Maqsood regained her composure. She bowled five balls and conceding seven runs, in a contest which the London Spirit eventually won.
I want the young girls who also wear a hijab to watch me playing: Abtaha Maqsood
Abtaha Maqsood was a last-minute registration in the competition. She has played 18 T20I matches so far, bagging 23 wickets at an average of 12.82. The Scotland spinner is a black belt in Taekwondo and was also a flag-bearer at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014. She started her cricketing career in Pollock Cricket Club, Glasgow at the age of eleven.
In an interview with the BBC, Abtaha Maqsood said, “It’s super important – when I was younger I never really saw a Muslim athlete who wore the hijab. It was daunting for me to walk into that hall for the very first time. I was scared, obviously, people were going to look at me and stare but you just kind of get used to it after a wee while. That is one thing that I am genuinely excited about; playing cricket at a high level and wearing the hijab and making sure that people see that and young girls who also wear the hijab see that.”
Abtaha Maqsood will be in action again on Sunday as Birmingham Phoenix will play against Manchester Originals at Old Trafford in The Hundred.
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