Day: February 20, 2023

Dubai, February 20, 2023 (PPI-OT):An 11-run victory against India at St George’s Park on Saturday made it three wins from three and England are now looking to seal top spot with victory over a Pakistan side whose slim qualification hopes rest on a win here and an Ireland victory over India.

Jones struck 40 from 27 deliveries against India and believes the squad are embracing head coach Jon Lewis’ aggressive batting blueprint.

Jones said: “We’ve had three good games, but we keep saying we’re still searching for the complete performance.

“In terms of how we’ve gone about those three games, I think it’s been brilliant.

“It has been an exciting way to play, sitting in the dugout watching the others bat as well is brilliant and the way everyone’s going about it means we’re in a really good place.”

Despite slipping to 29 for three and 80 for four in Gqeberha, a half-century from Nat Sciver-Brunt along with Jones’ impressive knock powered England to 151 for seven.

In-form spinners Sophie Ecclestone and Sarah Glenn were key to restricting India in reply and they will now hope to keep their momentum going against Pakistan.

“The way we want to go about it, being so positive, entertaining and trying to inspire people, there could have been a bit of cautiousness,” said Jones.

“Because we’ve all bought into that, it just makes it a lot simpler and there’s not really a lot of doubt.

“When you know you’ve got the backing of everyone in the team to go out and stick to your strengths and you’re still trying to entertain, play the most positive cricket we can and put them under pressure at all times, it’s a fun way to play cricket.”

Pakistan all-rounder Aliya Riaz insisted they will not change their own approach following slender defeats to the West Indies and India which have left their qualification hopes out of their hands.

Aliya said: “We have the same plan. We will aim for a win in the next match and we will try to finish the tournament on a good note.

“The way we played the first two matches well, the way we played attacking cricket, with the same strike rate, fast and quick, we will play matches in the same way and win.”

Aliya was almost the hero for Pakistan in the final over of their match against the West Indies, hitting consecutive boundaries to leave them needing five runs from the last two balls for the win.

She was subsequently dismissed by Shamilia Connell as Pakistan fell just short but spin bowler Sadia Iqbal said her side will need a similar level of effort and courage to challenge England.

“England are a very big side and a top team,” she said. “They have won all their matches in the pool, so it will be a good match and a tough match like the previous matches.

“The team is doing its best and we will do our best against England too.”

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, February 20, 2023 (PPI-OT):ICC International Panel Match Referee Graeme Labrooy imposed the sanction after the UAE were ruled to be one over short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration.

In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined 20 per cent of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time.

The UAE captain CP Rizwan pled guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.

Meanwhile, UAE bowler Zawar Farid has been reprimanded for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the same match, and has been fined 15% of his match fee.

Zawar was found to have breached Article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal during an International Match.”

In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to Zawar’s disciplinary record, for whom it was the first offence in a period of 24 months.

The incident occurred in the sixth over of Afghanistan’s innings, when taking the wicket of Gulbadin Naib, Zawar gestured in a manner that could have provoked an aggressive reaction from the batter.

Zawar admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by the match referee and as such, there was no need for a formal hearing.

On-field umpires Aasif Iqbal and Shiju Sam, third umpire Akbar Ali and fourth umpire Suneej K Thottathil leveled the charges.

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, February 20, 2023 (PPI-OT):Smriti Mandhana described her career-best T20I innings as ‘one of the toughest’ she has played after helping India overcome Ireland and seal a semi-final berth at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023.

Mandhana was dropped four times on her way to a match-defining 87 which helped swing a rain-affected encounter in India’s direction, the 2020 runners-up winning by five runs on DLS after Ireland’s reply was ended by the elements two balls into the ninth over.

She now has 149 runs for the tournament, more than any other player despite missing the opening game through injury, and will enter the knockout stages full of confidence after battling through testing conditions in Gqeberha.

“It was one of the toughest innings I have played,” she said.

“Not in terms of the wicket, but the pace they were bowling and the wind.

“It was really hard work for the first 20 balls, I thought I had forgotten how to bat, but I had to tell myself to get through to the better conditions later.

“At first, I thought I was batting really badly and not many people who came in were able to time the ball well.

