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SYDNEY: Three wickets from player of the match Almas Akram inspired a fantastic four-wicket win for Pakistan Women over the West Indian women’s side.
In front of a noisy and passionate Pakistani support, a 61-run sixth wicket stand between Urooj Mumtaz and Armaan Khan guided the team to victory.
A brilliant opening spell from Pakistan’s Almas Akram (3-7) reduced the West Indies to 24-4, before Stafanie Taylor scored a superb innings of 55, showing her class as she manoeuvred the ball all around Drummoyne Oval with great style.
‘I am very happy with my performance. This was my best bowling performance in my bowling career so far. Our team performance was extremely good and we never felt under pressure, even though the West Indies are more experienced,’ Almas said after the match.
Taylor (55) and Deandra Dottin (23) rebuilt the innings, before Urooj Mumtaz took the first of her two wickets in an excellent display of spin bowling, but some solid late-order resistance from Anisa Mohammed (12 not out) helped West Indies up to 132-9 off 50 overs.
A good all-round bowling display from the West Indies had Pakistan in all kinds of trouble in reply at 55-5, before some carefully placed hitting from Armaan Khan and Urooj Mumtaz turned the game around.
Armaan Khan, who hit two leg side sixes in her perfectly timed innings of 43 not out off 48 balls, was in top form, and she took her team to victory with 13 balls remaining.
Pakistan Women will now play defending champions Australia on Monday, March 16, before their final Super Six match against New Zealand on March 19.
SYDNEY: Atkins and Taylor slam unbeaten half-centuries as England beats India by nine wickets. Whereas, Australia defeats South Africa while New Zealand downs West Indies for second successive win.
An unbroken 125-run second-wicket partnership between opener Caroline Atkins and Claire Taylor guided two-time former champion England to an easy nine-wicket victory over India to secure a place in the Super Six stage of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2009 at the North Sydney Oval on Tuesday.
Both Atkins and Taylor finished unbeaten on 69 each as England raced to the victory target of 170 with 11.3 overs to spare.
It was England’s second successive victory and puts it on top of Group B while India is second with one win and one defeat.
In Group A, defending champion Australia got its campaign back on track after a surprise defeat to New Zealand on Sunday with a comfortable 61-run victory over South Africa while New Zealand put in another tidy bowling performance to defeat the West Indies by 56 runs to join England in the Super Six.
On Thursday, South Africa will have to beat 2000 World Cup winner New Zealand to keep its hope of reaching the Super Six stage alive while the West Indies can go through to the next stage irrespective of the outcome of its match against Australia if New Zealand wins at Bowral.
ENGLAND vs INDIA: Put into bat, India slipped from 92-3 to 126-9 in a space of just 14 overs before a late onslaught by Amita Sharma lifted the 2005 World Cup runner-up to 169 all out in 48.4 overs. Sharma clobbered five fours and a six in a 24-ball 33 before being the last batter out.
While wickets fell like nine-pins from one end, former captain Mitahli Raj stood tall before becoming the eighth batter to depart at the score of 123. Raj scored a well-played 59 that came off 90 balls and included nine fours.
Left-arm spinner Holly Colvin was the star of England’s bowling attack when she showed a lot of craft and variation while picking up 3-22. Fast bowler Jenny Gunn also displayed her promise and talent by bagging 3-50 while new-ball bowler Isa Guha finished with 2-16 after claiming the wickets of both the openers.
In its target chase, England was never really under threat despite losing Sarah Taylor (27) as Atkins and Claire Taylor put India’s bowling to the sword with some sizzling drives and sweeps.
Atkins’ knock came off 124 balls and included nine fours while Claire Taylor belted nine fours and a six in a rapid 69 not out off 65 balls.
AUSTRALIA vs SOUTH AFRICA: Elsewhere, Australia captain Karen Rolton edged closer to becoming the most successful batter in women’s cricket when she scored an electrifying unbeaten 96 that set up a 61 runs victory over South Africa at the No. 1 Sports Ground, Newcastle.
Rolton, who started the tournament needing 350 runs to leapfrog her former captain Belinda Clark (4,844 runs), clubbed 13 fours in an 87-ball knock but missed out on her ninth career century after running out of overs. Rolton now sits on 4,612 runs and needs another 233 runs to become the leading run-scorer in women’s ODI cricket.
Rolton featured in a 82-run second-wicket partnership off 75 balls with Shelley Nitschke who was also in a punishing mood, belting 11 fours and a six in her 87 that came off 94 balls. Earlier,
Nitschke had provided Australia with a flying start when, together with Alex Blackwell, she put on 75 runs for the first wicket with Blackwell scoring 22.
For South Africa, Vice-captain Alicia Smith was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3-42.
In turn, South Africa was bowled out for 197 in 49.3 overs with Trisha Chetty scoring a fighting 58 that came off 78 balls and included six fours.
