After the conclusion of the National Triangular T20 Women’s Championship in Pakistan that was played among three teams between November 22 and December 1, the women cricketers are all prepared to put their foot on the South African soil next month.
On December 14, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that their women’s team will tour South Africa to play three ODIs and as many T20Is, starting January 20. The first ODI and the last two T20Is will be played at Durban, while the last two ODIs and first T20I will be hosted at Pietermaritzburg.
The Schedule looks like this:
Date | Match | Venue |
January 20, 2021 | 1st ODI | Durban |
January 23, 2021 | 2nd ODI | Durban |
January 26, 2021 | 3rd ODI | Pietermaritzburg |
January 29, 2021 | 1st T20I | Pietermaritzburg |
January 31, 2021 | 2nd T20I | Pietermaritzburg |
February 3, 2021 | 3rd T20I | Durban |
Prior to the girls flying from Pakistan, there will be a training and preparation camp from December 20 at Hanif Mohammad High-Performance Centre in Karachi. The women’s national selection committee has invited 27 women cricketers for the same.
“In consultation and discussions with Cricket South Africa, the series has been finalized to ensure women’s cricket continues to build on the momentum and successes following the trailblazing ICC Women’s Championship 2017-2020, ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cups 2018 and 2020. This additional series has also been organized to help both Pakistan and South Africa prepare for the upcoming assignments, in particular Pakistan, who will feature in the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier in July 2021 for the event proper to be held in New Zealand in early 2022. South Africa, along with world champions England, Australia, India and hosts New Zealand, have already qualified for the World Cup after securing top positions in the ICC Women’s Championship 2017-20,” PCB said in a release.
🚨 Tour Announcement 🚨
Pakistan women’s team to tour South Africa for limited-overs series starting 20th January 2021.
There will be 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is. #SAvPAK | @OfficialCSA | @TheRealPCB pic.twitter.com/xKIdMWQCYy
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) December 14, 2020
The two teams will lock horns against each other after 18 months. When they met last in May 2019, Pakistan and South Africa played three ICC Women’s Championship ODIs which ended in a 1-1 draw. While the five-match T20I series, was a thrilling contest as South Africa bounced back to win the series 3-2 when they were down 2-1.
“South Africa are ranked above us, both in the ODI and T20I formats and, as such, I am sure this series will go a long way in not only assisting us to further improve our standards but also prepare for June’s ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2021 as we aim to finish in the top three and progress to event proper in early 2022 in New Zealand,” women’s chief selector and head of the women’s cricket, Urooj Mumtaz said.
This tour will be the first official assignment of head coach David Hemp, who joined in October, and bowling coach Arshad Khan, who was appointed in November. Mohammad Kamran Hussain will be the assistant coach at the training camp.
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