On the back of International Women’s Day this month and also Harmony Week, we bring you the story of a well-known woman in our cricket community who devotes her time to our game with some of the neatest scoresheets in cricket!
Rammanee Shivakumar grew up in a cricket loving household. Her father and brother played cricket, and in the co-ed school she attended in Sri Lanka she was always assisting with the boy's cricket matches.
Fast forward to marriage and children, and the story is similar. Rammanee’s husband is an avid cricket fan and player also.
When asked how she became a scorer, Rammanee recalls a very specific moment in time.
“It was when my eldest son was around 6-years-old; my husband took him to a game and asked him to score for his team," she said.
“He was just a little kid, very clever with maths and keen to score, but I felt so sorry for him; all the other kids were running around and playing while he was scoring.
“I said ‘No, darling, you go and play, I will score for your dad’s team’.”
And the rest is history. Rammanee is one of the most familiar faces at our cricket grounds on a weekend and is a kind and endearing volunteer who treats each player like they’re her own child.
“All the boys are like my sons, and they’ve played the game with my sons.
“I don’t differentiate between the clubs.
“I enjoy watching them play, their progress and their growth.”
It’s a role Rammanee is now well-versed in. She started scoring for Cricket ACT back in 2004/05. Since that time she’s scored at National Age tournaments and the Women’s National Cricket League.
In 2019, following a nomination from cricket statistician Adam Morehouse, Rammanee scored the Australia v Sri Lanka test match at Manuka Oval. She’s also been a regular figure at the Prime Minister XI matches.
Rammanee speaks highly of Adam Morehouse, noting he has been a great mentor, and likewise Adam said Rammanee is an invaluable contributor to the ACT Cricket scoring community.
“She has put her hand up to score matches over the past decade and is willing to assist others wherever possible in terms of scoring matches, assisting with training and mentoring others herself," Adam said.
“Rammanee is one of the people ‘why’ it is a joy to score cricket every week at a Premier Cricket level, and she is a valued colleague and friend.”
When asked why she loves scoring, Rammanee said it gives her the ability to simply focus on the game and assists with calming her nerves!
“When my sons bowl, I’m fine, but when they bat, I’m very nervous.
“Scoring allows me to concentrate on the game and overcome those nerves.
“I also just want to watch the game; I don’t want to get distracted talking, so scoring allows me to do that.
“Other than communicating with the referee, I can relax and actually watch the game.
“I like to watch each player, their technique and then give them encouragement when they come back in and tell them they had a good spell.”
Like all good cricket scorers, Rammanee has her own way of scoring. She’s not one for pink and yellow highlighters though, she keeps it simple with a red pen and a blue/black pen.
“The red is for wickets, 4s and 6s and the extras. Blue or black is for everything else.
“I like to keep my scorecard neat and tidy; I’m very systematic,” she laughed.
“Match referees often compliment my scorecards; they say all the information is there, it’s neat and easy to read.”
And the scoring journey for Rammanee is nowhere near the finish line. She scored Queanbeyan’s recent Douglas Cup win over Weston Creek and said she’ll continue to score the game she loves for as long as she’s being helpful to our cricket community.
Thank you, Rammanee, for all you do in our cricket community.
If you’re interested in assisting with umpiring or scoring cricket in the ACT, please reach out to the ACT Cricket Umpires and Scorers Council.
Article by Dinah Bryant