[PICTURES] Pakistan squad for ICC Women’s T20 World Cup

[MenInG]

Pakistan squad for ICC Women’s T20 World Cup announced

Lahore, 20 January 2020:

Pakistan national women’s selection committee today announced a 15-player squad for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which will be held in Australia from 21 February to 8 March. Recent performances in the international and domestic events as well as team combination considering condition Down Under were the overarching principles for the team selection.

The selectors have recalled Muneeba Ali and Aimen Anwar, while they have named uncapped Ayesha Naseem in the squad. The trio have replaced Nahida Khan, Ayesha Zafar and Rameen Shamim in the T20I squad, which lost 3-0 to England in Kuala Lumpur last month.

The average age of the side is 24.8, which also indicates the selectors’ vision and future planning.

As part of event preparation, Pakistan women will depart for Australia on 31 January and will play three warm-up matches against the West Indies on 7, 9 and 11 February. Prior to their departure, the team will have an eight-day camp from 23-30 January at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre, Karachi.

Squad (in alphabetical order):

1. Bismah Maroof (captain)

2. Aimen Anwar

3. Aliya Riaz

4. Anam Amin

5. Ayesha Naseem

6. Diana Baig

7. Fatima Sana

8. Iram Javed

9. Javeria Khan

10. Muneeba Ali

11. Nida Dar

12. Omaima Sohail

13. Sadia Iqbal

14. Sidra Nawaz (wicketkeeper)

15. Syeda Aroob Shah



Muneeba, who last turned out for Pakistan in November 2018, has been recalled at the back of a prolific National Triangular T20 Women’s Cricket Championship, in which she scored 292 runs at a staggering average of 58.40. In the five innings of the just-concluded tournament, the left-handed opener scored a century in three half-centuries.

Ayesha has been inducted in the line-up for her hard-hitting abilities at the top of the order. The 15-year-old right-handed batter from Abbottabad scored 64 runs at a strike-rate of over 206.

Aimen, the right-arm medium-fast, took four wickets in five matches, bowling at an economy rate of 7.68, comes in as a new ball specialist to complement pacer Diana Baig and left-arm spinner Anam Amin in the Powerplay overs. She last played a T20I in February 2019 against the West Indies women in Karachi.

Urooj Mumtaz, the chair of the national women’s selection committee, said: “Jotting down the squad for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup was a tough task as many players had staked a claim in the side.

“Though the players who have been left out will be disappointed and heart-broken, this, however, should act as a motivation for them to comeback more strongly. On the other side of the coin, the selection of 15-year-old Ayesha and 16-year-old Aroob Shah should be a motivation and message for all the budding youngsters.

“Furthermore, the selectors have also valued our domestic competition, while also taking into consideration the players who have been regularly part of the side since the Bangladesh series.

“The team has been selected keeping in mind the current form and performances along with the conditions in Australia and, at the same moment, we have come up with the right balance of youth and experience which will complement each other in the mega event.

“Though Sana Mir doesn’t feature in the 15-player line-up, I believe we still have the desired experience in the squad. Sana has been a phenomenal servant of Pakistan cricket while being an inspiration to many girls out there. Unfortunately, her recent performances in the T20 format were not on her side.

“The Pakistan women’s national team’s performance graph has been on the rise and this tournament serves a perfect opportunity to this evolving unit to showcase its talent as we aim to continue to move women’s cricket forward and look towards the future.”

Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof said: “I am pleased that we have come forward with the best possible line-up which has the potential to have an impressive run at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

“We have tried to strike the right balance of youth and senior players. While selecting the squad we considered the recent performances in the international and domestic events.

“It was a tough decision to leave out Sana Mir. I wanted to have her in the squad over which I, along with the selection committee, had deep deliberations. We had to decide between her and the emerging players who had been impressing on all the stages.

“I respect and support the decision of the major group and hope she will continue to serve Pakistan women’s cricket in future with the same passion and energy.”

Pakistan are drawn with England, South Africa, Thailand and the West Indies in Group B.

