We as Indians want instant satisfaction and gratification and it is no different in terms of sports, especially cricket. There’s just a bit to add to a month and that’ll give the count between now and the day the World Cup will be broadcasted. Yet we can already see the excitement going high. What if I told you they’ve made it easier for all fans to experience the feeling beforehand?
The practice match schedule for ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 was announced for all the teams and it’s just a few days before the real tournament begins. The World Cup commences from the 24th of June in England and Wales and goes right up to the 23rd of July. The practice matches, which will be played at four different venues from 19-22 June, will give sides the chance to acclimatize to the conditions and also test the caliber of teams they will face later, since all teams play each other in a round-robin league during the pinnacle women’s tournament.
Before this let’s take a look at what has happened so far with the qualification and entry to the World Cup. There were four teams which qualified to the World Cup via the ICC Women’s Championship in 2014-16. They were the teams of Australia, England, New Zealand and West Indies. Later the teams, India, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan joined the World Cup via the Qualifiers that were played in Colombo earlier this year. Soon the World Cup will be played in the month of June.The tournament, consisting of 31 matches, will be played across five venues including Lord’s, which will host the final on 23 July.
The schedule for the practice matches is given below:
19 June: New Zealand v India in Derbyshire; England v Sri Lanka in Chesterfield.
20 June: West Indies v Pakistan in Leicestershire; Australia v South Africa in Oakham.
21 June: England v New Zealand in Derbyshire; India v Sri Lanka in Chesterfield.
22 June: Australia v Pakistan in Leicestershire; West Indies v South Africa in Oakham.
In the practice matches, India will play New Zealand in Derbyshire while host England will take on Sri Lanka in Chesterfield on 19 June. Two days later, India will play Sri Lanka in Chesterfield and England will play New Zealand in Derbyshire. South Africa and Pakistan will get some tough practice upfront as they are scheduled to play six-time winner Australia and last time’s runner-up as well as ICC World Twenty20 champion the West Indies in their warm-up matches. All the individual team captains are really enthusiastic about the following practice matches as they provided their statements to media.
• Australia captain Meg Lanning: “The practice matches will give us the opportunity to fine-tune our game and help get used to the conditions in England and Wales”
• England captain Heather Knight: “We’re very excited to be hosting the tournament and we’re looking forward to these two matches”
• India captain Mithali Raj: “The warm-up matches provide teams with the chance to iron out any deficiencies and we look forward to making maximum use of them”
• New Zealand captain Suzie Bates: “We are raring to go at the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 and look to use the practice matches in preparation for that”
• Pakistan captain Sana Mir: “We get to play last year’s finalists Australia and the West Indies in these matches and we look forward to use the opportunity to prepare well”
• South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk: “Playing some tough practice matches will hold us in good stead ahead of the pinnacle women’s tournament.”
• Sri Lanka captain Inoka Ranaweera: “We look forward to the warm-up matches with enthusiasm as they provide us with a final chance of preparation”
• West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor: “We are waiting eagerly for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 and these practice matches will be just the kind of preparation we need ahead of it.”