Day: January 22, 2023

Dubai, January 22, 2023 (PPI-OT):Rwanda were overjoyed again at the inaugural ICC Under 19-Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa, as they claimed their second victory of the tournament. Having beaten Zimbabwe in the Group stage, the East Africans accounted for the West Indies on Sunday, to claim their biggest victory to date.

It was the calm, confident bat of Gisele Ishimwe which saw Rwanda home by four wickets, as they chased down the West Indian effort of 70 all out, with 10 balls to spare. Ishimwe’s 31 not out, from 53 balls, was full of maturity and clarity, knowing what was at stake for her and her country.

Earlier, the West Indies had won the toss and elected to bat first. They could not have predicted a Marie Tumukunde spell wreaking havoc on their plans, with a four-wicket burst that stopped their scoring in its tracks.

An exceptional four for eight in 3.3 overs was her return, getting the dangerous Jannillea Glasgow caught in the deep, before bowling Lena Scott out two balls later. She then trapped both captain, Ashmini Munisar and Abini St. Jean leg-before, as the wheels fell off the Windies’ innings.

Tumukunde was not alone in taking four scalps. Sylvia Usabyimana did the damage upfront, as Rwanda rotated their bowlers frequently. She had Naijanni Cumberbatch stumped without scoring, and she removed the well-set Realeanna Grimmond (18 off 21 balls) in the same fashion two overs later.

In between those two wickets, she also had Djenaba Joseph caught by Ishimwe for seven. For all their efforts, the West Indies could not get any momentum going with the bat, as Rwanda’s slow-bowling ruthlessly subscribed to a wicket-to-wicket line.

West Indies were eventually bowled all out, for 70.

The slow surface was not easy to score on and Rwanda also lost wickets in clusters, but there were crucial contributions from Merveille Uwase (10) and Cynthia Tuyizere (12), which kept the scoreboard moving.

Those runs upfront also meant there was less for Ishimwe to do at the back-end, with the pressure mounting, especially when Henriette Ishimwe and Geovanis Uwase both fell to their very first deliveries respectively.

Gisele needed someone to stay with her and she eventually found an ally in Rosine Irera (8 not out from 14 balls). Together, they added 31 priceless runs to move from a precarious 40 for six to the target of 71.

Ishimwe did the bulk of the scoring, farming the strike and picking off the West Indian attack. Fittingly, she hit the winning run with 10 balls to spare, sparking a sea of Rwandan yellow running onto the field to celebrate.

Scores in brief:

Toss: West Indies, who chose to bat first.

West Indies 70 all out in 16.3 overs (Realeanna Grimmond 18, Marie Tumukunde four for 8, Sylvia Usabyimana four for 20)

Rwanda 71 for six in 18.2 overs (Gisele Ishimwe 31 not out, Cynthia Tuyizere 12, Ashmini Munisar one for 8)

Rwanda won by four wickets.

For more information, contact:
Headquarters,
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Street 69, Dubai Sports City,
Sh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Phone: +97-143828800
Fax: +97-143828600
E-mail: enquiry@icc-cricket.com
Website: www.icc-cricket.com

Dubai, January 22, 2023 (PPI-OT):Ten teams will head to South Africa for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 looking to follow in the footsteps of Australia and lift the trophy.

Three years after Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy inspired Australia to the title on home soil, they remain the team to beat.

However, nine teams will have other ideas, with just the one change from the line-up in 2020 as Ireland take the place of Thailand, having come through a nail-biting qualifying tournament to book their spot.

The first team to clinch a place where South Africa, as hosts, and they were joined in automatic qualifying by the world’s top seven teams in the world rankings on 30 November 2021.

That meant Australia, the defending champions, India, the 2020 runners-up, as well as England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the West Indies would all join South Africa in the tournament.

Two spots still had to be attributed, with 37 teams scheduled to battle it out across five regional groups. The winners of those five Regional Qualifiers were joined by Thailand and Bangladesh, the two lowest-ranked teams who had competed at the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, in the Qualifier.

The final spot at the Qualifier went to the remaining highest-ranked team who had not qualified through Regional Qualifying, meaning that Ireland joined a group with Bangladesh, Scotland and the USA.

The other group was made up of Zimbabwe, Thailand, Papua New Guinea and the United Arab Emirates.

Nigar Sultana was outstanding for Bangladesh as they won all three of their group games, scoring 157 runs at an average of 78.5.

They were joined in the semi-finals by Ireland, who prevailed in a winner-takes-all clash with Scotland by 19 runs thanks in large part to Gaby Lewis’ 37-ball 66.