The Bismah Maroof-led unit begin their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 journey on 26 February against the West Indies Women. The take on England Women on February 28 after which they play South Africa Women and Thailand Women on 1 and 3 March.

Officials: Syed Iqbal Imam (head coach), Saleem Jaffer (bowling coach), Amir Iqbal (fielding coach)

 

[MenInG]

T20 World Cup-bound Pakistan national women's team visited the Quaid Mausoleum today (pic credit to PCB)

 

[BoomBoomCricket]

Can Pakistan Women Finally Make The Semis of an ICC Event?

England
South Africa
West Indies
Thailand

That is their group for the upcoming T20 World Cup down under commencing in just under two weeks.

2 go through.

They will lose to England.
They will beat Thailand.
They've had recent success against South Africa and West Indies last year.

Sana Mir has been shown the door in this form of the game. Her non availability for the tough series against England in Malaysia has clearly irked the selectors. The girls in the Pakistan Women's team seemed far too attached to her as a bit of a motherly figure and you just felt they could never really grow and develop as players and indeed people in her presence. Urooj Mumtaz is building a T20 squad that can do Pakistan proud in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022 when Sana will be on the wrong side of 30. Sana's selection carries some baggage of being involved in Pakistan sides that have been heavily beaten in world competitions. Hence, they have put their faith in youth just like India did with Mithali Raj being moved in the T20 format. Can't play forever and tough decisions have to be made on popular cricketers. I was disappointed with the way Sana reacted to her non selection. It was like Younis Khan reacting angrily when he would be dropped from the ODI side.

All games to be shown live by a Sunset and Vine production for the ICC World Feed who will operate as ICC TV and distribute their coverage to the various ICC rights holding broadcasters in their respective territories i.e. Sky in England, Star Sports in India, PTV and Sony in Pakistan, Supersport in South Africa, Channel 9 and Fox in Australia.

I'm hoping for more than just a solitary win over Thailand and possibly even an appearance in a semi final. Pakistan are beyond that stage where it is just an achievement for turning up. This is their 7th out of 7 appearances in the Women's World Twenty20 or now the renamed Women's T20 World Cup. I'm expecting big things from Nida Dar following her BBL experience with the Thunder.

On a side note, I think the fact this tournament clashes with the first half of the PSL will mean no Alan Wilkins in the PSL this year. He's regularly covered Women's ICC Events over the years.

 

[Shafi]

Urooj Mumtaz is better selector than Inzi and Misbah who like to recycle oldies. Good to see Sana finally gets kicked out.

 

[anonymous_guy]

Urooj Mumtaz is better selector than Inzi and Misbah who like to recycle oldies. Good to see Sana finally gets kicked out.

Why can't you stay humble and be respectful. Sana Mir might has been dropped form the national team and not "kicked out", she is the best female cricketer from Pakistan.

You can always put your opinion with a bit a respect towards the greats of the game.

 

[MenInG]

Urooj Mumtaz is better selector than Inzi and Misbah who like to recycle oldies. Good to see Sana finally gets kicked out.

You seem to have an issue with everyone in Pakistan!

Bro have some respect for Sana Mir - she served Pakistan with dignity and respect and put in some good performances.

 

[BoomBoomCricket]

You seem to have an issue with everyone in Pakistan!

Bro have some respect for Sana Mir - she served Pakistan with dignity and respect and put in some good performances.

I think he's just excited to see some new faces and young blood.

And he doesn't like Sana's "Younis Khan hot headed I am bigger than the team and game" type attitude.

Her performances were mainly against the lower tier nations if we are being brutally honest.

Fine player, but her services to Pakistan Cricket are nothing compared to Shaiza Khan in the 90s and early 2000s. The pioneer of Women's cricket in Pakistan who got a team going from scratch and Sana tends to get all the credit now. What a champion Shaiza was. It would be great to see her get a role with the PCB and get her involved again. Her sacrifices can never be forgotten in the early years.

 

[Shafi]

Why can't you stay humble and be respectful. Sana Mir might has been dropped form the national team and not "kicked out", she is the best female cricketer from Pakistan.

