PLAYER TO WATCH OUT FOR
SOUTH AFRICA ENGLAND
Mercurial is the word that describes South Africa team the best. They can be exceptionally good one day and ridiculously ordinary on another. In recent years, they have made new records of their own, besides conceding world record totals. In the current year, South African women have won seven and lost eight T20IS, underlining their inconsistency.
Going into the World T20, though, their confidence would be high after they held reigning world champions West Indies to a 2-2 draw in a T20I series in the Caribbean. The team has two explosive openers in Lizelle Lee and Laura Wolvaardt while vice-captain Chloe Tryon provides firepower to the middle order. They have a solid bowling attack with the return of veteran pacer Shabnim Ismail. Squad: Dane van Niekerk(c), Chloe Tryon, Lizelle Lee, Sune Luus, Shabnim Ismail, Masabata Klaas, Mignon du Preez, Marizanne Kapp, Laura Wolvaardt, Zintle Mali, Robyn Searle, Tumi Sekhukhune, Saarah Smith, Trisha Chetty
M- 87, W- 36, L- 49, T/NR- 2 Hayley Matthews had to choose between cricket and track and field. She won a gold medal in javelin at the 2015 CARIFTA Games. She opted for cricket, a decision that has paid rich dividends to West Indian cricket. Her skills with bat and ball are exceptional. She starred in the 2016 Women’s World T20 where she clobbered a 45-ball 66 to help West Indies chase down 149 against Australia in the final.
Age: 28, Matches: 53, Runs: 485, Avg: 16.16, Wickets: 44, Avg: 18.97 An all-rounder par excellence, Dane van Niekerk first caught attention in 2013 when she claimed a hat-trick against West Indies in St Kitts. A year later, during the World T20 in Bangladesh, she added 163 runs for the opening wicket with Lizelle Lee. At the inaugural Women’s Big Bash League, she scored 267 runs and took nine wickets for the Melbourne Renegades. In the current year, she is SA’S most prolific run scorer with 438 runs at 36.50.
Age: 25, Matches: 69,
Runs: 1505, Avg: 28.94,
Wkts: 49, Average:
22.73 Buoyed by their success in this year’s Women’s Asia Cup T20, where they pipped experienced India in a heart-stopping thriller, Bangladesh will go into the Women’s World T20 believing they can go all the way.
In the two previous editions of the tournament, the Tigress, as the team is known, failed to progress beyond the first round. But their stature has grown leaps and bounds in 2018. They have won 12 out of 20 matches this year making them the most successful team along with India in terms of wins.
Like their men counterparts, Bangladesh’s strength lies in their slow bowling arsenal with leg-spinner Rumana Ahmed (26 wickets at 10.73), left-arm spinner Nahida Akter (19 wickets at 17), off-spinners Salma Khatun (14 wickets at 22.35), who is also the captain of the side, and Khadija Tul Kubra (12 wickets at 19), performing exceptionally well this year.
Their batters need to step up, though. In batting, the onus will be on Shamima Sultana and Fargana Hoque.
Squad: Salma Khatun(c), Rumana Ahmed, Jahanara Alam, Fargana Hoque, Khadija Tul Kubra, Fahima Khatun, Ayasha Rahman, Shamima Sultana, Nahida Akter, Panna Ghosh, Ritu Moni, Sanjida Islam, Nigar Sultana, Lata Mondal, Sharmin Akhter
M- 54, W- 17, L- 37, T/NR-0 Age: Matches: 53, Runs: 1107, Average: 24.06 Reigning ODI World Cup champions, England go into the Women’s Worldt20 as title contenders. The English side is travelling to the Caribbean on the back of a successful summer that saw them win a tri-series involving South Africa and New Zealand.
England were the winners of the inaugural Women’s World T20 at home in 2009. However, since then the title has eluded them having lost back-to-back finals to Australia in 2012 and 2014.
In recent times, England have carved a niche for themselves, playing a fast-paced, hard-hitting brand of T20 cricket. During the tri-series at home, they averaged 170 runs per innings and recorded the highest-ever total in women’s T20IS having piled up 250/3 against the Proteas.
England’s biggest strength is their firepower and depth in batting.