The ongoing 02 edition of the FairBreak Invitational is quickly moving towards its business end and match no. 13 will see Spirit play Tornadoes at the Kowloon Cricket Club at 11:30 AM Indian Standard Time (IST). The last time the two played each other, it was the Spirit who registered a dominating win but the Tornadoes went on to claim the title.
The tournament this year around has been a rough one for defending champions Tornadoes as it’s time for their last league stage outing and they still have not got their first win points on the board. Whereas the Spirit are looking good with a couple of wins and a defeat against their name in 3 games.
Squads:
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
Tornadoes
Stafanie Taylor (C), Diana Baig, Maryam Bibi, Ariana Dowse, Winifred Duraisingam, Sterre Kalis, Suné Luus, Sita Magar, Natasha Miles, Mary-Anne Musonda, Akari Nishimura, Aliya Riaz, Chanida Sutthiruang, Dane van Niekerk, Andrea-Mae Zepeda
Players to watch out:
Nicole Carey
The 29-year-old Australian in 27 T20I innings has struck 19 wickets and scored 60 runs. She’s led the Spirit from the front both with the bat and ball with scores of 40* and 52, and 0/11 and 1/27 against Barmy Army and Sapphires respectively.
Sophia Dunkley
The 24-year-old English international in 34 T20Is has scored 652 runs at a strike rate of 117.68 and as a part-timer had also scalped a wicket. Sophia started well with a 35 but failed to carry the momentum, and with the ball has looked good with figures of 0/20 and 3/26 off her 2 outings.
Dane van Niekerk
The 29-year-old South African all-rounder retired with 1877 runs and 65 wickets coming off 86 T20I games. Dane so far has registered scores of 0, 17, and 7, and while she’s yet to announce her arrival in the tournament, watch out for the big knock.
Diana Baig
The 27-year-old all-rounder from Pakistan in 38 T20Is has struck 27 wickets and scored 36 runs. Diana wasn’t required a lot with the bat and has done her bit well with the ball having registered figures of 1/26, 1/13, 0/31, and 2/23.
Pitch:
The 22 yards at the Kowloon Cricket Club are lively yet well-balanced this time around as the tracks have got it all; runs for batters, and assistance for both pacers and spinners. Though the average score is just around 130, the overall quality of cricket has been good with a few high-scoring games and many low-scoring thrillers.
Weather:
With the temperature forecasted at around 24°C and no chance of rain, we are in for a complete game of cricket. It will be a partly cloudy overhead, light winds are expected and the humidity is forecasted at 80%.
Fantasy playing XI:
Sarah Bryce, Sophia Dunkley, Natthakan Chantam, Natasha Miles, Suné Luus, Dane van Niekerk, Nensi Patel, Nicola Carey, Ayabonga Khaka, Diana Baig, Mahika Gaur
Match details:
Date – 11th April 2023
Time – 11:30 AM
Venue – Kowloon Cricket Club