You can always put your opinion with a bit a respect towards the greats of the game.

You seem to have an issue with everyone in Pakistan!

Bro have some respect for Sana Mir - she served Pakistan with dignity and respect and put in some good performances.

Please refer post no. 7!!!! Beautifully explained my view.

 

[MenInG]

Bismah Maroof: Brave youngsters and match-winners the key for Pakistan

Youth and experience form a perfect blend in our ICC Women’s T20 World Cup squad and I cannot wait to see how they do in the upcoming tournament.

The captain is backing her country to continue their rise on the T20 stage and picks the youngsters in her side to look out for at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020

Our squad possesses match-winners and players who can turn the game on its head, which is very exciting for us in a tournament where every game matters.

One victory can easily be the difference between qualifying for the semi-finals and not making it.

All it takes is for one player and one moment to win a cricket match and we are confident we have the right personnel that can do that for us.

We have a lot of youngsters in the side who are brave and express themselves. It will be exciting to see them play – we have an average age of 24.8 in the side, which is both an eye to the future and a glimpse into what these players are capable of right now.

Ayesha Naseem is yet to have a cap at international level but, aged just 15, we have already seen that she is a talented player. Her ability to not only score runs, but score them quickly, at domestic level is a stand-out.

Another young player, Syeda Aroob Shah, is only 16 but has already played for us in both ODI and T20I matches.

We have already seen her leg-break and googly bowling challenge some of the best batters in the world and we’re looking forward to seeing what she can do in Australia.

It is pertinent that every player in the side understands their role and delivers according to the plan.

We are very excited for the T20 World Cup and looking forward to it. If the players are able to perform to their potential and produce some big moments for us, then we are very confident of being able to have a successful tournament in Australia.

Over the past year, we have been playing some very good cricket and have produced some great performances in the T20I format.

We lost to England in our last series but, before that, we put in some excellent performances against Bangladesh to win the series 3-0.

We also went to South Africa and had a really exciting series there, so we’ve enjoyed getting this experience as a team and putting some performances together.

If you look at the graph of our performances, the results are on the rise and I am hopeful that it will stay the same in the upcoming World Cup.

These are the moments we have been building up for and we are hopeful of using all the hard work to our advantage in Australia.

The brand of cricket we have been playing and the manner of our performances has been really important to us.

We want to continue to play in the same way over the next few weeks, and hopefully that can lead us to success in Australia.

 

[Ryw]

Star batter Javeria says Pakistan are closing the gap with top teams

Pakistan have yet to hit their potential at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, winning six of 24 games at the global showpiece

Pakistan get their campaign underway against the West Indies on 26 February in Canberra

Bismah Maroof’s side have featured in all six editions of the global event and are yet to advance beyond the group stages, winning only six games in the process.

Sri Lanka are the only other ever-presents to have never reached the last four.

But Javeria, 31, says tussling with top sides England, South Africa and New Zealand in bilateral series will help her side convert promise into performances.

“We are closing the gap with every match we play against the top teams,” she said.

“We would come to World Cups to play India and Australia with no experience of facing them outside tournaments. How could we grow?

“The ICC have done this tremendously well with the introduction of the ICC Women’s Championship. Now, we are playing big teams and that’s why we’re gradually improving.

“We used to get hammered by Australia and England but recently, we’ve been in a position to win matches against them and mentality is the main difference.

“We have the talent, we just have to manage pressure at crucial times. There is a golden chance that we can reach the semi-finals.”

Since the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2018, Pakistan have shown promise and beat Bangladesh 3-0 in a bilateral series, while also drawing 2-2 with South Africa.

Javeria’s opening partner for their first group game against West Indies will likely be either 15-year-old Ayeesha Naseem, awaiting her T20I debut, or Muneeba Ali who hasn’t featured since 2018.

Fielding and fitness are other long-standing bugbears for Pakistan, who underwent a ten-day conditioning camp in their homeland to prepare for the tournament.

Javeria - who will play in her seventh T20 World Cup this month - knows her nation must step up in the field to achieve their semi-final dream.

