(Photograph: NFBAUK)
British Tamil teenager Amuruthaa Surenkumar made history as the first professional Tamil cricketer to represent the English national team last week, making her debut in an under-19 match against Sri Lanka.
Born in Bournemouth, Amu as she is fondly known, has cricket in her blood.
Her father Siva is a keen cricketer having played for his alma mater, St John’s College in Jaffna, whilst her mother Logini is also a former cricketer.
(Photograph: Sunrisers Cricket)
From a young age, Amu’s skill with both the bat and ball were closely noted.Her prodigious cricketing talent was first spotted by North London CC, which she first joined as a 7-year-old.
“Her natural abilities and dedication to developing her cricket amazed us all from the first time we saw her,” said Club chairman Martin Issitt in 2021. “She has clearly been spotted by those who are looking for the next generation of players at the very highest level.”
In 2021, aged just 14-years-old, she become the youngest player to be selected for an academy squad in a regional women’s cricket competition involving eight teams from all over England.
After a string of impressive performances for the Sunrisers academy, she won a professional contract with the team last year. She made an impact straight away, claiming two wickets in two balls on her debut, and powering her team to victory against in July 2023.
Just a few short months later, she earned a national call up for England.
“I want to push gender equality in cricket, for example more media coverage of women’s cricket and getting more girls and women to pick up a bat and ball and play the game,” Amu said in 2021.
“I was inspired by my parents and my role models are Joe Root and Australian all-rounder, Elyse Perry.”
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
