Pakistan Women’s tour of South Africa Announced in January 2021

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.

 

South Africa vs Pakistan. Creator: Richard Heathcote | Credit: Getty Images
South Africa vs Pakistan. Creator: Richard Heathcote | Credit: Getty Images

 

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.

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.

I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.

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