“The improvement is not dramatic, but we are growing gradually in the field,” she said.

“We have fielded better in the last year, compared to how we used to. Fielding turns the game.

“We have grown and there will be improvement in our unit. If we want to win, we have to field well and the girls must realise this.”

 

[MenInG]

Skippers ready to showcase their skills in Australia

Those in charge of the 10 teams headed to Taronga Zoo in Sydney, providing a picturesque setting for the official captain’s media launch on Monday morning.

The 2020 edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup is set to be the most closely-fought yet, and the prize at the end could not have been greater.

A world record attendance for a women’s sport fixture could be set when the final is held on 8 March in Melbourne – International Women’s Day – with those at the helm desperate to take their country to the MCG.

As hosts and defending champions, Australia captain Meg Lanning knows expectation more than most but, with the chance to play in iconic stadia, she is keen for her team to enjoy and not worry about the experience.

“We’re looking forward to getting started, it’s great that we get to reach out to all our fans across the country and they’ll get the chance to see what will be an amazing tournament,” she said.

“We want to enjoy the experience of playing in front of friends and family.

“It’s a once-in-a-career opportunity to play in a home World Cup, there is pressure and expectation in that but every team wants to win, as we do.”

Lanning’s side will face India in their tournament opener on 21 February, with India looking to build on the performances which saw them reach the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Final in 2017.

Harmanpreet Kaur will take the reins in Australia – looking to make the most of the experiences from three years ago.

“Our team is growing day by day, everyone is looking so positive,” she said. “It’s going to be very big if we win, I was very surprised at all the reaction from 2017.

“My parents didn’t tell me, they didn’t want us to feel the pressure. If we win, it’s going to be very big for us. We will try to give our best.”

There is experience aplenty in Group A, not least from Sri Lanka captain Chamari Atapattu, one of the few players in world cricket to have a better record against Australia than her format average.

“I just play my natural game, I always took myself as a positive cricketer, playing freely – and that’s all there is to it,” she said.

“We played against Australia last summer, we learned a lot about them and what makes them the best team in the world.

“We’re going to try to play positive cricket – our dream is to get into the semi-finals.”

While Atapattu boasts a wealth of captaincy experience, this is the first outing in the role for New Zealand’s Sophie Devine, opponents in their first game in Perth.

But despite her novice status as team leader, Devine already knows the approach she wants to take with the White Ferns.

“Captaincy is a huge honour but I’m a player like all the rest of my team, so I’ve got to keep doing my job and performing for my teammates,” she said.

“I know cricket can be a really fickle game – you’ve got to ride the highs and lows of it and if I can stay nice and calm, it makes it even more special.”

Rounding off Group A are Bangladesh, keen to build on an improvement in the past few years which culminated in Salma Khatun’s side beating India in the Asia Cup.

She said: “The Asia Cup was a great experience, but the focus is now on the World Cup. We want to be focusing on New Zealand and Australia.

“Our U19 side won the World Cup recently and we are looking forward to getting started.”

Group B features two previous Women’s T20 World Cup winning sides, one of whom is England – victors in the inaugural competition in 2009.

Heather Knight wasn’t part of the squad then but led her side to Women’s Cricket World Cup glory in England back in 2017, noticing similarities between preparations for that competition and now.

“We had a great experience in 2017, which was unique in terms of expectation,” she said. “There’s a lot of momentum in this competition, similar to then. I went for coffee in Sydney and saw Ellyse Perry’s face on the side of three different buses!

“You want to be tested at a World Cup, finding ways to improve and learn and the tri-series was brilliant for that – we’re now just ready to get going.”

The other former champions are West Indies, who prevailed in 2016 but missed out in their home tournament two years ago.

Australia spoiled the party on that occasion but Stafanie Taylor insists revenge isn’t part of their pre-event psyche in 2020.

“We’re really trying to focus on our own game and playing our best cricket,” she said.

“We’ve been playing indoors a lot because of the awful weather so we’re looking forward to getting going.”

