5) Bangladesh Women

The Bangladesh women team sits at the bottom of the list with not even being over 400 runs. The team has registered 372 runs in 17 innings.

4) South Africa Women

South African women are just above the 400-run mark against Indian attack. They have scored 406 runs in 17 innings.

3) Sri Lankan Women

India’s neighbouring island nation sits at the middle of the list with 429 runs in 20 innings.

2) England Women

England team is just below the top spot as they are just a few runs short of securing the top place. They have scored 724 runs in 21 innings.

1) Australia Women

The Australian women team tops the list with the most runs, as they have scored 731 runs in 25 innings.

The post Most runs conceded by opponents in T20Is against Smriti Mandhana appeared first on Cricket Country.

Suzie Bates’ cricketing journey began in the early 2000s, and since then, she has become synonymous with excellence in women’s cricket. Her career is a testament to her hard work and exceptional talent. Bates has been a cornerstone of the New Zealand White Ferns, contributing significantly in both One Day Internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).

Bates’ prowess with the bat is well-documented. She has amassed over 5,000 runs in ODIs and over 2,500 runs in T20Is, making her one of the leading run-scorers in women’s cricket history. Her ability to anchor an innings and accelerate the scoring when needed has been instrumental in many of New Zealand’s victories.

Bates is known for her leadership qualities in addition to her batting prowess. From 2012 until 2016, she served as the White Ferns’ captain, leading the group through a variety of difficulties and to multiple victories. Significant accomplishments were made by New Zealand under her leadership, including thrilling victories over elite cricketing nations.

As Suzie Bates marks her special day, the cricketing world looks forward to seeing her continue to shine in the sport. While she has already achieved so much, her ongoing presence in the game promises to bring even more exciting moments and inspire future generations of cricketers.

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At Sharjah Cricket Stadium, South Africa will play three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) against Afghanistan from September 18 to September 22. Despite this, the Asian country remains the only ICC Full Member without a women’s side.

“The Proteas Men white-ball series against Afghanistan later this month is one such series that forms part of the FTP. We respect the position of CSA in this regard as the national governing body for cricket,” said Andrew Breetzke, SACA CEO and also the board member of the World Cricketers’ Association (WCA).

Nonetheless, SACA must reiterate its dedication to encouraging and supporting women’s participation in cricket on behalf of all South African professional cricket players.

Breetzke stated in the statement that “the deteriorating human rights for women under the Taliban rule cannot be ignored in the context of cricket.”

Cricket The statement by Cricket Australia that it would postpone a men’s ODI series against Afghanistan due to the Taliban’s refusal to permit women to participate in cricket or any other sport was almost immediately followed by South Africa’s decision to proceed with the ODI series.
“The WCA and SACA do not support any circumstance that prevents female athletes from participating in our sport.

“The Universal Declaration of Player Rights outlines every athlete’s right to equality of opportunity, which is safeguarded by international law,” Breetzke continued.

He declared, “A player’s right to pursue sport cannot be restricted due to his or her gender.”

There have only been two One-Day Internationals (ODIs) between the Proteas and the Afghans between the 2019 and 2023 World Cups. This is the first bilateral series between South Africa and Afghanistan.

The SACA stated, “We implore CSA to use the leverage this series affords it to underscore the necessity of protecting and upholding these rights for Afghanistan’s women’s players.”

The Proteas men’s and women’s national teams, as well as various provincial teams, are represented by the SACA, the players’ union, which has over 310 members.

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After captain Harmanpreet Kaur elected to bat, Mandhana (60, 47b, 10×4), Jemimah Rodrigues (29, 16 balls, 3×4, 1×6), and Richa Ghosh (30, 14 balls, 4×4, 1×6) led the reigning champions India in a close battle against a multitude of Lankan spinners.

Actually, Udeshika Prabodhani was the sole pacer on the home team; all other bowlers were slow-ball players.

In fact, the sluggish pitch was well-utilized by the Lankan bowlers, who frequently strangled the ordinarily free-flowing Indian hitters.

With her conditions-defying half-century, Smirti Mandhana propelled India to a fiThe problems of Shafali Verma (16, 19 balls), who struggled to timing her shots, made it clear.

