Naomi Dattani: advocacy, education and cricket
- Apr 5
- 6 min read
By website editor, Maryam Naz
Miriam Walker-Khan and Nailah Gajia sat down with Brown Girl Sports athlete ambassador Naomi Dattani to talk all things cricket, parental education, and South Asian representation.
"My journey began in the back garden"
Dattani was 10 years old when she and her brother first became aware of her sporting abilities.
“We played a lot of sports in the back garden; one-on-one football, basketball, turned it into a tennis court, and then cricket. He said, ‘You're pretty good at catching and hitting a ball’. So we found a local boys club, Perivale Phoenicians, and that’s where it all started.
“Perivale themselves were really supportive. I had a great time playing with those boys, and they were really nice to me. But when I played against other boys' teams, they'd see a girl and quickly be like, "Oh, it’ll be easy to get her out, or I'll hit her for fours and sixes’. That's probably where my competitive nature came out because I wanted to prove them wrong.
“I just remember always bowling those types of boys out. I guess I learned a lot from those experiences [and they] actually made me a better player.”
From there on, she took her skills to Loughborough University - primarily for the education, but also the experience of flying the nest.
“I initially applied to Loughborough University for the degree - cricket was secondary to that. I did know that there was a cricket program there. I applied to study sport science as it was the best university to do that [course].
I liked my education, and it was probably the best thing I did because it turned me into a professional later down the line. I quite liked it, but it was nerve-wracking. I was fortunate that my mum and dad taught me how to cook very well. So I had the skills that some of the other girls I met in my flat didn't have. I was always making chicken curries for them. We were all in the same boat: everyone had moved away from home and were feeling nervous. I think my best advice is to just try to be yourself and talk to as many people as possible. That helped me settle in a bit better”.
The 31-year-old finally made it into the Spirit’s starting XI for the inaugural edition of The Hundred.
“The first year was incredible. I played for London Spirit for the first two years at Lord's. There were a lot of boys and girls that I'd worked and coached with who came to watch me. When I got picked, I didn’t think I’d be in the first team - and then an opportunity came about. I think Tamsin Beaumont was ill, so I got the chance to open the batting. It’s probably still my favourite game!”
Role models & appreciating the booing culture
Dattani grew up with very few role models, but one gave her reason to hope.
“I came to know of Isa Guha, who's an incredible woman. She played for England and does a lot of stuff in the media. I never got to see her play on TV or even in person, but I just knew that there was this Indian women's cricketer playing for Berkshire.
“When I played for Middlesex, we came up against her, and I just knew that there was someone I never got to speak to. But just knowing that there was someone there, and having the pleasure of working with her more since, has inspired me even more”.
Even then, managing game-day anxiety was something Dattani had to work on.
“I have this routine before people come and watch. I'd go out and stand in the middle of the [the field] Lords and visualise 10,000, 15,000 people [in the stands].
“The longer I stayed there in the middle, the more comfortable I felt. Don’t get me wrong, when I was playing and standing on the boundary, I’d think about what would happen if I dropped a catch. I could hear people too, which made it hard to concentrate. There’s kids asking you to sign things; you have to learn how to switch on and off.
“It probably took me a bit longer than other players to get used to managing that pressure; that’s always been something I’ve had to work on. But you learn to take the booing as a compliment. People have paid to come and watch you pay - they want to see good cricket.
“In a roundabout way, it's a compliment. They expect you to be good enough to take the catch. If you take it personally, you’re screwed - that’s what I’ve learned over time. I know I've gone out there and tried to execute things the best way I could. If I've done those two things, then I can walk off and be better for the next game”.
Decompression, culture and sacrifice
Dattani has had to field her fair share of questions about how South Asian culture intersects with the way she approaches the sporting landscape.
“It has become tiring. At the same time, I have to remind myself that if I don't say it, then who's going to say it? So I might have to share my journey countless times, but actually every single time if someone different watching it gets inspired, then I’ll keep telling my story.
Dattani has spoken candidly about juggling personal commitments with training and game time. She offers sobering advice for the next generation of parents supporting the dreams of budding cricketers.
“Obviously, lots of people from different backgrounds have things going on away from the field, but the pressure of not be able to say no to my mum, or tell my family, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t be there’ was tough. I didn’t always feel comfortable asking for an hour’s nap or the need to decompress in my room after training. It just felt like a treadmill.
“Those conversations are changing with a lot of young people that I work with. I'm mentoring the kids, but also the parents and telling them their children need to relax more. The South Asian element, where our commitments differ, or the way we eat at home and how we interact with the communities [add another layer]. But if it’s going to be a sport, you have to balance things out.
“You can't be the most well-rounded individual, the best sports player and the best-educated. Something's got to give. That’s the message I always try to share with them: just pick the battles that you want your son or daughter to fight and learn how to navigate them. Speak to the coaches… don’t just sit in the corner and follow the rules. Sometimes it’s good to be pushy.
“That’s probably something I missed growing up, and to no fault of my parents. They had to work two full-time jobs. Had they maybe been more around, they might have naturally found that information out, but then I had to go and do that myself in my 20’s, which is why I probably fell behind a little bit”.
Looking back at the highs and lows of her career, Dattani has subtly developed her own approach to influencing the age group following in her footsteps.
“I think growing up, I never had a genuine role model. I think the older I get, the more I feel like I want to share my opinions and voice in my own way rather than shouting it from the rooftops.
“I just want to do it in a calm and comfortable way, and hopefully someone's listening. If I only inspire one person in the world to take up anything in their life and do it the best that they can be, then it's great”.
Being a BGS ambassador has given her the platform to do just that, with a cohort of people who understand the struggles and experiences very well.
“If I think back to that interaction [of first getting involved in the Brown Girl Sport community], it was around the time I had started to think that I wanted to be more visible and share my story more. But I was also probably at a stage in my life when I wanted to meet new people like me.
“In cricket, I felt like my stories would only go so far, or our shared experiences wouldn't always be the same. I was like, there must be other brown girls playing sports in other areas. So when you messaged, I was like, ‘Oh, look how cool this is. Maybe I'll meet some of these people one day.' That's why I wanted to get involved - to meet other people and feel like I had a community”.