Meanwhile, South Africa enter this World Cup as one of the underdogs – a tag that Dane van Niekerk feels suits the Proteas.

And with Siya Kolisi leading the men’s rugby team to World Cup glory last year, the skipper doesn’t have far to look for inspiration.

She said: “Nelson Mandela said that sport can unite a nation and that’s what we as sportspeople do, we try and bring the people together.

“If we do something special such as Siya, it would be a dream come true and that’s what makes it special.”

Pakistan have similarly failed to reach their full potential in ICC competitions, a setback captain Bismah Maroof believes could change this time around.

But it’s the work off the pitch as opposed to execution of skills that she feels could be most important.

“It’s important for us to get the right mindset, we’re working on the mental side of our game and so we want to be in a good frame of mind ahead of the first game,” she said.

“We are missing big moments in the World Cups, we need to create chances for ourselves, live in the moment and try not to think about the big stage.”

The tenth and final team taking part in Australia are Thailand, who have already made history by qualifying for a global event for the first time.

Far from making up the numbers, Sornnarin Tippoch’s side haven’t stopped smiling since arriving, already warming the hearts of those around the world.

Now the challenge is bringing cricket to those who are learning about the game back home.

She said: “I’m nervous now! We’re really excited to be involved for the first time. We will look to play our best cricket and we’ll show how we play the game.

“People back home don’t know me, some people know cricket but it’s not on the television. They will follow us on Instagram and Facebook and will know about our game.”

 

[SensiblePakFan]

A semi final finish would suffice.

 

[MenInG]

Bismah: We've got to start winning big moments

Missed opportunities at vital moments have held Pakistan back but captain Bismah Maroof feels they now have the mindset to turn the tide at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020.

-Pakistan are yet to reach the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup semi-finals
-Bismah is confident a refreshed mental approach could help their chances
-The captain will lead her team against England and West Indies in the opening two matches

Pakistan have played in all six previous editions but have failed to progress into the semi-finals to date, winning just six of their 24 matches in the competition.

A big effort is required if they are to change that record but Bismah believes it’s not an adjustment that can be made with bat and ball alone.

Instead there is an emphasis of getting the mental side of cricket on the right track, with the captain aware of what Pakistan are capable of should everything click on the field.

“It’s important for us to get the right mindset, we’re working on the mental side of our game and so we want to be in a good frame of mind ahead of the first game,” said Bismah, speaking at the captains’ media day at Taronga Zoo, Sydney.

“We are missing big moments in the World Cups, we need to create chances for ourselves, live in the moment and try not to think about the big stage.

“We want to enjoy the games and make the big moments help us get to the next stage.

Pakistan’s bid to reach the semi-finals will be a difficult one, with their opening two Group B games seeing them face previous Women’s T20 World Cup champions in England and West Indies.

That double-header of Canberra matches is followed by contests with South Africa and tournament debutants Thailand in Sydney, needing to finish in the top two to qualify for the knockout stages.

Bismah added: “Our squad possesses match-winners and players who can turn the game on its head, which is very exciting for us in a tournament where every game matters.

“One victory can easily be the difference between qualifying for the semi-finals and not making it.

“All it takes is for one player and one moment to win a cricket match and we are confident we have the right personnel that can do that for us.

“We have a lot of youngsters in the side who are brave and express themselves. It will be exciting to see them play – we have an average age of 24.8 in the side, which is both an eye to the future and a glimpse into what these players are capable of right now.”

 

[IAJ]

Just noticed a result, SL-W defeated England-W by 10 wickets in the warm up game. Isn’t this a big upset allthough it’s a warm-up only?

 

[Babbar]

Urooj Mumtaz is better selector than Inzi and Misbah who like to recycle oldies. Good to see Sana finally gets kicked out.

Subcontinental fans love to utterly insult their retired or retiring legends! Sana probably did more for Pakistan than all the Pak fans on this forum put together, multiplied by 10. And the same holds true for Indian fans too when they humiliated legendary players like Dhoni, Ganguli, etc when on the verge of retirement.

