T20 women’s tri-series featuring Pakistan, West Indies and Thailand begins today

Staff Report

LAHORE: Pakistan Women A, West Indies Women A and Thailand Women Emerging teams will feature in a T20 tri-series, scheduled to be played from November 3 to 8. The three teams will play each other once before the top two play the final on November 8. All matches will be played at the iconic Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. This is the first multi-nation tournament in Pakistan involving women’s emerging teams. The tri-series were preceded by a three-match one-day series between West Indies Women A and Pakistan Women A, which went in 2-1 in the visitors’ favour. Pakistan Women A have been forced to make one change to the squad that played the one-day series, with Kaynat Hafeez replacing the injured Tuba Hassan. Kaynat has represented Pakistan in one ODI in 2019 against England. Rameen Shamim, who will continue to lead Pakistan Women A, was the joint wicket-taker in the recently concluded one-day series. Rameen and off-spinner Anosha Nasir picked six wickets each in the three-match series. Pakistan’s squad has six internationally capped players: Rameen, Gull Feroza, Kaynat Hafeez, Omaima Sohail, Shawaal Zulfiqar and Sidra Nawaz.

West Indies Women A will be buoyed by the one-day series victory as they will continue to be captained by Rashada Williams, who was the leading run-getter in the 50-over matches. Meanwhile, this is Thailand’s first-ever cricket tour of Pakistan. Following the tri-series, the side will also play two T20s against the home team, scheduled for 10 and 11 November at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Seven players out of Thailand Women Emerging’s 15-member squad have represented the senior side in T20Is. Thailand Women Emerging captain, Thipatcha Putthawong, speaking to PCB Digital, expressed her excitement at leading her side on the tour to Pakistan: “It is an honour to be a part of this series and to be able to play at such an iconic venue. I would like to thank PCB for arranging such a wonderful event. We have prepared well and we hope to perform to the best of our abilities. We are an up and coming team but we back ourselves to deliver winning performances during the tri series.”

Rashada Williams, captain of West Indies Women A, said: “It was a really good feeling to win the one-day series and now we focus on our prep for the T20 series which is a shorter and faster format. We want to execute our skills well so we can come out champions again.” Pakistan Women A skipper Rameen Shamim stated: “We have learnt from the mistakes made in the one-day series and have prepared accordingly. We are aiming to give our best in the tri-series. It’s a big opportunity for the team. The combination of the team is really good. We have a mix of senior players and fresh talent so we are optimistic about our chances.”

Pakistan Women A Squad:

Rameen Shamim (captain), Amber Kainat, Anosha Nasir, Eyman Fatima, Fatima Shahid, Gull Feroza (wk), Gull Rukh, Humna Bilal, Kaynat Hafeez, Noreen Yaqoob, Omaima Sohail, Saima Malik, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Sidra Nawaz (wk) and Tasmia Rubab. Travelling Reserves: Fatima Khan, Maham Manzoor and Syeda Khadija Chishty. Back up Reserve: Masooma Zehra and Yusra Amir.

Full schedule:

3 November – Tri-series first T20 match (Pakistan Women A v West Indies Women A); Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

4 November – Tri-series second T20 match (West Indies Women A v Thailand emerging); Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

5 November – Tri-series third T20 match (Pakistan Women A v Thailand emerging); Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

8 November – Tri-series final; Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.