ICC WWC Qualifier - part one
Wed 8 Feb 2017
India, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Thailand (Group A), South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Scotland and Papua New Guinea (Group B) are looking to join England, Australia, New Zealand and West Indies in qualifying for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 and the ICC Women’s Championship. The tournament runs in Colombo until Tuesday, February 21.
The teams initially play four games in the group phase as they look to make it through to the Super Six stage. The top four teams in that stage will qualify for the ICC Women's World Cup 2017. Here is the latest from the action:
Group phase - round four: Saturday, February 11
South Africa defeated Bangladesh by six wickets on Saturday to book a place in the Super Six stage from Group B of the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2017 while host Sri Lanka and Ireland moved closer to the next round with their second wins in Group A.
Pace bowler Shabnim Ismail set the ball rolling for group favourite South Africa with an early wicket to set the tone for a third consecutive victory.
Ismail got rid of Sharmin Sultana with the third ball of the innings, brilliantly caught by captain Dane van Niekerk in the slips as she dived to the right. Ismail’s new-ball partner Marizanne Kapp dismissed other opener Sharmin Akhtar and Ismail accounted for Fargana Hoque as Bangladesh lost all three batters without scoring and was reduced to eight for three in the fifth over.
It was very difficult for Bangladesh to recover in the face of some attacking bowling and tight fielding. Captain Rumana Ahmed’s determined 39 off 93 balls could only take the score to 100 off 46.5 overs. Player of the match Ismail finished with three for 14 while leg-spinners Sune Luus and Dane van Niekerk shared five scalps.
Bangladesh had the satisfaction of taking four wickets but South Africa still cruised to its target in only 25.2 overs with Lizelle Lee (34) and Laura Wolvaardt (30) the main scorers.
South Africa’s last match is against Papua New Guinea on Monday, when the matches resume after a day’s gap. Sri Lanka completed its second win in three matches, a convincing eight-wicket win over Zimbabwe. Sri Lanka completed its second win in three matches, a convincing eight-wicket win over Zimbabwe.
Another match in the same group was a close affair as Scotland defeated Papua New Guinea by seven runs. Pace bowler Pauke Siaka helped restrict Scotland to 169 in 50 overs with a haul of six for 19 that included those of the two top scorers – Rachel Scholes (35) and Elizabeth Priddle (31).
Papua New Guinea was 139 for six after 46.5 overs but Kari Anderson, Priyanaz Chatterji and Kirstie Gordon shared the last four wickets to stifle the chase. Brenda Tau (46) and Tanya Runa (32) were the notable contributors for the losing side.
Meanwhile, host Sri Lanka and Ireland closed in on Super Six berths with India having already qualified from Group A. Equations could come into the picture only in the unlikely scenario of Zimbabwe beating India and Sri Lanka losing to Thailand, in which case Sri Lanka, Ireland and Zimbabwe will all be tied on four points.
Sri Lanka completed its second win in three matches, a convincing eight-wicket win over Zimbabwe. Captain Inoka Ranaweera grabbed four for 18 with her left-arm spin to help dismiss Zimbabwe for 149 in 50 overs while experienced batters Chamari Athapaththu (58) and Prasadani Weerakkody (33 not out) took the team to its target with over 13 overs to spare.
All-rounder Kim Garth missed out on a century as she was run out off the penultimate ball of the innings for 98 with nine fours and one six. She added 106 runs for the third wicket with captain Laura Delany (50) to boost the score to 218 for seven.
Thailand fought bravely to score 172 for nine with Narraya Boochatham (44) and captain Sornnarin Tippoch (42) getting the bulk of the runs. Medium-pacers Lucy O’Reilly (three for 28), Amy Kenealy (two for 12) and 37-year-old leg-spinner Ciara Metcalfe (two for 25) helped complete the win.
Group phase - round three: Friday, February 10
India scored a comprehensive 125-run victory over Ireland for a third consecutive win in Group A to ensure a place in the Super Six stage of the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2017. Pakistan and Bangladesh moved closer to qualifying with their second wins in Group B on Friday.
India opener Thirush Kamini struck a career-best 113 not out with 11 fours and four sixes as India posted a challenging 250 for 2. She figured in a 174-run opening stand with Deepti Sharma (89) who knocked up her second half-century of the tournament. The left-handed pair batted close to 40 overs in what was India’s first opening century-stand in ODIs in close to four years.
Ireland, which had lost to Sri Lanka earlier in the league, could only manage 125 off 49.1 overs with leg-spinner Poonam Yadav the most successful bowler taking three for 30. Gaby Lewis (33) and Isobel Joyce (31) could only prolong the inevitable in sultry weather.
India, which leads the Group A standings, previously defeated Sri Lanka and Thailand while it is due to play Zimbabwe on 13 February.
Meanwhile, Pakistan scored a huge 236-run victory over Papua New Guinea as openers Ayesha Zafar (115 retired) and Javeria Khan (100) flayed the attack to add 212 runs in 38 overs.
Pakistan amassed 276 for five in 50 overs and then dismissed PNG for only 40 runs off 24.5 overs, with young left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu grabbing five for 11.