We just excel at it.

 

[MenInG]

Seems Pak and BD jerseys similar again!

 

[MenInG]

Pak women showing some creativity...

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[MenInG]

Bangladesh Women vs Pakistan Women, 10th Match
Feb 20 • 3:00 AM at Allan Border Field, Brisbane
PAKW 106-all out (19.4 Ovs) • BANW 111/8 (20.0 Ovs)
Bangladesh Women won by 5 runs

 

[BoomBoomCricket]

Subcontinental fans love to utterly insult their retired or retiring legends! Sana probably did more for Pakistan than all the Pak fans on this forum put together, multiplied by 10. And the same holds true for Indian fans too when they humiliated legendary players like Dhoni, Ganguli, etc when on the verge of retirement.

We just excel at it.

So she should play forever?
According to some in cricket circles she was a bit of a politician in the team from time to time.
Her contribution towards the development of women's cricket in Pakistan is overhyped compared to the Khan sisters between 1996-2004 before the PCB took over in 2005. Women's Cricket was non existent in Pakistan when the men won the 1992 WC. These two Khan sisters changed that. Sana only started in 2006. A lot of hard work had gone on behind the scenes a decade before she made her debut. That is not given enough credit. Those Khan sisters funded everything themselves and even faced death threats for women playing cricket. And Shaiza Khan was a top player too. Came close to selection for England and once took 13 wickets in a Test Match in 2004 in one of her final games.

 

[BoomBoomCricket]

Famous victory for Pakistan Women. First time ever they've defeated a previous holder and World Cup winning team in a world competition. Congratulations to Urooj and her selection committee for their courageous selection. Faced a lot of harsh criticism regarding Sana.

 

[The Viper]

West Indies Women: 124/7
Pakistan Women: 127/2 (18.2/20 ov, tgt 125)

A comfortable win for Pakistan’s Women’s team in their opening game vs West Indies.

 

[Titan24]

Well played Pak W team. A comfortable victory.

 

[BoomBoomCricket]

This tweet doesn't look very clever now.

What is it with these big name Pakistani cricketers? So bitter when they are left out in favour of younger players.

 

[The Viper]

Pakistan outplay West Indies to make winning start in ICC Women’s T20 World Cup

Pakistan Women made the perfect start to their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup campaign by recording a comprehensive eight-wicket win over West Indies in a Group B match played at the Manuka Oval, Canberra on Wednesday.

Chasing 125 runs for a win, Pakistan completed their comfortable chase for the loss of two wickets in 18.2 overs. Openers Muneeba Ali and Javeria Khan provided the perfect launching pad to the chase with a 58-run first wicket partnership in 7.2 overs.

Javeria, later adjudged the player-of-the-match, played some delightful shots in her 35-run innings that came off 28 balls and included six fours, before her dismissal to West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor.

Muneeba was dismissed for 25; her 26-ball innings included three fours. After Muneeba’s dismissal with the score at 77 for two in 11.5 overs, Nida Dar joined captain Bismah Maroof in the middle.

The two carried Pakistan home with an unbroken 50-run stand in only 39 balls. The seasoned Bismah remained unbeaten on 39 (37 balls, four fours). Nida gave her captain solid support at the other end as she also returned undefeated on a 20-ball 18 that included one four.

Taylor and Afy Fletcher were the only two wicket-takers for the West Indies, both took a wicket apiece.

Earlier, batting first after winning the toss, West Indies were rocked on the very first ball of the innings as opener Hayley Matthews fell lbw to pacer Diana Baig. Diana then made the second breakthrough for Pakistan by dismissing Matthews’ fellow opener Lee-Ann Kirby (16) to reduce West Indies to 25 for two in 4.1 overs.

Nida then accounted for star West Indies batter Deandra Dottin (1) with her off-spin to leave the West Indies stuttering at 28 for three in 6.2 overs. West Indies were at this stage rescued by a 60-ball 63-run partnership between captain Stafanie Taylor and Shemaine Campbelle.

