In the lead-up to the upcoming senior women’s Twenty20 (T20) World Cup, tournament hosts, South Africa are hosting India and the West Indies for a Tri-Series beginning on the 21st of January. All the games of the series will be played at Buffalo Park in East London and the series final will be played on the 2nd of February.
The Tri-Series features a few of world crickets’ top players as Harmanpreet Kaur, Laura Wolvaardt, Hayley Matthews, Stafanie Taylor, Marizanne Kapp, Smriti Mandhana, and a few more. However, there also are a few exciting and reemerging players who make it to our ‘players to watch out’ list, that’s briefed below.
Devika Vaidya
The 25-year-old debuted for India back in 2014 but having failed to cement her place, she fell way back in the pecking order. Cut to December 2022, and Devika Vaidya was back in Indian colours after 8 long years to make a statement against the Australians.
Devika featured in all of India’s games during the series and played crucial roles with both bat and ball to keep her comeback story alive. During the series, she registered scores of 25*, 11*, 1, 32, and 11, and with the ball registered figures of 1/33, 0/32, 2/22, 0/22, and 1/26.
Shamilia Connell
Following Cricket West Indies (CWI) move to downsize the players from 17 to 14, Shamilia Connell missed the cut during the New Zealand series after having played during the home series against England. The 30-year-old Windies pacer has picked up 36 wickets in 53 innings at an average of 29.47, an economy rate of 6.48, and a strike rate of 27.2.
Who will take this beautiful tri-series trophy home?#CricketTwitter #WomensCricket 📸BCCIWomen pic.twitter.com/rOsbzA6B53
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 19, 2023
In the lone T20I against New Zealand that Shamilia featured in, she registered figures of 0/16, and during the home, inaugural edition of the Women’s Caribbean Premier League (W-CPL), registered figures of 1/10 and 2/9 in her last couple of outings for the Guyana Amazon Warriors.
Nadine de Klerk
The 23-year-old South African all-rounder in 20 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) scored 282 runs, at an average of 24.09, a strike rate of 94.30, and got the best score of 37*. With the ball, in as many innings (20), she’s picked up 27 wickets at an economy rate of 7.11 and has registered the best figures of 3/7.
In the lead-up to the series, Nadine featured in the Cricket South Africa’s (CSA’s) Women’s Provincial T20 Competition where she registered scores of 61*, 5*, and 20* in the last 3 innings and with the ball, registered figures of 1/11, 2/17, and 0/25.
Nonkululeko Mlaba
The 22-year-old South African spinner has grown to be the sides’ go-to bowler when in need of a wicket or containing. In 21 Twenty20 International (T20Is) innings, she’s picked up 16 wickets at an average of 26.81, a strike rate of 25.5, and an economy rate of 6.29.
In the lead-up to the series, Mlaba too featured in the Cricket South Africa’s (CSA’s) Women’s Provincial T20 Competition where she registered figures of 1/16 and 0/17 in her last couple of outings.
Shikha Pandey
The 33-year-old Indian veteran debuted for India back in 2014 and rose to be India’s go-to bowler but it all went crashing for Shikha after a poor outing. After repeated omissions, the selectors got back to Shikha Pandey after 14 months and the burning fire in Shikha could well be something the opposition would fear even before the first ball is sent down.
The pace-all-rounder in 51 outings had picked up 40 wickets at an average of 25.32, an economy rate of 6.47, and a strike rate of 23.4, and has got the best figures of 3/14 in the format. The 100-plus international match experienced player in her lead-up to the series, in domestic cricket, gathered a few runs but at a consistent rate registered good figures of 1/14, 1/31, 0/13, and 0/22.