In another match, Bangladesh defeated Scotland by seven wickets with Rumana Ahmed putting in an all-round performance of 38 not out and two for 23.
Scotland was bowled out for 140 in 49.1 overs with off-spinners Khadija Tul Kabra and Salma Khatun bagging three wickets each. Bangladesh got to the target off only 37.3 overs with Fargana Hoque top-scoring with 53 not out.
South Africa, which did not have a match today, also has two wins from a match less and is the favourite from Group B.
In Group A, Zimbabwe registered its first win, beating Thailand by 36 runs. Mary-Ann Musonda (35) and Precious Marange (34) were the main scorers for Zimbabwe, which posted 191 for eight.
For Thailand, captain Sornnarin Tippoch produced a fighting 50 and was the last batter out even as pace bowler Nomatter Mutasa finished with four for 28.
Group phase - round two: Wednesday, February 8
Sri Lanka and Pakistan powered to big wins with fine all-round performances, and India and South Africa notched their second victories in the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2017 on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka defeated Ireland by 146 runs in what is the biggest victory in terms of runs in the tournament so far, with pace bowler Inoshi Fernando ripping through the Ireland top order to finish with three for 21 and picking the ‘player of the match’ award.
At the P. Sara Stadium, Pakistan was bowled out for 227 in 50 overs but had little problem defending the total. Bismah Maroof (35), Ayesha Zafar (34), Rabiya Shah (34) and Aliya Riaz (31) all chipped in for Pakistan, which won by 67 runs.
Pakistan, which had lost its opening Group B match to South Africa, then dismissed Bangladesh for 160 in 49.3 overs. Nigar Sultana (41) and Sanjida Islam (34) got some runs for Bangladesh but Pakistan leg-spinner Ghulam Fatima (three for 28) struck at crucial junctures to wrest the initiative.
Pakistan captain Sana Mir took two for 19 to reach 100 ODI wickets and become the first from her country and sixth overall to reach a double of 100 wickets and 1,000 runs in ODIs. She has scored 1185 runs in 92 matches and now has exactly 100 wickets.
South Africa defeated Scotland by six wickets with Chloe Tryon impressing once again with the bat. The 23-year-old all-rounder knocked up an unbeaten 45 as South Africa chased down a target of 143 with almost 17 overs to spare.
Tryon, who had produced a brisk 79 against Pakistan, once again ensured there were no setbacks after South Africa was 79 for four at one stage. She added 64 for the unbroken fifth-wicket stand with Trisha Chetty (35 not out).
Earlier, Kari Anderson top-scored for Scotland with 50 but South Africa had already taken charge with pace bowlers Shabnam Ismail and Abyabonga Khaka sharing five wickets and captain Dane van Niekerk picking a couple of wickets with her leg-spin bowling.
India scored a nine-wicket win over Thailand to also complete its second triumph. Pace bowler Mansi Joshi grabbed three for four in five overs while spinners Deepti Sharma, Poonam Yadav and Rajeshwari Gayakwad took two wickets each to dismiss Thailand for 55 in 29.1 overs and the team completed a comfortable success.
Group phase - round one: Tuesday, February 7
India, South Africa, Ireland and Bangladesh opened their campaigns in style at the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2017.
Devika Vaidya top-scored with 89 to help India defeat Sri Lanka by 114 runs in a Group A match at the P. Sara Stadium while Chloe Tryon smashed a brisk 79 as South Africa scored a 63-run victory over Pakistan in a Group B fixture at the Nondescripts Cricket Club.
In other matches, Ireland beat Zimbabwe by 119 runs and Bangladesh won by 118 runs against Papua New Guinea as teams embarked on their bids to qualify for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 and the ICC Women’s Championship.
The left-handed pair of Vaidya and opener Deepti Sharma (54) took control and put India on the road to a big score. The two 19-year-olds added 123 runs for the second wicket, ‘player of the match’ Vaidya hitting 11 fours off 103 balls in only her second ODI and Sharma smashing four fours and one six off 96 balls.
Captain Mithali Raj then played herself in and knocked up an unbeaten 70 off 62 deliveries for her 41st ODI fifty. Sri Lanka could only score 145-8 in reply with Hasini Perera (34) and Chamari Athapaththu (30) the ones to get notable scores.
At NCC, Tryon smashed five fours and four sixes in a 75-ball knock to pull South Africa up from 118-5 in the 24th over. Mignon du Preez (40) was the second-highest scorer for the team and in reply, Pakistan could only muster 195-6 with Nain Abidi (62), Sana Mir (38 not out) and Nahida Khan (35) the main scorers.
In the other Group B match, opener Harmin Akhter (56) and Fargana Hoque (51) helped Bangladesh score 215-6 after which it bowled out Papua New Guinea for 97 in only 32.1 overs at Colombo Cricket Club.
Ireland defeated Zimbabwe easily in Group A at Mercantile Cricket Association as all-rounder Kim Garth (pictured), who turned out for Sydney Sixes in this year’s Women’s Big Bash League, put in an all-round performance of 63 and 3-24. Ireland scored 237-6 after which it dismissed Zimbabwe for 118 in 37.5 overs.