Both scored 43 runs each, Taylor faced 47 balls and struck two fours and two sixes while Campbelle’s 36-ball effort also included two fours and two sixes. Aimen Anwar followed up the good work done earlier by Diana and Nida by taking two wickets to restrict West Indies to a manageable total.

Diana, Nida and Aimen Anwar took two wickets apiece while Anam Amin took one wicket for 19 runs in her four overs.

Pakistan now play England in their second Group B match on Friday, the game will be played at the same venue.

Scores in brief:

West Indies Women 124-7, 20 overs (Shemaine Campbelle 43, Stafanie Taylor 43; Diana Baig 2-19, Nida Dar 2-30, Aimen Anwar 2-32)

Pakistan Women 127-2, 18.2 overs (Bismah Maroof 39 not out, Javeria Khan 35, Muneeba Ali 25; Stafanie Taylor 1-20)

Result: Pakistan Women win by eight wickets

Player-of-the-match: Javeria Khan

Next match for Pakistan: England Women vs Pakistan Women, Friday 28 February in Canberra.

 

[BoomBoomCricket]

Game of their lives tomorrow vs SA who they enjoyed some success against last year. Here trying to make the semis of a world event for the first time ever having beaten West Indies.
4am on Sky Sports red button and sky sports mix.
Early night lads [MENTION=9]Saj[/MENTION] [MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION] @bulletdrive [MENTION=64897]ronaldo[/MENTION].
Let's get up early and get behind our girls in green. Could be a special day in Sydney.

 

[MenInG]

Javeria Khan became only the fourth Pakistan woman cricketer to register a century of T20I matches when the Pakistan national women’s team played South Africa Women in their third Group-B fixture of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup against South Africa at Sydney Showground Stadium on Sunday.

Javeria, the 31-year-old top-order batter, led the team after Bismah Maroof was ruled out of the tournament following an injury in the match against England.

Javeria made her first T20I appearance in May 2009 and is the second highest run-getter for Pakistan with 1,826 runs at an average of 22. Her 204 fours are the most for any Pakistan batter and she has made eight half-centuries, to date.

She was the skipper of the national side in the 2018 edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. Overall, she has captained Pakistan in 11 matches.

The record of the most number of T20Is from Pakistan sits with Bismah Maroof, who has donned the national colours in 108 matches. Sana Mir and Nida Dar, with 106 and 101, have the second and third most matches in the format.

Speaking to PCB digital, Javeria Khan said: “It is truly an honour for me that I led Pakistan in my 100th T20I. It has been a remarkable journey and I feel very blessed that I have been wearing the national colours for the past 11 years.

“It is disappointing that we couldn’t make the most of the chances and areas of advantage in today’s match and I would have been happy had we won this crucial match. The girls fought tooth and nail, but credit to the South Africa for winning the match and becoming the first team from our group to enter the semi-finals.

“It has been an exciting journey and I have learnt a great deal not only about cricket but other aspects of life as well. It gives me great pleasure to see where Pakistan cricket has gotten today. The fans take a keen interest and follow our matches everywhere in the world.

“This has also led to more participation from young girls into sports and it is heartening for me to see talented youngsters from schools and colleges coming up.”

Pakistan now play Thailand in their last Group B match on Tuesday at the same venue, the match will start at 9:00 am PST.


Pakistan squad for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup:

Javeria Khan (captain), Aimen Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Anam Amin, Ayesha Naseem, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Iram Javed, Muneeba Ali, Nida Dar, Nahida Khan, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Nawaz (wicketkeeper) and Syeda Aroob Shah

 

[MenInG]

Lahore, 3 March 2020:

The Pakistan Cricket Board today advised its national women’s team not to lose heart after their failure to qualify for their maiden semi-final in an ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

Seventh-ranked Pakistan clinically defeated 2016 champions and fifth-ranked West Indies in their opener, but then lost back-to-back matches against number-two ranked 2007 champions England and sixth-ranked South Africa.

Pakistan’s final league match in Group-B against Thailand was washed out after the 11th ranked had set the green shirts a 151-run target.

