Tag: (ICC)

Dubai, March 08, 2022 (PPI-OT):Opener Alyssa Healy said she was happy to score “scratchy” runs as she helped Australia beat Pakistan by seven wickets to record a second successive victory at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022.

After making 28 in the thrilling 12-run win over reigning champions England first up, Healy broke the back of the chase with 72 to set Australia well on their way to victory at the Bay Oval in Tauranga.

Pakistan had set the 2013 winners just 191 to win as despite 78 not out from captain Bismah Maroof, a slow scoring rate and early wickets hampered their progress.

Healy spent over 100 minutes at the crease in her 79-ball knock and was relieved to grind out some runs after a gruelling double net session in preparation yesterday, as well as not feeling at her fluent best out in the middle.

She said: “I was exhausted doing a double rotation in the nets, I was absolutely. The wickets were actually pretty similar.

“They ragged a little bit yesterday, so that was good and it didn’t feel comfortable at any point today.

“So I guess that’s a positive for me leading into the rest of the tournament – to back myself to make those scratchy runs and hopefully when things get going I can get some more flow about my batting and bat like I know I can.”

After crossing the 300 barrier against England and winning with 15.2 overs to spare today, Australia’s batting line-up has shown plenty of form in the early stages of the World Cup in neighbouring New Zealand.

And wicket-keeper Healy insisted the side back their star-studded top six to get plenty of runs on the board to help them maintain their winning start to the competition.

She added: “We can’t all be firing at one point in time, but we back ourselves to pick up where someone else left off.

“That’s just the beauty of our line-up that we take the pressure off one another and it’s a really, really strong top six, and then you throw in what we’ve got after that, and it’s a really explosive, middle and low order.

“So it is our strength and we back our bowling attack to be able to defend whatever our batting group can get.

“We’re playing some really good cricket and hopefully we can continue doing that right through the tournament.”

Pakistan skipper Bismah shared a 99-run stand with Aliya Riaz, who made 53 off 109 balls, for the fifth wicket after her side were reeling at 44 for four inside 13 overs.

But the pair steadied the ship and although they were unable to reach a high enough total to truly trouble in-form Australia, Bismah was pleased she was able to bat through the overs.

She made her country’s second highest ever score at the World Cup and celebrated her first half century since returning from maternity leave in front of her six-month-old baby Fatima on International Women’s Day.

Bismah said: “I think when batting we gave away too many wickets early on. But the partnership with Aliya, we wanted to take it deep and I think we got a decent total after the start we had.

“I think the way myself and Aliya batted that was positive. We talked in the meeting about someone in the top order needs to go and bat deep and that was a positive sign from us today.

“After the comeback, it was very important for me to perform and it was very special for me as my mother and daughter were here, so I wanted to make it count.”

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, March 08, 2022 (PPI-OT):The first viral moment of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 was a fitting preview for International Women’s Day.

It came as Pakistan and India put their differences aside on Sunday combining to entertain Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof’s young daughter Fatima after their match in Tauranga.

Bismah has made her return to international cricket six months after giving birth, becoming the first Pakistan player to benefit from her nation’s cricket board’s progressive maternity policy.

And England star Tammy Beaumont believes it shows how far the game has come.

She said: “I thought it was amazing. I did actually comment on it, I thought it was incredibly cute.

“Hopefully, I’ll get a cuddle later in the tournament. I think it’s just amazing to see that Bismah has come back so quickly.

“For me, until probably the last couple of years I didn’t really see it as an option to have a baby, come back and to see the likes of Amy Satterthwaite do it and have a baby on tour and now Bismah doing it and coming back so quickly and performing straightaway.

“I just think it’s just brilliant to see and particularly for young girls, I look at my teammates retiring at 28 to go and have a family or to have a career and now actually, this is the complete opposite.

“You can do both and it’s just so good to see that. I think it’s not necessarily been something that’s been done and I don’t think it’s something that’s really been spoken about enough in the past, to see that it’s great.

