While Twenty20 cricket has taken off across the world, we got our first taste of a domestic Twenty20 competition last week with the inaugural Quadrangular Twenty20 event.
The tournament saw four teams play six matches each with the top sides after the pool stages qualifying for the final.
The top 64 players in the country were split into four different regions, including North Zone (Peshawar, Abbottabad, Islamabad) Central Zone-Blues (Lahore, Sialkot) Central Zone-Greens (Multan, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi) and South Zone (Karachi, Hyderabad, Quetta).
It was a great opportunity for everybody to play Twenty20 for the first time in a competitive domestic tournament and for some of the emerging players in Pakistan to see what is needed to make the national side.
I was really impressed by the standard and it was an important step forward for women's cricket in Pakistan that we have this kind of structure in place.
From a personal perspective it was really nice to be one of the Player of the Series for my 12 wickets and 145 runs. The other Player of the Series, Bismah Maroof, our young left-handed opening batsman, again confirmed her potential as she topped the run scoring list, while it was really good to see Asfa Batool taking wickets as well.
The tournament has given us a good idea of who the best Twenty20 players are in the country and I am sure that will influence the thinking of the selectors when they meet to decide who will be in our training camp squads ahead of the series against West Indies.
One disappointment of the past week was the size of crowds at matches, which were again really made up only of families of players, but on the other hand it was great to have most major news crews in Pakistan covering the final.
There was even talk at one stage that the final was going to be televised and although it didn't happen this time, it would be great for us to get some broadcast coverage in the future, for this event.
With the final of the tournament being held in the National Stadium at Karachi, it was great to play on a ground that will be hosting the Champions Trophy in September.
I hope all the top players will be able to make it to Pakistan and I know my team-mates and I are keen to watch as many games as we can live, in order to pick up some tips from some of the stars of the men's game.
It is really wonderful to see the women cricket progressing in Pakistan. The recent Ladies Twenty20 tournament was well held and pcb has done a great deal to improve the condition of Pakistan women cricket. Now our team is in world cup which will be played in Australia, we can hope that this will bring many more fortune to the women of pakistan Cricket.
Posted by: Neelam at August 8, 2008 12:13 PM
Its a long way to go to Australia to play only 3 matches and get knocked out in the first week and have a long journey back with long faces......
Posted by: Tahir Ahmad at September 5, 2008 8:46 PM
Thanks Neelam for being so positive.
I think qualifying for the WC is an achievement for these women in a country where men don't get a proper chance to play sport. Where to get out of the house is a struggle for women.
Mithali Raj, India's former captain, has been on the international circuit for a decade. In August 2006, she led India to their first-ever Test and series win in England and capped off the year by winning the Asia Cup - the second time in 12 months - without dropping a game. India, under her captaincy, also reached the World Cup final in 2005. Now, as one of the senior members of the side, and the premier batsman, a lot will be riding on her for the two World Cups - 50-over and Twenty20 - that India will play in 2009.
Urooj Mumtaz managed to juggle a course in dentistry along with captaining Pakistan. Their most recent triumph was qualifying for the World Cup next year and the 22-year old Urooj will lead a young team to Australia in hope of creating a favourable impression of the Pakistan women's team among the other sides as well as back home. A legspinner, she has a hat-trick against Zimbabwe.
Cri-zelda Brits became South Africa’s captain at the age of 23, standing in for Shandre Fritze in the home series against Pakistan in 2007. She followed this by captaining the side to a 3-0 series whitewash against the Netherlands as well as winning the first-ever Test between the two sides by 159 runs. In 2008 she scored her maiden ODI hundred and led South Africa to a spot in the World Cup after beating Pakistan in the Qualifiers final in Stellenbosch. She also coaches the Northwest women's team, based in Potchefstroom, and runs her own academy.
Shelley Nitschke combines playing for Australia and her state with working in cricket, as a school officer. A useful spinner, her batting is also worth talking about – she has developed into a handy allrounder. Her major achievements to date are winning the 2005 World Cup, taking 7 for 24 against England in Kidderminster in 2005 and being nominated for the ICC Women's Player of the Year in 2006-07. Although she has played netball, softball and basketball, cricket has always been her stand-out sport.
Ebony Rainford-Brent made history as one of eight England players to be handed a Chance to Shine coaching contract, allowing her flexibility around training. A top-order batsman, she fought back from what doctors thought was a career-killing back injury and could one day bowl again – calling her determined is an understatement. She is on the Surrey Academy and her Super 4s side is Diamonds. Proficient in basketball and athletics, she settled for playing cricket … and the drums.
Haidee Tiffen has played for New Zealand for more than ten years and is now their captain, having begun her career with Otago Under-21s before heading to Canterbury. She has played representational hockey, basketball and rugby – but cricket is her passion and won out over New Zealand junior hockey. She is particularly proud of winning the World Cup in 2000, reaching the 100-ODI milestone and being skipper. Her experience also includes playing for Sussex for two winters and she was also part of the first female academy in Lincoln. Somehow she also finds time to teach Health and PE at Hillmorton High School.
Isobel Joyce,a class bat with a steely mentality, comes from a family full of cricketers - twin sister Cecilia plays alongside her for Ireland and brother Dom for the men’s national team, while another brother, Ed, plays for England and Middlesex. Her first half-century came against a strong New Zealand attack in Dublin in 2004 and her figures of 4 for 20 helped her side beat Scotland by six wickets in the European Championship in 2001, where Ireland won all their three matches. Her 46 against Netherlands in the summer of 2007 helped to maintain her place in the World Cup qualifiers in South Africa. She was in outstanding form with both and ball during the tournament, scoring 148 runs at 37 and taking 10 wickets at an average of 7. She ran out five Pakistani players in Ireland's first match, before earning two successive Player-of-the-Match awards against Scotland and then Zimbabwe, against whom she scored 70 and took 4 for 10. She was named captain for their next series, against West Indies, after Heather Whelan pulled out because she was expecting.
Nadine George has been a regular for West Indies since her debut in 1999. She first led the side on their tour of Europe in June-July 2008, when West Indies thrashed Ireland and Netherlands while putting up a respectable performance against England. Nadine combines playing for West Indies and her national team, St.Lucia, with her day job as a Sergeant in the Police Marine Unit of the Royal St.Lucia Police Force. A left-hand batsman and wicketkeeper, Nadine says the highlights of her career are receiving an MBE at Buckingham Palace in 2005, being the first West Indies woman cricketer to score a century in a Test (in Pakistan in 2004), playing in the World Cup in South Africa (2005), and playing club cricket in Australia in 2006. Nadine also plays netball and volleyball and loves the marine environment and is passionate about diving. She is a qualified open water diver and during her working hours captains a 65 and 82 ft vessel. Her motto in life is "with hard work and dedication one can achieve".
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