Nitschke completed a good day in the field by following up her 87 with 3-43 to claim the player-of-the-match award.
NEW ZEALAND vs WEST INDIES: At Bankstown Oval, Sydney, New Zealand laboured to a 56 runs victory over the West Indies after managing just 192-8 in 50 overs, thanks to a quick-fire 41 not out off 35 balls by Sarah Tsukigawa and vice-captain Aimee Mason, who contributed 37 off 63 balls.
The two batters added 57 runs in little over 10 overs for the seventh wicket after New Zealand was struggling at 104-6.
West Indies, which defeated South Africa by just two wickets on Sunday, was never in the hunt after losing Deandra Dottin on the fourth ball of the innings before finishing at 136-8 in 50 overs.
CANBERRA: The Pakistan Women’s cricket team bounced back in the ICC Women’s World Cup with a 57-run win against Sri Lanka Women on Monday.
Urooj Mumtaz, Pakistan captain won the toss and elected to bat first at the Manuka Oval in Canberra, despite skittling out for 51 in the first match against India. This time, however, Pakistan got off to a good start with openers Nain Abidi and Bismah Maroof adding 47 runs for the first wicket. The other batters also chipped in with useful knocks of 20, 21 and 22 from Sajida Shah, Urooj Mumtaz and Sana Mir. Pakistan ended up with a total of 161 off their allotted 50 overs, a big improvement from their previous total against India.
When the Sri Lankan team came in to bat, they were put under pressure straight away with three quick wickets from pacer Qanita Jalil, who removed openers Chamari Kumariham and Hiruka Fernando in the third over. The Sri Lankan captain, Shashikala Siriwardene played a solid knock and tried to hold the innings together but wickets kept falling around her and when Siriwardene got out for 58 in the 36th over, there was no way back for the Lankans.
The player of the match award went to Qanita Jalil for her brilliant opening spell and useful 19 runs at the end of Pakistan’s innings.
This was a much improved performance from the girls in green after a thrashing at the hands of India and they will now play their final group match against England on Thursday (March 12).
The two groups comprise four teams each and the top three teams from both groups will advance to the Super Six stage that will get underway on Saturday (March 14). As things stand, Pakistan, India and England have all won a match each. If Sri Lanka lose their last match against India, Pakistan will proceed to the Super Sixes, which will be a great achievement for a team that is participating in the World Cup for the first time.
Urooj said she was happy with the performance. ‘I am proud of my team. The way it lifted itself after Saturday’s game was magnificent.
‘It was a complete team effort and every player played her role to perfection. The batters stayed at the wicket to ensure we played out 50 overs while the bowlers bowled straight and were excellently back up by the fielders.
‘However, Qanita and Sana stand out for their contributions. The two played very responsible cricket and today if we can eye a place in the Super Six stage, it is largely because of these two girls.
‘All in all, it was a performance to be proud of and couldn’t have come at a better time when we prepare to play England in the last group match. Our feet are still on ground as we know plenty of cricket still has to be played in the tournament and anything can happen.
‘There is always a first time and I am glad that we ended our win drought in the World Cup and also against Sri Lanka. I wouldn’t like to make tall claims but we would aim and try to beat teams we have never beaten before.’
Scores in brief:
At Manuka Oval, Canberra: Pakistan 161-7, 50 overs (Nain Abidi 26, Sana Mir 22 not out, Sajida Shah 21, Urooj Mumtaz 20; Suwini de Alwis 2-19, Eshani Lokusooriya 2-28, Shashikala Siriwardena 2-43)
Sri Lanka 104 all out, 39.4 overs (Shashikala Siriwardena 58; Qanita Jalil 3-33, Sana Mir 2-18)
Pakistan won by 57 runs
KARACHI: Umer Rashid, coach of the Pakistan women’s cricket team that just returned from Bangladesh after participating in the triangular series there, has said that the tour amply proved that the team is finally coming up.
Speaking to Dawn, Umer said: ‘Performance-wise we played far better compared to the Asia Cup.’
The team’s previous international assignment in the four-nation Asia Cup in May 2008 saw them lose to India, Sri Lanka and even Bangladesh.
‘We beat Bangladesh both times on this tour, first by seven wickets and then by nine. So we have proved ourselves above them at least and find ourselves somewhat at par with the series winners Sri Lanka,’ he said.
‘Winning the toss in our first encounter against Sri Lanka, we put them into bat and got three early wickets too but they recovered to put on a fine total while our batting collapsed under pressure. Still, I think the girls put up a good fight. It was only in our second match with Sri Lanka on the 17th that we didn’t play as well as we could have. There was too much of misfielding as well,’ he elaborated.
‘Having played Sri Lanka twice in this series has helped us know their weak points in batting as well as bowling. We know ourselves better too and have a definite plan for the coming eight to 10 days. Bowling tightly with line and length and avoiding getting bogged down while batting will be one of our aims,’ he added.
