Interesting Selections Made For Canada’s Brazil Bound National Women’s Squad!

South American Championships, here
we come! Canada is confirmed and
due to depart on October 9th to
Brazil for their first ever showing at the
International Cricket Council’s (ICC) South
American Women’s Cricket Championships.

The squad has just been most recently
released and there are some interesting and
notable selections made. A definite change
in the atmosphere where we see a younger
squad than we have in the past.

The South American Championships, played
in the T20 format, were first launched to
the women in 2007 and up until 2013 were
hosted every 2 years. Since then, however,
the demand for cricket in South America has
grown considerably and they are now played
annually with the host nation rotating.

This will be the 12th edition of the Women’s
Championships and the games will take
place from October 13th to 16th. The
women’s version of the game will see sides
from Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Canada.
Most importantly this is an ICC affiliated
tournament which means the games are
official T20Is and will count towards the ICC
rankings.

The National Championships hosted in
Ontario this summer set a good platform for
Canadian selectors to look at the talent pool
and there are some notable and welcome
changes in the selected squad which is as
follows:

Divya Saxena (Captain), Achini Perera, Amarpal Kaur, Danielle McGahey, Hala
Azmat, Hiba Shamshad, Kainat Qazi, Krima Kapadia, Mannat Hundal, Rabjyot
Rajput, Rey Blais, Rhea Misra, Sana Zafar, Saniyah Zia.

Starting with the selection of a bold, aggressive but levelheaded leader in Divya
Saxena, the squad is a good balance of experience and fresh young energy. Saxena
has been part of the Canadian set up for a few years now but also has immense
experience from having played in Leagues in Australia and India. She is a naturally
aggressive player and suits the T20 style of cricket perfectly.

Achini Perera and Saniyah Zia are two players who have represented
Canada in multiple tournaments and both bring in the knowledge and
experience that Saxena can rely upon should she need it. Zia is also
the spearhead of the pace bowling attack for this side and Perera
the spearhead of the batting. Perera is also a player who is
young and will be around the squad for years to come. She’ll
be the bridge between the younger and more experienced
players.

Checking off the experience column is Amarpal
Kaur. While she may be new to the Canadian set up,
she is anything but new to the game. She has
vast experience from playing Ranji Cricket
in India and brings calmness along with
her the classy shots. She is also
brings solidity to the bowling
line up with her off breaks.

Most notable additions have to
be the inclusion of Rhea Misra, Rabbyjyot
Rajput and Mannat Hundal. While Hundal is still quite young
and finding her groove, Misra with her incredible
runs scoring consistency and Rajput with her pace
and wicket-taking ability has shone to the top. They
both had extremely successful campaigns at the
National Championships and Canada would have to
feel that these two will be key in their development
plans.

Last but not least, it is a T20I series and that requires
power and ability to clear the boundary! Keeping
that in mind, the selectors have included alongside
skipper Saxena, Danielle McGahey and Rey Blais. All
three are more than capable of hitting a long ball
which we saw at the National Championships. This
will be the much-needed push the Canadians need
to put their opposition under immense pressure.
This series is extremely important for Canada
because it will allow them the opportunity to
compete to improve their ICC rankings. Currently
sitting at 38, they still have a long way to go, but
Series such as these should help them get there.

Canadian selectors have to be congratulated for
what on paper seems like a well-balanced squad and
most importantly for supporting the inclusion of
youth. This coming at a time when Canada should
be looking into developing their U-19 program.

Speaking of youth, the next generation is being born
as we speak. Heartiest congratulations going out
to our very own Wickets Publisher Tony McWatt
as he welcomed his first granddaughter Cora Aelin
Lucille McWatt on September 24, 2022. In proudly
announcing the news of Cora’s arrival Tony has
already indicated his desire and intentions to convert
her to an international Women’s cricketer. With the
genes of not just one but two former West Indies
Men’s Test cricketers, her paternal and maternal
Great Grandfathers, Guyana’s late Clifford McWatt
and Barbados’ Cammie Smith, already flowing
through her veins, Cora should have as good a
chance as any of eventually fulfilling GrandDad
Tony’s, PoppaT as he now insists he should be called,
expressed dreams.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *