Did you ever wonder what’s common between cricket and cancer? Maybe, nothing.

Well, if you think so, then you are highly mistaken. Because, at YouWeCan, we brought the two Cs together for a cause that’s noble and worthy. And while we did that, we had a lot of fun as well.

When it comes to breast cancer in women, the statistics are startling and highly disturbing.

• Breast cancer accounts for 28% of all cancers among women
• Breast cancer has claimed 87,000 lives in India in 2008
• Every 4 minutes, one woman in India is diagnosed with breast cancer
• Every 8 minutes, one woman in India dies of breast cancer

Well, these numbers do scare us as well. But hope is the best weapon to fight the fear, followed by awareness. This thought gave birth to Stump Cricket – an all-women cricket tournament. Through this tournament, we aimed to raise awareness about breast cancer as well as encourage women to actively seek screening at regular intervals. We know that prevention and awareness is the best defense against breast cancer. And therefore, an event that’s resting on the pillars of awareness and catalyzed by the thrill of live cricket was a sure shot success formula!

The date was set and so was our venue. 22nd October 2021, YouWePlay Arena in Gurugram – the action began at 5pm. Eight women cricket teams were set to take the winner’s trophy back home. The tournament began with the first match between Rupali’s Pink Panthers and YouWeCan volunteers’ Pink Pixies. The newbies from Pink Pixies gave a solid fight to Pink Panthers, but Panthers were roaring to win, from the word go.

Then came one of the most awaited matches – YouWeCan in their home ground versus Iffort – a digital marketing agency from NOIDA. The super fit team from Iffort had put 80 runs in five overs. The pressure was building up for YouWeCan Team that performed their best in the league match. Tejaswini proved to be an all-rounder with exceptional batting and brilliant bowling. Owing to an exciting turn of events and lots of wides and dead balls, YouWeCan team won and bagged their spot in the semi-finals.

This tournament was extremely special as it was driven by a special cause – breast cancer awareness. Taking the spirit forward, Mrs. Rekha Gulabani – a breast cancer survivor shared the story of her journey. “I should not cry. I should remain happy. And whatever life I have, I will spend it happily.” The highly inspiring words from Mrs. Rekha gave goosebumps and motivation at the same time.

The tournament resumed with the third league match between PB Game Swingers and Trust Legal. The super exciting match gave many nail-biting moments to everyone. PB Game Swingers swinged the game to their side by giving a hard time to Trust Legal. The fourth and final league match was played between Schbang – a marketing solutions agency and PB Smashers. PB Smashers smashed like champions and turned the match in their favour, even when Team Schbang tried their best and showed the true spirit of the game.

Now, the stage was set with four finalists –

• Pink Panthers
• YouWeCan
• PB Game Swingers
• PB Smashers

The first semi-final between Pink Panthers and PB Smashers was a tight one. The spectators were divided in two camps – with equal and very vocal support coming to both the sides. Rupali’s Pink Panthers gave a hard fight but PB Smashers were playing with nothing but win in their minds. In a super suspensive game, PB Smashers won and made their way straight to the finals.

The next semi-final was played between YouWeCan and PB Game Swingers. The latter one was playing an aggressive game from the beginning. This game had its contentious moments and after much rowdydow, PB Game Swingers won the second semi-final.

Finally, came the most awaited match – the Stump Cancer final between PB Smashers and PB Gamer Swingers. Rekha from PB Smashers was in her elements. Her dive resulted in a small injury. But nothing could deter her spirit and she continued the game, like a true sportsperson. However, it was PB Game Swingers that was in its full form and had decided to take nothing less than the winner trophy! Luck and hard work both preferred to be on their side and they emerged as the winners of Stump Cancer Tournament.

The winners, runners up and players of the match were felicitated by Mrs. Shabnam Singh, Chairperson, Yuvraj Singh Group. Ecstatic is the closest word to what the winners felt at that time.

Stump Cricket was an amalgamation of breast cancer awareness and fun filled live cricket tournament. It did justice to both of these. It was a day of exciting events and what made it truly special, spectacular and scintillating was the thrill and excitement of the women cricket tournament.

We, at YouWeCan Foundation, are committed to raise noise for the right causes and through collective participation and support, we would continue doing the same.