Domestic workers take cricket by storm

Being away from home, to have a group of people doing the same thing is very empowering, say Filipino domestic helpers

Hong Kong: After a long week cooking and cleaning in the cramped households of Hong Kong, a group of Filipino domestic helpers are using their Sunday off for an unlikely hobby: cricket. And they’re proving rather good at it. Despite no background in the game, scant coaching and very little time, the SCC Divas have made a startling impact, winning Hong Kong’s development league twice in their first two seasons and going unbeaten since stepping up to the main divisions this year.

Along the way, they’ve inspired the Philippines’ first national women’s cricket team, providing seven of its players, while shaking up Hong Kong’s sleepy cricket scene, a remnant of British colonialism. “We are all domestic helpers. Some are new players, having their first time holding a cricket ball,” said Josie Arimas, 52, captain and founder of the SCC Divas.

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The satisfying clunk of bat on ball, at the scenic Po Kong Village Cricket Ground overlooked by green hills and tower blocks, is a world away from daily life for the Divas. Many of them work from 6am till midnight, six days a week, scrubbing, shopping and looking after kids, to support their own children and families left behind in the Philippines. They get “no rest. They’re tough”, said Arimas.

For Divas player Liza Avelino, cricket is a chance to escape the difficulties of everyday life. “It’s very relaxing, it makes my day worthwhile,” she said. “It’s good to be active and you forget all stress and the troubles and everything.”

During this month’s 45-run win over the Cavaliers, a team from the venerable and well-heeled Hong Kong Cricket Club, the Divas’ skills honed in baseball, a popular sport in the Philippines, were in evidence. Positive hitting helped set a challenging total of 167-6, before the Divas restricted the Cavaliers to 122-4 with some energetic fielding including two side-on, direct hits on the stumps.

The team was cheered on throughout by a vocal band of team-mates and supporters, who picnicked by the boundary rope and operated the scoreboard.

“They’re so passionate about it. They all come here and they all watch and they make a day of it,” said Cavaliers captain Tracy Walker, an independent board member of Cricket Hong Kong. “They get one day off a week, and what do they do? They come and sit and watch, cheer along, train whenever they can. It’s pretty impressive.”