“It’s even better that India and Pakistan are showing the amazing spirit of cricket to just create a cricket family for that young baby that’s on tour and she probably won’t remember it but hopefully at the next edition of the World Cup she will, and she’ll be out on the outfield after every game playing.”

In the opening defeat to Australia, Beaumont crossed 3,000 ODI runs for England, joining Charlotte Edwards as one of five England women to reach that milestone.

Beaumont cited Edwards as an inspiration growing up as did teammate and fellow explosive batter Danni Wyatt.

Wyatt said: “Charlotte Edwards was my hero growing up and now I’m lucky enough to say that she’s my coach [at Southern Vipers].

“She’s an absolute legend on and off the pitch and she’s been texting me as well over the last few weeks. She’s one of the top lasses.”

The Women’s Cricket World Cup kicks off a huge two years of women’s sport in New Zealand with the rugby and football World Cups also due to be held in Aotearoa.

Suzie Bates has adorned billboards across New Zealand in the run-up to this tournament, and on her home ground of Dunedin, the opener made 79 not out to get the win over Bangladesh and bring up 1000 50-over World Cup runs, matching fellow White Fern legend Debbie Hockley.

“Playing in Dunedin I’ve been really fortunate with the people I’ve had around me,” Bates said.

“Sarah Tsukigawa I think was actually watching today – she was my first-ever captain and she was a real inspiration for me about how to lead from the front and so she was someone that was pretty special.

“But I think that whole [World-Cup winning] White Ferns team in 2000, Debbie Hockley in particular, inspired me to want to be a White Fern – so it’s really special to have a World Cup at home 22 years later.”

The Pakistan team are not just inspiring with their story of motherhood, but with the growth of cricket in their country as vice-captain Nida Dar explains.

“When I started – in the very early days in Pakistan it was 25 to 30 girls in Pakistan who were playing at that time,” Nida said.

“But that passion actually builds up and of course, after that, they’ve watched a lot of games of us and we bring a lot of joy for them.

“If we compare it from then and now, the girls are very interested in Pakistan and especially they want to play cricket, and we inspired them a lot.

“Now, there is a lot of cricket in Pakistan for girls and a lot of facilities from the PCB, giving a lot of chances for the girls.”

A theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is Break the Bias, and the Indian team have done that by opening up about their mental health struggles, and the support offered by team psychologist Dr. Mugdha Bavare.

All-rounder Pooja Vastrakar said: “She has been with us since the England tour and I used to talk with her often.

“My England tour did not go well, but during the Australia tour, she helped me to gain positivity.

“When we are angry with ourselves, we have a few questions stuck in our mind.

“We know the answers, but we don’t know the tricks to tackle it, so she helped me to sort out these issues.”

The 2022 World Cup is only six games old and is already smashing records, inspiring millions and continuing to break the bias, making it International Women’s Day every day.

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, March 08, 2022 (PPI-OT):Lot of movements in the weekly MRF Tyres ICC Women’s ODI Batters Rankings after the first five games of ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022.

The first five games of ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 have caused a lot of movement in the latest update of the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings.

Australia skipper Meg Lanning climbed up two spots in the latest women’s rankings for ODI batters. She is now just one and 15 rating points away from the top spot that’s currently occupied by her teammate Alyssa Healy.

Lanning was in sublime form in the first game of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup against England, smashing 86 in 110 balls seven fours and a six, which helped Australia post a massive total of 310. They eventually won the game in the last over by 12 runs.

The Player of the Match from the game, Rachael Haynes, who slammed a brilliant 130 of 131, climbed six spots and broke into the top 10 to occupy the No.7 spot in the rankings. The other centurion from the game – England’s Nat Sciver rose five spots to No.6.

Hayley Matthews of West Indies made considerable gains across the board in the rankings for batters, bowlers as well as all-rounders. She was the Player of the Match in West Indies’ three-run heist against New Zealand – she scored a brilliant 119 to set a target of 260 for the White Ferns and then accounted for the wickets of the in-form Amelia Kerr and Brooke Halliday. Matthews broke into the top 5 in the all-rounders’ list, climbing six spots to No.4 and rose a massive 12 spots to No.20 for batters and three spots No.10 for bowlers.