Group B was a tighter affair with every team losing at least one match. Kelis Ndlovu’s performances with bat and ball were crucial in Zimbabwe’s opening two victories over Papua New Guinea and Thailand.

Qualifying for the semi-finals alongside Zimbabwe were Thailand, thanks to a 12-run win over PNG in a straight shootout for the last four, Nattaya Boochatham the hero as she took four for eight.

Serving as deciders for the final two spots in South Africa, both semi-finals were tense affairs, with Ireland edging past Zimbabwe by four runs.

Having made 137 for six batting first, Ireland looked up against it with five to go when Zimbabwe were 99 for three. But some tight bowling left Zimbabwe needing 15 from the final over and that proved too tall a task as Ireland clinched a spot at the main event, having earned the final spot in the Qualifier.

In the other semi-final, Bangladesh were pushed hard by Thailand after making 113 for five from their 20 overs – even skipper Sultana struggled, making 17 off 24 balls.

That proved enough though, Thailand quickly reduced to 13 for three and falling way behind the required run rate. Natthakan Chatham’s 64 from 51 balls was not enough to get them back into it as they were beaten by 11 runs.

Having already secured qualification, Bangladesh and Ireland then met for the second time in the tournament final, with the same result as the Asian side got home by seven runs to win the tournament.

Their reward is a place in Group A in the tournament, alongside champions Australia, hosts South Africa, as well as New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

In Group B, Ireland join England and India, finalists at the last T20 and ODI World Cups respectively, as well as the West Indies and Pakistan.

For more information, contact:
Headquarters,
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Street 69, Dubai Sports City,
Sh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Phone: +97-143828800
Fax: +97-143828600
E-mail: enquiry@icc-cricket.com
Website: www.icc-cricket.com

Dubai, January 22, 2023 (PPI-OT):Following a busy voting period involving media representatives and cricket fans alike from around the world, the International Cricket Council (ICC) today unveils the schedule for announcing the winners of the coveted ICC Awards 2022, starting from Monday 23 January.

Through four days of staggered announcements across ICC digital channels, the ICC Awards 2022 promises to celebrate the standout performers in men’s and women’s international cricket during the last calendar year, and with voting now concluded, it is almost time for the winners to be revealed.

No fewer than 13 categories will honour the outstanding performers across the various formats of international cricket, which includes the iconic Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year and the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year.

Before the individual prizewinners are announced, the ICC will reveal five Teams of the Year, specially selected by the independent panel of media representatives that make up the ICC Voting Academy.

After shortlists were announced last month, the ICC Voting Academy, and hundreds of thousands of global cricket fans submitted their selections to identify the star performers from a bumper year of cricket which included blockbuster global events, including the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, and a host of other international contests.

Shortlists in nine of the 13 categories were determined based on performances and overall achievements from 1 January to 31 December 2022, and the winners are identified from the results of the ICC Voting Academy selections, combined with global fans voting outcomes.

Announcements:

Announcements will start with the reveal of the ICC Teams of the Year between 23 and 24 January.

Monday 23 January will see the ICC Men’s and Women’s T20I Teams of the Year unveiled, while the ICC Men’s and Women’s ODI Teams of the Year, and the ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year announced the following day on Tuesday 24 January.

Attention will then turn to the 13 individual award categories from Wednesday 25 January, when the ICC will confirm winners of the Associate, T20I and Emerging Cricketer of the Year categories.

The final day of announcements, Thursday 26 January, will see the ICC recognise the Umpire of the Year, followed by the recipients of the Men’s and Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year Awards and the Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year Award.

Later that day, the ICC will name the winner of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year, closely followed by the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year. ICC Awards 2022 announcements will culminate in celebrating the winner of the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award.

Full announcement schedule:

Monday 23 January:

ICC Women’s T20I Team of the Year

ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Year

Tuesday 24 January:

ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year

ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year

ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year

Wednesday 25 January:

ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year

ICC Women’s Associate Cricketer of the Year

ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year

ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year

ICC Emerging Men’s Cricketer of the Year

ICC Emerging Women’s Cricketer of the Year

Thursday 26 January:

ICC Umpire of the Year

ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year

ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year

ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year

Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year

ICC Spirit of Cricket Award

For more information, contact:
Headquarters,
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Street 69, Dubai Sports City,
Sh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Phone: +97-143828800
Fax: +97-143828600
E-mail: enquiry@icc-cricket.com
Website: www.icc-cricket.com