About the players who impressed on the tour, he said: ‘Openers Nain Abidi and Bismah Maroof batted well, off-spinner Javeria Khan impressed with her bowling. She took three for 20 in the first match. Leg spinner Naila Nazir too bowled very well. They will be useful on Australian pitches. Then Almas Akram came out as a fine all-rounder.’
The girls, after taking a four-day break, join camp at the National Stadium, Karachi, from February 23. The team leaves for Australia to take part in the ICC Women’s World Cup on the 28th.
ANY journalist who doesn’t immediately write the thoughts that come to him on the spur of the moment needs to think again. If I had not fired off my letter to a Sri Lankan newspaper immediately after the 3/3 tragedy I do not think I would have received the kind of response I did from Sri Lanka.
My letter to Daily News of Colombo was intended to convey the feelings of the people of Pakistan over the Lahore tragedy and to reassure our friends on the island paradise that Pakistanis were equally shocked at the terrorist attack and that in spite of the security lapse on the government’s part the peoples of the two countries would remain friends. The messages I received were more than heart-warming and would be an elixir for any Pakistani. The letter writers were ‘ordinary’ people, with no intellectual pretensions. But I could detect sincerity.
Certain sentiments were common to them all: one, Pakistan should not be demonised, because this country itself was a victim of terrorism; two, Pakistan visited Sri Lanka for the 1996 World Cup when others had shunned it. By visiting Pakistan at this hour, Sri Lankan cricketers were merely reciprocating the Pakistani cricketers’ gesture; three, all of them sympathised with the families of the Lahore policemen killed by the terrorists; four, they had a word of praise for Mohammad Khalil for his driving skills which saved their cricketers’ lives; and fifth — and that is something amazing — all of them hoped that Pakistani cricket would revive and that it was Sri Lanka’s duty to help.
Nalin Tennekoon spoke of the Pakistanis being ‘very special to us’, said no one in Sri Lanka was ‘angry with the Pakistan people’, hoped to see cricket between the two countries ‘sooner than later’ and expressed ‘our sympathies with the security officers who laid down their precious lives’. Like others Nalin offered her salute ‘to the brave driver of the Lankan team bus. May the Triple Gem and gods bless Pakistan with great fortune.’
Kumar Abeygoonewardena said he was ‘a great admirer of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar ...so you can guess whether I was a batsman or a bowler! Please rest assured that this dastardly act …will only strengthen our relations further’.
Wiranthie De Zoysa, who introduced herself as ‘… a 26-year-old (female) Sri Lankan citizen residing in Colombo’ asserted her love for Pakistan but rightly blamed the government for the security lapse. While all teams refused to visit Pakistan, she said, the Sri Lankan team ‘remained the Brave Lions that we are always proud of. Whether they win or lose games we know our team gives out 100 per cent and not less, and we are always by their side as Cricket Fanatics of Sri Lanka’.
Pakistanis, she said, ‘will always remain close to our hearts ... and Sri Lanka as a nation will help you get through this ordeal.... Long live the game of cricket in Pakistan! We have always admired your cricket team and will remain fans of them forever — masters of the game such as Imran Khan, Aaamir Sohail, Saeed Anwar, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis… Long live cricket in Pakistan!’ While Indikaa expressed her sentiments in two short sentences and said ‘both are together’, Chrisanthie Defonseka addressed Pakistan directly: ‘Pakistan, we like to tell you loud and clear that you have always been a true friend of Sri Lanka, helping her with military power in the fight against terrorism. You came and played cricket with us in 1996, when others did not have the backbone to do so.’
‘I personally have always cheered for Pakistan cricket … because you never backstabbed Sri Lanka by helping terror groups, while pretending to be our friend. You never did protest marches asking our government to stop the war against terror. Let us hope that the … lives [lost] and the trauma suffered by our cricketers will not be in vain, if this event be an eye-opener to all countries who [have been ignoring]… terrorism in Sri Lanka. But of course they will not tolerate [terrorism] … in their own countries! Pakistan, we are not angry, only shocked and sad as you are! Long live the cricket ties between Sri Lanka and Pakistan!’
Ralph Gunawardena introduced himself as a cricketer who ‘had the privilege of playing with Mushtaq Mohammad and Bishen Bedi for a combined Dubai team against Richard Hutton’s English team in Dubai way back in March 1983 and was the opening bat’. He said the terrorists had ‘tarnished the good image of Pakistan cricket, and now we all must get together and rebuild Pakistan’s good name for [the] sake of cricket. We can still remember how Pakistan came forward to help Sri Lanka cricket when other countries refused…We cannot allow Pakistan cricket to be isolated from world cricket. Pakistan is a great country, had great players and will be having great players in the future, too. Let’s work together for the benefit of cricket in both countries’. He ended his missive with an ‘Inshallah’.
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