Harshitha Samarawickrama put Mandhana down at covers after a weak chip off spinner Kavisha Dilhari gave her a huge slice of luck early in the session.

With some stunning blows, particularly against Prabodhani, the left-hander made the hosts pay for their oversight as India reached 44 for no loss in the sixth over.

However, Verma was pinned on her pads while attempting to adjust the on-side, and she soon lost consciousness before Dilhari.

The ball was not exactly coming on to her bat, and the Indian vice-captain frequently had to make room for herself or slide across the stumps to find the ropes.

Although Mandhana overcame the deck’s slowness, Harmanpreet and Uma Chetry were devoured, with Uma Chetry moving up to the No. 3 spot.

India needed a move on when they were 87 for three in the 12th over, and they got one from an aggressive Rodrigues and Mandhana, who scored 41 runs off 25 balls for the fourth wicket.

But when Mandhana was removed and Rodrigues was run out, India was reduced to 133 for five in 16.5 overs.

During his usual quick innings, Ghosh hit a huge six from Dilhari over the mid-wicket with a slog sweep.

Ghosh milked 31 runs for the vital sixth wicket stand with Pooja Vastrakar, which helped India beyond 160 runs, a total that may need a very valiant chase from the Lankans to surpass.

The post Mandhana’s Half-Century Powers India to 165/6 in Women’s Asia Cup Final appeared first on Cricket Country.

The new rankings reflect all series completed since October 2019, with those completed prior to October 2021 weighted at 50 per cent and subsequent series weighted at 100 per cent.

In the matches played in the last one year, Australia are undefeated in 14 matches, with 10 wins against their name and four ending without a result. En route, they have swept aside India, England, Pakistan and Ireland in a tri-series and ended on a high by bagging gold in the cricket event of the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.

Australia have 299 rating points to their name while England are at 281. While the top four remain the same, South Africa have leapfrogged West Indies to the fifth spot with 246 rating points.

Jersey has witnessed a meteoric rise in women’s cricket lately and it reflects in the rankings as well, as they jump from 28th to 22nd with a 14-point increase. Namibia have moved into the top 20 with a four-place climb from 21st to 17th.

Eight teams – China, Fiji, Japan, Mali, Myanmar, Samoa, South Korea and Vanuatu – lose their rating since they have not played a game since October 2019. Four more teams – Indonesia, Mexico, Norway and PNG – failed to meet the requirement of having played minimum six matches. As a result, the number of ranked teams falls from 60 to 48.

The theme in the annual ODI rankings update was the same with Australia extending their domination. Their lead at the top increases from 48 to 51 points, the biggest lead any international men’s or women’s side has ever had in any form of the game.

In ODIs too, Australia have enjoyed an unbeaten record in the last 12 months. Their 100% win record in 12 games in that period includes a dominating ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup win.

The gap between the top two might be massive but the fight for the second and third spot is heating up with only three points separating South Africa in second place from England, who are in third.

(ICC)

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Put in to bat first in the 1st semi-final, and the key clash of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2022, Ireland managed to post 137/6, with valuable contributions from the middle-order. Star opener Gaby Lewis was dismissed in the Powerplay, but Orla Prendergast, fresh from her impressive knock last game, carried Ireland with a 25-ball 28 before she was dismissed in the 12th over.

Laura Delany and Eimear Richardson got starts, but couldn’t quite give the innings a push. That came from Rebecca Stokell, whose 12-ball 26 gave Ireland a strong push towards the end. In the run chase, Sharne Mayers held the innings together for Zimbabwe with a 36-ball 39. Skipper Mary-Ann Musonda gave her good company with a 29-ball 31, the pair stringing together a fifty-run stand before Mayers was dismissed.

Arlene Nora Kelly and Jane Maguire took two wickets apiece and Zimbabwe’s required run rate got steeper once the skipper too was sent back. They eventually fell short by four runs as Ireland made it to the finals, ensuring their qualification to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa next year.

Scotland produced a complete performance to thrash UAE by x runs in the fifth place playoff match in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier on Friday. Half-centuries from Ailsa Lister and Kathryn Bryce helped Scotland post a total of 172.

