WOMEN’S CRICKET

Last year Pakistan’s women’s cricket team played brilliantly during the ICC tournament in South Africa to qualify for the World Cup. But before the World Cup, which is to be held in Australia from March 7, 2009 the team will have to overcome a challenging task of competing in a tri-nation tournament in Bangladesh in a couple of weeks’ time.

It is indeed praiseworthy that Pakistan has qualified for the Women’s World Cup. However, because of insufficient international exposure one cannot expect the team to pull off any miracle in the eight-nation tournament, scheduled in Sydney from March 7-22. The other contesting nations in the 16-day tournament are defending champions Australia, India, New Zealand, England, the West Indies, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and South Africa.Owing to the current socio-political situation in Pakistan, foreign teams are reluctant to tour the country.

Pakistan’s women’s cricket team has also suffered in this regard. In October 2008, the West Indies called off its women’s team visit to Pakistan citing security concerns. As far as the Pakistani team’s foreign tours go, last year it visited Sri Lanka to participate in the four-nation Asia Cup, and didn’t perform well.

It lost twice to India, who eventually won the tournament.After the team’s unsatisfactory performance in the Asia Cup, the Women Wing of the Pakistan Cricket Board carried out preliminary trials whose response was highly encouraging because more than 300 girls showed up in the trials held in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad and Quetta.

Twenty players were picked after the five-day final trials held at the PCB Regional Academy at Karachi’s National Stadium where the girls got to learn from coach Omer Rasheed, a former first class cricketer. Chief selector Aquib Javed and selector Ejaz Ahmed watched the girls in action along with the Women Wing chairperson Shirin Javed, who last week arrived from Lahore before the 15-member team was announced for next month’s triangular series starting from Feb 3 in Bangladesh, and the eight-nation Women World Cup.Shirin Javed said the selected squad is a balanced one and the selection was done on merit, in the hope that the World Cup qualifiers would perform their best in both events.

She made no tall claims of winning the World Cup or the tri-nation contest in Bangladesh.The participating teams in the Bangladesh event are Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the host country. Each team will play two matches against each other and the top two teams will meet in the final. How Pakistan fares in Bangladesh will be observed with a keen interest.The selection committee has dropped Sana Javed and Nida Dar from the side and four new faces -- Naheeda Khan, Sania Khan, Naila Nazir and Sukhan Faiz -- who were impressive during the trails have been included.

The 15-member squad will be led by all-rounder Urooj Mumtaz Khan from Karachi and her deputy is Sana Mir. The team, which will leave for Dhaka on Feb 1, consists of five batswomen, four fast bowlers, three all-rounders, two wicketkeepers and a leg spinner.The names of the players are: Urooj Mumtaz Khan, Sana Mir, Bismah Maroof, Nain Abidi, Sajida Shah, Javeria Khan, Armaan Khan, Batool Fatima, Naheeda Khan, Almas Akram, Asmavia Iqbal, Sania Khan, Qnita Jalil, Naila Nazir and Sukhan Faiz.