The fan favorite, FairBreak Invitational has returned with its 02 edition, and match no.3 will see Barmy Army play Spirit at the Kowloon Cricket Club at 11:30 AM Indian Standard Time (IST) on the 4th of April. The two played each other twice last year and with a win each, the battle is evenly poised.
Barmy Army with likes of Lauren Winfield-Hill, Deandra Dottin, Tara Norris, Rumana Ahmed, Fatima Sana, and Laura Wolvaardt is better balanced against Spirit who have got experienced players but not as many reliable impact or match-winners as Barmy Army.
Squads:
Barmy Army
Lauren Winfield-Hill (C), Rumana Ahmed, Shemaine Campbelle, Laura Cardoso, Rubina Chhetry, Deandra Dottin, Kavisha Egodage, Keenu Gill, Roberta Moretti Avery, Tara Norris, Iqra Sahar, Fatima Sana, Nigar Sultana, Ruchitha Venkatesh, Laura Wolvaardt
Spirit
Nicola Carey (C), Gargi Bhogle, Nattaya Boochatham, Sarah Bryce, Naruemol Chaiwai, Betty Chan, Natthakan Chantam, Yasmin Daswani, Sophia Dunkley, Mahika Gaur, Ayabonga Khaka, Bismah Maroof, Shizuka Miyaji, Nensi Patel, Kerry-Anne Tomlinson
Players to watch out:
Rumana Ahmed
The 31-year-old Bangladeshi all-rounder has got very good international cricket experience and will look forward the bringing the same to the Barmy Army. Rumana in 84 international outings has scored 854 runs which includes her highest score of 50 and struck 75 wickets.
Tara Norris
The 24-year-old left-arm pacer from the United States of America has only played a handful of international games (5) and has struck 4 wickets. Notably, Tara Norris’ recently struck a 5-fer on her Women’s Premier League (WPL) debut and bagged big wickets those of Ellyse Perry, Heather Knight, and Richa Ghosh among others.
Sarah Bryce
The 23-year-old keeper-batter from Scotland is one of the finest behind the stumps and her consistency with the bat makes her a huge asset for any team to have. In international cricket, in 39 innings, Sarah has got to 889 runs at an average of 29.63, a strike rate of 107.36, and has got the highest of 65.
Mahika Gaur
The 17-year-old teenage superstar from the United Arab Emirates is a left-arm pacer who’s very handy with the bat. New to international cricket, Mahika’s numbers don’t do justice to the talent she possesses both with the bat and ball. Internationally, Mahika in 16 outings has struck 9 wickets with the best figures of 3/21, and in 3 innings has scored 11 runs.
Pitch:
Not the traditional, but it is a well-balanced pitch that’s prepared at the Kowloon Cricket Club for the FairBreak as the pitch has got both runs for batters and wickets for bowlers. The venue generally has been a low scoring one with bowlers dictating the game, but the opening days’ play had decent T20 totals go on the board.
Weather:
With rain on the radar, we most likely won’t be treated to a full game of cricket. The 2 PM local start time could have a prolonged delay till around 4:00 PM with showers on the forecast. Clear skies then should bring to us a game, but the duration of the game would depend on how quickly the ground is ready for action.
Fantasy playing XI:
Lauren Winfield-Hill, Sarah Bryce, Laura Wolvaardt, Sophia Dunkley, Deandra Dottin, Fatima Sana, Nicola Carey, Ayabonga Khaka, Tara Norris, Rumana Ahmed, Nattaya Boochatham
Match details:
Date – 4th April 2023
Time – 11:30 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.