Among the other players that moved up the rankings were South Africa’s Ayabonga Khaka, whose four-for against Bangladesh in the opening game helped her rise a spot to No.6. In addition, the Indian pair of Sneh Rana and Pooja Vastrakar – who added 122 for India’s seventh wicket to lift them from 114-6 against Pakistan both moved up to their career best positions with the bat.

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, March 08, 2022 (PPI-OT):Tammy Beaumont is ready to build on her 74 in the opening loss to Australia in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 as England take on the West Indies.

England fell 12 runs short in their chase of 310 against their Ashes rivals, with Beaumont one of four players to make over 70 and will be hoping for more of the same in Dunedin on Wednesday.

Stafanie Taylor’s Windies upset hosts New Zealand with a last-over win in the opening game of the tournament, but the White Ferns bounced back when Suzie Bates scored 79 not out in a nine-wicket win over Bangladesh at the University Oval yesterday.

Beaumont said: “I didn’t watch yesterday but obviously for Suzie to score runs on the home ground, great for her and I think so far the tournament has shown it is really high-scoring grounds and high-scoring games of cricket.

“As a batter that’s good to see knowing that you’re going to get value for shots and can build those innings in all the venues that we’ve got so far.

“For me, I’m rubbing my hands and ready to get out there.”

Dunedin is hosting its third game on the same wicket with Monday’s clash between New Zealand and Bangladesh heavily affected by rain.

The damp conditions and used wicket brought spinners into that game but Beaumont is not expecting a different approach from their match against Australia.

She said: “I don’t necessarily think there’s too much to change in approach to the game. Although we didn’t get over the line, that’s the highest we’ve chased in a chase.

“We could probably have tightened up a little bit in the field and with the ball, we bowled quite a few extras.

“I don’t think the strategy is going to be too different, our bowling tactics have been exceptional for a number of years now in both ODI and T20 cricket.

“I’m fully backing the likes of Katherine Brunt, Anya Shrubsole and Kate Cross they’ve all been absolutely exceptional for us – Sophie Ecclestone I think is the best spinner in the world in my opinion.”

Beaumont will be coming up against a familiar face in Deandra Dottin, the final-over hero of the Windies’ surprise win first up.

Dottin was part of the London Spirit side that also featured Beaumont and England captain Heather Knight.

Skipper Taylor and Hayley Matthews, who blasted 119 to set up the New Zealand win, also played in the Hundred – and for all-rounder Chinelle Henry that experience will be invaluable

She said: “It really is [useful]. In our squad, we have a lot of young players who’ve never really played at this level before.

“And to have those players in our set-up, who could help us on the day, just helps each and every one of us to go out there and say ‘Ok, they have the experience, they’ve played against these people before.’

“That knowledge, and also the help of the analysts and stuff like that, that’s what helped us to go out there on the day and execute.”

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, March 08, 2022 (PPI-OT):As part of the 100% Cricket Year of Women’s Cricket campaign on International Women’s Day, the ICC has called on the cricket world to come together to #IDeclare what action they will take to drive transformative change and be part of accelerating the growth of the game.

As it’s #IDeclare pledge, the ICC has committed to focus all its social impact programmes on empowering women and girls through cricket and today announced a partnership with UNICEF to promote equal opportunities for girls and boys in South Asia.

The partnership urges individual action by the cricket family and the sport’s 1 billion fans to support gender equality using the hashtag, #IDeclare. Women’s cricket is one of the ICC’s six strategic priorities for growth as the sport looks to grow female participation at every level.

ICC CEO Geoff Allardice said: “Cricket has the incredible power and reach to raise awareness and effect change and we’re proud to partner with UNICEF as part of 100% Cricket Year of Women’s Cricket to #IDeclare our commitment to empowering women and girls through cricket.

“We are committed to gender equity and using the platform of our sport to promote equal opportunities for girls and boys is a great way of doing this. We will also focus all of our Cricket 4 Good efforts on this too, ensuring we’re giving as many women and girls the chance to grow through our game.