In response, UAE lost half the side by the time they made 68, and they fell well short, losing by 85 runs. Bangladesh beat Thailand to qualify for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2023.

Asked to bat first, Bangladesh got off to a sluggish start, ambling along to 27/0 at the end of the Powerplay. Losing Fargana Hoque immediately after dent Bangladesh further.

Thailand tightened the screws with more wickets in the second half of the innings as batters got starts without quite converting them. Skipper Nigar Sultana never got going, making 17 off 24 balls before falling in the 15th over. It needed a late cameo from Rumana Ahmed, a 24-ball 28, to help Bangladesh post a total of 113/5, which still seemed below par.

But Bangladesh made up for that with a strong Powerplay with the ball, taking three Thailand wickets and conceding just 13 runs in the first six overs. Natthakan Chantham held the innings together from No.3, but she struggled to get support from the other end as Bangladesh kept things tight.

Sanjida Akter and Salma Khatun starred with the ball for Bangladesh, taking two wickets apiece, and bowling very economical spells. For Thailand, Chantham made her fifth half-century, but it wasn’t enough for her team to get close enough as Bangladesh beat them to the T20 World Cup in South Africa next year.

Set 77 to win, PNG had Sibona Jimmy and Tanya Ruma stitching together a fine partnership to give them a strong start. While the duo were dismissed, PNG aced the target in 11 overs to notch up a win in the seventh place playoffs.

The post Ireland And Bangladesh Qualify For ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 appeared first on Cricket Country.

For Mandhana, 2022 started with an ODI tour of New Zealand in February in the lead-up to the ODI World Cup in the same country in March. The mega event was followed by domestic white-ball tournaments in India in April and May before the Indian team played ODIs and T20Is in Sri Lanka in June-July.

Later in July and August, India played five T20Is in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham where they finished with a silver medal, and Mandhana has been in the UK ever since, first for the Women’s Hundred to represent Southern Brave, who finished runners-up.

The opener is currently playing in the international white-ball games against England, which started with a T20I series on September 10. She feels that managing the physical part becomes important considering the volume of cricket.

“I have been on the road for a while now post the World Cup. But I have just tried to tell myself that because of Covid we couldn’t play much cricket. We really hoped we could come back and play a lot of cricket. I can’t be complaining that we don’t have a lot of cricket on the platter,” Mandhana said in a virtual press conference on Monday.

“As women cricketers, we always wanted this kind of a schedule for us. But more than the mental part, it’s about managing the physical part. I’ll definitely think about pulling out of WBBL because I don’t want to miss out playing for India because of any niggles,” she added.

As per the left-hander batter, the tournaments like The Hundred and WBBL have helped England and Australia expand their bench strength, and hoped that India could do the same in the future.

“The Hundred and the Big Bash have been amazing tournaments for their respective countries, as well as for the overseas players. We also get to learn a lot, but these tournaments also add a lot to their bench strength. If something similar happens to Indian cricket, that will help a lot,” she said.

England registered a comprehensive nine-wicket win against India on Saturday to take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match T20I series. India’s vice-captain expressed her disappointment with the loss, adding that her side were hoping to come back harder for the remainder of the series.

“As a team, we didn’t play the brand of cricket we have played in the last few months, so definitely we were really disappointed (after the loss in the first T20I), but we just took it as one bad day and we know that we have to come back harder and match the standards we have set for ourselves and our team,’ said Mandhana.

The post Smriti Mandhana Might Pull Out Of Women’s Big Bash League To Manage Workload appeared first on Cricket Country.

The women’s team, captained by Mithali Raj, recently drew the one-off Test with hosts England and are scheduled to also play a one-off D/N Test against Australia in September beside a white-ball series. Karim said that while it was a great start, more needed to be done.

“It is a good start, but there needs to be a solid plan, a plan different to that for the boys and men, for things to move forward and for us to build on it. I feel the way to go forward is to make it much more professional, and growth of women’s cricket has to be different from boys’ cricket, and the planning has to be different.

“One has to have a different plan, a constructive plan, with lots of outreach programmes,” Karim, the former Indian cricket board women’s cricket head, told ESPNcricinfo.

