The 02 edition of the FairBreak Invitational is underway and game no. 2 on the 4th of April will see the Warriors play Sapphires at the Kowloon Cricket Club, Hong Kong at 7:30 AM IST. The two when played each other last year, Sapphires had the better of the Warriors and did so in a thumping fashion.
The table seems to have turned this time around as Sapphires with Shabnim Ismail and Katherine Sciver-Brunt are relatively stronger with the ball than the bat, while the Warriors have all their bases covered with the likes of Hayley Matthews, Esha Oza, Phoebe Litchfield, Jess Kerr, and Amanda-Jade Wellington.
Squads:
Warriors
Sindhu Sriharsha (C), Kathryn Bryce, Shamilia Connell, Mignon du Preez, Ellie Johnston, Jess Kerr, Yasmeen Khan, Phoebe Litchfield, Mariana Martinez, Hayley Matthews, Esha Oza, Tanya Ruma, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Shanzeen Shahzad, Alison Sui
Sapphires
Sana Mir (C), Jivana Aras, Erin Burns, Kary Chan, Aditi Chudasama, Babette de Leede, Tash Farrant, Shabnim Ismail, Sibona Jimmy, Geetika Kodali, Gaby Lewis, Katie Mack, Maryam Omar, Katherine Sciver-Brunt, Pull To
Players to watch out:
Esha Oza
The 24-year-old batting all-rounder from the United Arab Emirates is all-class and emerged as the fastest to 1000 Twenty20 International (T20I) runs. Esha has featured in 46 T20Is and has scored 1138 runs and struck 30 scalps.
Tanya Ruma
The 29-year-old batter from Papua New Guinea is another you’ve got to keep an eye on throughout the competition. The talented batter in 36 T20I innings has got to 871 runs at an average of 30.03, a strike rate of 96.34, and has got the highest score of 69*.
Gaby Lewis
The 22-year-old batting all-rounder from Ireland is another superstar of the game. The opener at an average of 26.84 and a strike rate of 113.56 has scored 1557 runs in 68 innings which includes the highest score of 105*. In 7 innings with the ball, she struck 3 wickets at an economy rate of 8.00.
Babette de Leede
The 23-year-old keeper-batter from the Netherlands is very fine behind the stumps and not with the best of strike rates but she remains impactful with the bat. In 32 T20I innings, she’s scored 410 runs and has got the highest of 62* against her name.
Pitch:
The pitch at the Kowloon Cricket Club isn’t the traditional bowlers-friendly one as the opening days play saw decent T20 runs go up on the board. There are runs for batters and wickets for bowlers, and the balanced pitch should bring to us many thrilling contests.
Weather:
With scattered thunderstorms on the radar, especially during the match hours, the chances of a complete game are very slim. The temperature is expected to hover around the early 20s and that’ll get the bowlers more in the game.
Fantasy playing XI:
Mignon du Preez, Erin Burns, Phoebe Litchfield, Gaby Lewis, Hayley Matthews, Katherine Sciver-Brunt, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Sana Mir, Shabnim Ismail, Tash Farrant, Jess Kerr
Match details:
Date – 4th April 2023
Time – 7:30 AM IST
Venue – Kowloon Cricket Club
Broadcast – In India, the tournament will be telecasted on Sony Sports and will be live-streamed on the FanCode app and website.