UNICEF’s South Asia Regional Director, George Laryea-Adjei, said, “Equal opportunities for both girls and boys allow all children to reach their full potential. Despite progress, millions of girls continue to face discrimination at home, school and workplace. The pandemic has reversed the gains made in gender equality in many ways. We must bear in mind that when girls do better, societies do better. Each one of us must continue to speak up for equal opportunities for girls and women in all fields. By championing girls in sports, the ICC and UNICEF partnership will reach millions with powerful messages across the tournaments.”

The cricketing world has got behind the ICC and UNICEF #IDeclare campaign with players, commentators and commercial partners all making their own commitment to accelerating the growth of the women’s game.

India captain Mithali Raj kicked off #IDeclare with a commitment to supporting a future generation of girls in blue: “I declare that I will scout and train as many young girls as possible to take up this wonderful sport.”

Whilst Pakistan Captain Bismah Maroof, one of eight mothers competing at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup said: “I declare I will encourage my daughter to play cricket.”

Bangladesh bowler Jahanara Alam, joined the #IDeclare movement “I declare I will work hard and play good cricket to set an example not only for Bangladeshi girls but also all over the world”.

Meanwhile ICC Partner FTX has backed #IDeclare by partnering with Women in Sport Aotearoa (WISPA), Official Charity Partner of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022, to deliver a leadership programme for 16-19 year old women.

The programme is designed to identify young women who are demonstrating leadership potential in sport and active recreation, but who may need a boost to help them realise their potential. They are being specially selected not because they are already in leadership roles – such as school captains, or team leaders – but because they have the potential to be, with assistance.

Cricket fans all over the world are urged to get involved and #IDeclare what they will do to drive transformational growth of the game. Fans can tell us what their declaration is by using the hashtag #IDeclare and tagging in @ICC.

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, March 08, 2022 (PPI-OT):To celebrate the ICC Women’s World Cup and International Women’s Day, this special release will feature some of the greatest moments from the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 as well as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2017.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) and its Official Digital Collectibles Partner, FanCraze, today announced a very special release of ‘ICC Crictos’ featuring some of the top moments of the women’s game from recent ICC tournaments.

ICC Crictos are the ICC’s official digital collectibles. Minted on the Flow Blockchain, Crictos enable fans to collect and trade their own slice of cricket history from a range of ICC events. As part of the ICC’s commitment to growing women’s cricket, fans now have the opportunity to own and trade some of the most celebrated moments in women’s cricket featuring superstars of the game such as Ellyse Perry, Mithali Raj, Beth Mooney, Meg Lanning, Shafali Verma, Alyssa Healy, Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Ecclestone, Natalie Sciver and Jess Jonassen.

A special pack drop will occur tomorrow (Wednesday), with all fans having the opportunity to secure one of these historic women’s cricket moments within a pack, alongside some noteworthy moments from the recent ICC U19 World Cup and from ICC Men’s Tournaments of the last two decades. This special pack drop will start at 12pm UTC at www.fancraze.com/icc and will be uniquely promoted by Twitter India as part of a collaboration to celebrate women’s cricket and International Women’s Day.

Finn Bradshaw, ICC Head of Digital said: “Women have created some of the most memorable moments in ICC tournament history, so we are pleased to be able celebrate them and give fans the chance to own a moment from their favourite player. We believe creating products like these in emerging technologies helps the next generation of cricket fans get closer to the game they love.

This very special drop contains classic moments from previous tournaments featuring the biggest names in women’s cricket. And most importantly, this won’t be the last time we celebrate our champion women cricketers as part of the Crictos program – we are very much looking forward to commemorating fans favourite female moments as we expand the Crictos collection.”

Anshum Bhambri, CEO of FanCraze remarked, “Our mission at FanCraze is to build a platform for cricket fans to discover, engage with and own all types of cricket content. We are very proud to showcase women cricketers who create history and inspire millions to do the same. These are marquee NFTs in the evolution of our cricket metaverse and we believe fans would love to own these iconic moments.”

All information on the pack drop of ICC Crictos is available on www.fancraze.com/icc

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