“There was a lot of hard work and we were not used to the pace they were bowling at but soon we started middling it.”

Mandhana, who struck nine fours and three sixes in her 56-ball knock, will now be plotting a similar impact in a semi-final set to be against reigning champions Australia as India look to avenge their defeat in the final three years ago.

“It is good to score a few runs ahead of the semis and the team is looking really well,” she added.

“The England match didn’t go how we wanted it to go but we learned a lot of lessons and we will now try and win the semis and the final.”

Ireland captain Laura Delany was rebuilding effectively alongside Gaby Lewis when the rain intervened, the pair putting on an unbroken stand of 53 after seeing two wickets fall inside the first five balls.

They depart with four defeats in as many group stage matches but Delany, who also shone with the ball by taking three for 33, is pleased with how her side have acquitted themselves at their first ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in five years.

“It [rain] came out of nowhere and we weren’t really prepared for it,” she said.

“We weren’t really looking at the DLS score as Gaby and I were just trying to build a partnership and trying to find any boundaries that came our way.

“We have shown what we are capable of at times in this competition. We beat Australia in a warm-up game and we are improving all the time.

“There are areas we still want to improve on, particularly in the fielding, but overall it has been a positive experience.

“Orla Prendergast has gone from strength to strength and if we can all emulate her and take some of the confidence she has played with, we’ll head in the right direction.”

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, February 20, 2023 (PPI-OT):Mandhana cashed in on being afforded several lives by Irish fielders to strike a career-best T20I score of 87 from 56 deliveries as India posted 155 for six in Gqeberha, with Laura Delany (3/33) and Orla Prendergast (2/22) the pick of the Ireland attack.

Ireland lost two wickets in the first over of the chase but Delany and Gaby Lewis were rebuilding effectively until the rain arrived with Ireland on 54 for two in the ninth over, five runs shy of the DLS par score. India knew victory would seal the second qualification spot from Group 2 alongside England, and maintain their hopes of topping the group, and they opted to bat upon winning the toss. Mandhana was quickly into her stride, picking up her first boundary in the third over with a trademark off-drive which whistled to the fence.

She ended the powerplay with another off-drive for four before being dropped twice in as many overs, Cara Murray unable to hold on to a chance at mid-off before Georgina Dempsey spilled a routine chance at deep mid-wicket. Shafali Verma also survived an opportunity, put down by wicketkeeper Mary Waldron, but Hunter made no mistake running in from deep square leg midway through the 10th over to provide Ireland and Delany with a much-needed breakthrough.

Harmanpreet Kaur joined Mandhana in the middle and both soon brought up personal milestones, Kaur becoming just the fourth woman to pass 3000 runs in T20Is before Mandhana moved to her half-century with the first six of the innings. Ireland then fought back through Delany’s quick-fire double breakthrough, Kaur falling for 13 before Richa Ghosh picked out Lewis at long-off from her first legitimate delivery.

Mandhana was dropped twice more as she upped the tempo towards the end of the innings, clearing the ropes on two further occasions to leapfrog Alyssa Healy at the top of the competition’s leading run-scorer chart.

Just as a century looked on, however, she launched Prendergast to long-on where Lewis held on to spark another mini wobble, Deepti Sharma becoming the second batter to fall first ball.

Pooja Vastrakar survived the hat-trick ball and Jemimah Rodrigues took 10 from the final over as India finished with a momentum which continued into the chase as two wickets fell in the opening five balls.

Hunter was first to go, run out after being called through for a second run which never looked on, before Prendergast was clean bowled by a deadly Renuka Thakur in-swinger.

Lewis and Delany responded strongly, the former making good use of sweeps and reverse sweeps to help carry Ireland to 44 for two at the end of the powerplay, a run better than India had been at the same stage.

The weather soon scuppered their hopes of a famous victory, however, while also eliminating Pakistan and West Indies in the process as India secured a spot in a semi-final which looks set to provide a re-run of the 2020 final against Australia.

Scores in brief

India 155/6, 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 87, Shafali Verma 24; Laura Delany 3/33, Orla Prendergast 2/22)

Ireland 54/2, 8.2 overs (Gaby Lewis 32 not out; Renuka Singh 1/10)

Result: India win by five runs (DLS)

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