The former India wicketkeeper, who played one Test and 34 ODIs besides being a prolific run-getter in domestic cricket, said that though Mithali, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Jhulan Goswami had made a name for themselves in international cricket, not many girls were taking up the sport.

“In India, we don’t have many girls who come and play, even now. One has to ensure that their passage from entering the system to the time they exit is without obstacles. For instance, for a boy to walk two kilometres to play cricket, or to go to school, is easy. But it’s not for a girl. So how do we remove that? How do we make it more accessible?

“Also, the BCCI has Under-19 and Under-23 cricket, but 40-50 per cent of the girls end up playing (both) Under-19 and Under-23 for certain teams, because there aren’t too many girls playing. “We had to have separate calendars so there was no clash. That isn’t the case with the boys, because there are so many players and there is so much talent. So the plan for women has to be different,” opined Karim.

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A video was shared by Rodrigues on Twitter, in which Deol can be seen wearing a hoodie and singing the rap song.

“Congratulations on your 100th T20i cap @ImHarmanpreet. Here’s a small tribute for you from Big Harry ft. Lil’ J. #HarmanpreetThor,” Rodrigues tweeted.

This gesture was applauded by Harmanpreet as she tweeted back saying: Thank you little ones, it indeed is a pleasure to have you all do this for me”.

Harmanpreet on Friday became the most capped Indian in the shortest format of the game as she played her 100th T20I.

She achieved the feat in the sixth T20I against South Africa in Surat.

Congratulations on your 100th T20i cap @ImHarmanpreet
Here’s a small tribute for you from Big Harry ft. Lil’ J #HarmanpreetThor pic.twitter.com/bTCWmt06LB

— Jemimah Rodrigues (@JemiRodrigues) October 6, 2019

Till date, no other Indian player apart from Harmanpreet – man or woman – has played 100 T20Is.

MS Dhoni is on the second number on the list for most matches played by an Indian in the shortest format of the game as he has 98 T20I appearances to his credit while India men’s ODI vice-captain Rohit Sharma is tied with Dhoni.

New Zealand’s Suzie Bates, Australian Ellyse Perry and Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik lead the charts with 111 T20I appearances each.

Malik is the only men’s cricketer to have played in 100 T20Is.

India recently defeated South Africa 3-1 in the T20I series and the side will next take on Proteas in a three-match ODI series slated to begin from October 9.

The post Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol pen rap song to give tribute to Harmanpreet Kaur appeared first on Cricket Country.

The nomination was made at the Executive Board meeting of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) in Birmingham.

Womens cricket set to be part of 2022 Commonwealth Games; decision to be ratified by Federation membersWomen’s Cricket will be included in the Commonwealth Games at Birmingham 2022. Randy Brooks/AFP
The International Cricket Council (ICC) and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), which had submitted their bid in November, welcomed the decision.

“The decision, which needs to be ratified by CGF members, follows a comprehensive bidding process, where the ICC, in partnership with the ECB, presented the compelling case for women’s cricket to become part of the Commonwealth Games sport programme,” said the ICC in a release.

Cricket has made just one appearance at the CWG previously, with men playing in 1998 in Kuala Lumpur, where South Africa stood on top of the podium.

“The application for inclusion of women’s cricket for Birmingham 2022 is part of the global ambition for cricket to inspire and empower women and girls around the world and to drive greater levels of inclusivity and opportunity throughout the sport,” the statement added.

ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney was ecstatic.

“We are absolutely delighted that women’s cricket has been nominated for inclusion in Birmingham 2022. I’d like to thank everyone at the CGF and Birmingham 2022 for the nomination and it would be a real honour to become part of the Commonwealth Games family.

“We are committed to accelerating the growth of the women’s game and breaking down barriers and gender stereotypes along the way. We share our ambition to deliver greater equality, fairness and opportunity in sport with the Commonwealth Games Federation.”

Tom Harrison, ECB Chief Executive Officer, added: “It would present us with a wonderful opportunity to capitalise on the global reach of these Games to showcase the very best of women’s cricket and in doing so inspire a new generation of women and girls from around the world to start playing the game.”

Beach Volleyball and para table tennis were also nominated for inclusion in the 2022 edition.

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