Urooj Mumtaz, Chair of the women’s selection committee said: “The impressive eight-wicket victory against the West Indies, had given all of us the hope that the Pakistan national women's team will qualify for the semi-finals. So, from that perspective, it was disappointing to see the girls finish with three points.

“The absence of the captain, Bismah Maroof, for the South Africa fixture due to a communitive fracture in her right thumb affected the team's combination and moral. Bismah brings vast experience and stability in the batting line along with impressive qualities as a leader, both of which were severely missed in the remaining games.

“Nevertheless, we are satisfied to see that the girls are continuing to progress by making strides in the upward direction. The experience and exposure gained from this tournament will certainly help the players improve further and narrow the gap with the top sides.”

Pakistan’s eight-wicket victory over the West Indies was only their seventh in 28 matches in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup since 2009. Their previous wins were against India (2012 and 2016), Ireland (2014 and 2018), Sri Lanka (2014) and Bangladesh (2016).

“In the 50-over ICC Women's Championship 2017-2020, Pakistan are fifth on the points table - ahead of New Zealand and the West Indies. So, overall there has been an improvement in the standard of women's cricket and with the investment the PCB is making at the grassroots level and the opportunities being offered at the international level, we remain optimistic that soon Pakistan will become a top competitive side.

“During the tournament, Nida Dar and Javeria Khan became third and fourth Pakistan woman cricketers to complete a century of T20Is after Bismah and Sana Mir. On behalf of the PCB, I want to congratulate both on their achievements and I am sure they will continue to serve the country with distinction in years to come," former captain Urooj Mumtaz said.

 

[MenInG]

ICC WOMEN’S T20 WORLD CUP 2020 IS THE MOST WATCHED ICC WOMEN’S T20 EVENT IN HISTORY


Global unique audience of 89m which is a 131% increase to the ICC Women’s World T20 2018
Global viewing minutes increased from 55.9m to 113.5m which saw 76% of global viewing from India
Live coverage hours increased by 62% to 1,529 in 2020
The final was the most watched match with 53m viewers

The International Cricket Council (ICC) today revealed record viewing figures for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020, which has become one of the most watched women’s sporting events in history as the sport continues to set new benchmarks on and off the field.

The event had already clocked up 1.1 billion video views via ICC digital channels, which is more than 20 times the video views delivered in the previous edition played in the West Indies in 2018 and 10 times the previous most successful women’s cricket event, which was the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2017. These figures make it the second most successful ICC event ever after the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 and that trend continued via broadcast with the final achieving record viewership worldwide.

In Australia, live viewing hours were 13.45m which is 473% higher than the 2018 tournament, driven by their hosting and an increase in coverage on the free-to-air channels. The final played between the hosts and India recorded an average audience of 1.2m viewers, making it the most watched women’s cricket match in Australian broadcast history.

India’s success in making it to the final boosted audience interest, with total viewership for the knockout stages recorded at 423% higher than 2018. India live viewing hours were 86.15m which is 152% higher than the 2018 tournament, driven by India’s success and the broadcast of select India matches by Star Sports, in five languages (English, Hindi, Tamil, Telegu and Kannada) in India.

In South Africa live viewing hours were 647,000 which is 40% higher than 2018. South Africa’s semi-final loss to Australia was the most watched match of the tournament with 39,000 average audience. This is 54% higher than the most watched match in 2018, which was South Africa v England group stage match with 25,000 average audience.

Despite the time zone challenge, UK live viewing hours were only 8% lower (at 5.32m) than the 2018 tournament, where England made it to the final. England’s opening group match against South Africa was the most watched match with 259,000 average audience. This is the highest UK audience for a group stage match at an ICC women’s Event on record. (Since 2009 when BARB records began).

ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney: “We are delighted with these outstanding global viewership numbers that demonstrate the power of women’s cricket to attract huge audiences across the globe. It reinforces our belief that there is a significant opportunity around the women’s game and collectively we must promote it further so more fans can enjoy it, more kids are inspired by it and sponsors and broadcasters want to be a part of it.”