The first edition of FairBreak Invitational 2022, a global women’s T20 tournament will be played in Dubai in conjunction with Cricket Hong Kong between May 1 and May 15. It will be the world’s first privately funded tournament in women’s cricket history. A total of six teams will feature in the competition and 19 matches will be played across the 15 days in Dubai. These six teams will have women cricketers from different parts of the world.
Let us look at one of the six teams, team South Coast Sapphires, and its players.
Squad: Sana Mir, Shabnim Ismail, Maryam Omar, Jade Allen, Grace Harris, Emma Lai, Elyse Villani, Shebani Bhaskar, Natasha Farrant, Kim Garth, Kary Chan, Geetika Kodali, Babette de Leede, Gaby Lewis, Christine Lovino
Team South Coast Sapphires who will be dressed in black and blue boasts of 15 world class players from different countries like Pakistan (1), South Africa (1), Kuwait (1), Australia (3), Ireland (2), England (1), USA (2), Hong Kong (2), Netherlands (1) and Philippines (1).
Some of the players to watch out for from this team will be captain Sana Mir, who has wealth of international experience with more than 200 international appearances for Pakistan. The Australian duo of Grace Harris and Elyse Villani will form the core of the team’s batting while the bowling attack will be led by South Africa’s pace sensation Shabnim Ismail and supported by England’s Natasha Farrant.
Squad profile
Sana Mir (Pakistan):
The former captain of Pakistan will lead South Coast Sapphires in FairBreak Global Invitational T20 Tournament 2022. She is vastly experienced having played 106 T20Is. She has muscled 802 runs and claimed 89 wickets. She is a right hand batter and right arm off spinner. In 2020, she announced retirement from international cricket.
Shabnim Ismail (South Africa):
She is the leader of the South African bowling attack. The right arm speedster has been around at the international level since 2007. She has featured in 98 T20Is and picked up 110 wickets. She is a good new ball bowler and has a lethal bouncer in her repertoire.
Maryam Omar (Kuwait):
She is a right handed batter and a right arm off spinner from Kuwait. She has featured in 11 T20Is, scored 171 runs and picked up three wickets.
Jade Allen (Australia):
She is a right arm leg spinner from Australia, who plays for Sydney Sixers in the WBBL.
Grace Harris (Australia):
She is an attacking right-handed top-order batter and has recorded the fastest century in the history of WBBL. She achieved the feat in just 42 balls. She was also a part of the Australian team in the 2022 World Cup. She has played 13 T20Is and muscled 120 runs at a strike rate of more than 150. With the ball, she has six T20I wickets to her name, bowling off spin.
Emma Lai (Hong Kong):
She is a right handed batter from Hong Kong who has played 11 T20Is since her international debut in 2019.
Elyse Villani (Australia):
The former Australian right handed batter continues to play domestic cricket in Australia. She played international cricket from 2009 to 2019. At present, she forms an important part of the Melbourne Stars in the WBBL.
Shebani Bhaskar (USA):
She is a right handed batter, a wicket-keeper and a right arm leg spinner. She plays her international cricket for the USA and has featured in 14 T20Is. She has scored 180 runs. Prior to playing for the USA, she played her domestic cricket for Tamil Nadu (India) and Otago (New Zealand).
Natasha Farrant (England):
The left arm seamer from England has featured in 18 T20Is and picked up 15 wickets. Though she has played just the 18 T20Is, she has been a part of the England squad since 2013.
Kim Garth (Ireland):
She is an Irish all-rounder, who is a right-handed batter and a right arm speedster. She was a part of the WBBL last year where she represented Melbourne Stars. She was impressive with both bat and ball. For Ireland, she has played 51 T20Is, scored 762 runs and accounted for 42 wickets. She is also an excellent fielder.
Kary Chan (Hong Kong):
She is the captain of the Hong Kong team. The left arm spinner has claimed 32 wickets in 22 T20Is that she has played 2019 and 2022. The wily spinner has the ability to bowl in consistent lines and lengths for longer periods of time. With the bat, she has 401 runs at an average of 22 and strike rate of 85. (As of April 28, 2022)
Geetika Kodali (USA):
The teenager from the USA will be a part of FairBreak Global 2022 tournament that will be played in Hong Kong. She is a right hand bat and right arm seamer. She recently featured in the ICC Women’s T20 America Qualifiers and ICC Women’s World Cup Global Qualifiers. She has played six T20Is so far, scored 31 runs and picked up three wickets.
Babette de Leede (Netherlands):
The Dutch cricketer is a wicket-keeper bat. She has been playing international cricket since 2018. She has played 28 T20Is and has scored 329 runs, including a couple of half centuries. Behind the stumps, she is a safe house. She has 22 dismissals, including 11 stumpings and as many catches.
Gaby Lewis (Ireland):
She is an Irish all-rounder, who is a right handed batter and a right arm leg spinner. She has featured in 70 international matches, including 22 ODIs and 48 T20Is. She has 1500 international runs and 13 international wickets to her name.
Christine Lovino (Philippines):
She is a right handed batter and right arm seamer from the Philippines. She has played three T20Is in 2019.
Team Coach
Mauhtisham Rasheed (Pakistan):
Assistant Coach
Hannah Trethewy (Australia):
She last played as a wicket-keeper bat for New South Wales in Australia at the domestic level in 2018. At present, she is the academy coach at Cricket New South Wales.
Team Manager
Sue Strachan (Scotland):
She is a sports enthusiast, who plays squash at master’s level for Scotland. She also plays tennis, hockey, and cricket for fun. In the past, she has been on the board of the Scottish Women’s Football Association. She comes from a family full of cricketers, including her father, brother, husband, son and daughter. She is the women’s convener on the committee of Dumfries Cricket Club. In 2016, she was nominated by Scottish cricket clubs with women’s teams to take on the new role as the representative of girls and women’s cricket on the board of CSCL.
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To know more about Team Warriors led by Sindhu Sriharsha, click here
To know more about Tornadoes led by Stafanie Taylor, click here
To know more about Team Spirit led by Bismah Maroof, click here
To know more about Team Barmy Army led by Heather Knight click here
To know more about Falcons led by Suzie Bates, click here
To know more about all the 13 Match officials, click here
To know about all 90 Players in FairBreak Invitational 2022 Tournament, click here
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.
