FairBreak Invitational, a women’s T20 tournament is privately run by FairBreak Global which aims at improving differences in pay, quality of play, and opportunity between men and women in cricket. The tournament witnessed a successful launch in May 2022 and the Spirit has unveiled its team for the 2nd edition that’ll be played in April in Hong Kong.
The inaugural edition of the tournament was to take place in Hong Kong last year, but with Covid restrictions, it was moved to Dubai. The tournament is now returning to its original home, Hong Kong, for this summer’s edition and the event’s unprecedented coverage had it broadcasted to 141 territories and the global viewing audience has been estimated at between 30-40 million.
Burji Shroff, chairman of Cricket Hong Kong (CHK) said, “In light of the increase in opportunities for female players around the world and in consultation with players, partners, and sponsors, we have decided to move the dates of the Fair break Invitational 2023 from March to April 2023. This time period will enable us to continue to host a world-class event that better ensures the participation of players from across the world.”
The Spirit is a part of the 6 franchises that contest in the tournament and have named a star-studded 12-player squad for the upcoming, 2023 edition which sees Nicola Carey, Bismah Maroof, Ayabonga Khaka and a few more as part of the Spirit’s 12.
Spirit Squad announced for FairBreak Invitational 2023
Nicola Carey (Australia)
Nattaya Boochatham (Thailand)
Sarah Bryce (Scotland)
Betty Chan (Hong Kong)
Natthakan Chantam (Thailand)
Yasmin Daswani (Hong Kong)
Gargi Bhogle (United States of America)
Mahika Gaur (United Arab Emirates)
Kerry Tomlinson (New Zealand)
Ayabonga Khaka (South Africa)
Bismah Maroof (Pakistan)
Shizuka Miyaji (Japan)
Management :
Manager – Vaishali Jesrani
Head coach – Damien Wright
Assistant coach – Esther de Lange
Physiotherapist – Stewart Williamson
The Spirit in the previous, inaugural edition had finished their group stage games as the top-seeded side with 15 points against their profile with the next best being 11. Spirit off 5 games, registered wins in 4, and raced through to the knockouts where they lost their Semi-Final game against the Falcons falling 25 short of the required, 172.
Spirit went on to register a win against Barmy Army in the 3rd-place play-off by chasing down 183 with 9 balls and 6 wickets to spare. The spirits will look to pick up from where they left off and will look to finish better this time around.
The inaugural season turned out to be a hit and was hugely appreciated as the league had witnessed 90 players take part from as many as 35 countries and its upcoming edition is scheduled to be played from the 3rd to the 16th of April 2023.