Last year we saw a few highlights for Women’s Cricket in Canada and while things continue to stay slow here at home, things are ramping up in South Africa!
As we begin a new year, let’s take a trip to warm, sunny South Africa as they host the Inaugural U-19 Women’s World Cup.
The tournament consisted of 16 teams from around the globe with groups as follows:
GROUP A: Bangladesh, Australia, Sri Lanka, United States of America
GROUP B: England, Pakistan, Rwanda, Zimbabwe
GROUP C: New Zealand, West Indies, Ireland, Indonesia
GROUP D: India, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Scotland
The group stages started with an upset which saw Australia on the losing end against Bangladesh, however, the level of competition did not disappoint! While the top sides England, New Zealand, India and Australia continued to dominate, the surprises came from Bangladesh and Rwanda. Both Bangladesh and Rwanda put on world-class performances with Bangladesh coming out on top in Group A and Rwanda managing to qualify for the super sixes having to beat their fellow Africans Zimbabwe. The first 4 countries knocked out of the World Cup at the bottom of their groups were USA, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, and Scotland.
SUPER SIX, GROUP 1
Team m w l pt nnr
IND-W 4 3 1 6 2.844
AUS-W 4 3 1 6 2.210
BAN-W 4 3 1 6 1.226
SA-W 4 3 1 6 0.374
SL-W 4 0 4 0 -2.718
UAE-W 4 0 4 0 -3.724
SUPER SIX, GROUP 2
Team m w l pt nnr
ENG-W 4 4 0 8 5.088
NZ-W 4 4 0 8 4.511
PAK-W 4 2 2 4 -1.563
RWA-W 4 1 3 2 -2.157
WI-W 4 1 3 2 -2.363
IRE-W 4 0 4 0 -3.258
As the tournament progressed, the remaining teams
qualified for the two super six groups. Both Groups
saw incredibly tight contests, but Group 1 couldn’t have
been any tighter, seeing India and Australia through to
the semis on NRR alone. Bangladesh and South Africa
were the unfortunate ones to miss out despite all four
having 6 points on the table. Group 2, while not as
close saw England and New Zealand move to the semi-finals with 8 points each.
The semifinals brought the 4 heavyweights to centre
stage with India taking on New Zealand in the first
game and Australia taking on England in the second.
New Zealand had a run-in with the Indian spinners and
only managed 107-9, a score than was never going to
be enough against a very strong Indian side. India in
return, chased the total down in just 14.2 overs and
having lost just 2 wickets. They then headed into the final
with a lot of confidence under their belt.
Australia in the second semi-final did a fantastic job with
the ball restricting England to just 99 all out. Going
in to bat, they would have favoured themselves as the
winners however, the English bowlers had different
plans. They managed to bowl Australia out for 96 in
the 19th over just 4 runs shy of the mark. A nail bitter
of a game saw England as the second finalist to join
India.
As we await the results of the final in a few days,
we have so far been entertained by some fantastic
cricket. The Inaugural U-19 women’s world cup was
a tournament that women’s cricket so desperately
needed for younger females competing in the sport. It
forces nations to put emphasis on a pathway for women’s
development, something that has lacked in women’s
cricket for quite some time. So, therefore, thank you
ICC for taking this initiative and big congratulations for
all the sides who qualified and competed at an incredible
tournament.
From a Canadian perspective, despite USA getting knocked
out early on, their games were not a total disappointment.
For a new side playing alongside nations much more
experienced than themselves, they were able to hold
their own and put up respectable scores on the board
each time. Against SL, their first game of the tournament,
they managed 96-9 and kept Sri Lanka at bay till the 19th
over. Against Australia, they managed just 64, but that
was always going to be a tall order against such a strong
side. Their next game against Bangladesh, they managed
103-4 and kept Bangladesh in the chase till the 18th over.
Their highlight of the tournament however came against
Scotland during the playoff match in which they put up a
decent score of 147-7, and brought it down to the last two
balls before Scotland crossed over the line. Being part of
the Americas, Canada should know that their neighbours
have done themselves proud and there is a lot of work to
be done here at home to catch up to them.
To cap things off for this month’s news, the biggest news
in Women’s Cricket has finally been announced and
confirmed. The BCCI has officially launched a 5 team
Women’s Premier League set to be hosted in March of
this year! The launch of the WPL is no doubt set to be
a game-changer for Women’s Cricket globally, and the
excitement is just beginning!