The ongoing 02 edition of the FairBreak Invitational is now at its business end and for the 5th place playoff, Sapphires and Tornadoes will take the field on the 14th of April at 7:30 AM Indian Standard Time (IST) at the Kowloon Cricket Club, Hong Kong.
In the previous inaugural edition, Sapphires had finished 5th in the points table with a couple of wins and this time around as well have finished 5th, but with only a win against their name. A major upset in the season has come from the defending champions Tornadoes who have finished at the bottom of the points table (6th) with 0 wins to their name.
Squads:
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
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:
Jivana Aras
The 19-year-old all-rounder from the United States of America was recently a part of the Under-19 team that toured South Africa earlier this year for the first-ever Women’s U-19 World Cup. In her couple outings this FairBreak, she’s caught the attention of many with figures of 0/22 and 4/32.
Tash Farrant
The 26-year-old English all-rounder in national colors has bagged 15 wickets in 18 innings and has been a live wire in the tournament adding both runs and wickets to her tally. Scores of 12*, 36*, 15, and 32 define Tash’s form with the bat, and with the ball, she’s got figures of 0/10, 0/25, 3/11, 0/13, and 0/15.
Winifred Duraisingam
The 30-year-old Malaysian all-rounder in 42 international games has bagged 27 wickets and got to 650 runs. In the season, she only had an outing with the bat and scored 12, while with the ball she’s registered figures of 2/34, 0/12, 0/25, 0/16, and 0/31.
Sita Magar
The 31-year-old all-rounder from Nepal in 30 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) has scored 507 runs including the highest of 82* and has also bagged 31 scalps. In the games, Sita only had a couple of opportunities with the ball and made the most of them with figures of 0/26 and 1/18.
Pitch:
The 22-yards at the Kowloon Cricket Club continue to have just enough for both pacers and spinners with it being a lively track. Having said that, it would only be right to call it a well-balanced track as its also got runs in it this summer which has brought to us many good games.
Weather:
It is expected to be a pleasant day with a partly cloudy overhead, and worry not about the rain playing a spoilsport as the radar is all bright with the temperature expected to hover around 24°C and humidity forecasted at 80%.
Fantasy playing XI:
Babette de Leede, Stafanie Taylor, Erin Burns, Katherine Sciver-Brunt, Suné Luus, Aliya Riaz, Sana Mir, Dane van Niekerk, Shabnim Ismail, Tash Farrant, Diana Baig
Match details:
Date – 14th 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.