After a disappointing loss to New Zealand on March 26, curtains were drawn on Pakistan in this edition of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup. Pakistan played seven matches in the league stage and managed to win just one against West Indies. With that win over West Indies, Pakistan won their first World Cup match in the last 13 years, having won their last in 2009 also against West Indies.
Pakistan’s captain Bismah Maroof reflected on her team’s journey in the World Cup. Maroof said, “It was disappointing and hurting for us to just win one match in the World Cup. We had two close games and if we would have won those then it would have been an altogether different story for us.”
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Pakistan suffered defeat in two close games, one against South Africa by six runs and one against Bangladesh by nine runs. If Pakistan would have won those two matches, then it would have been quite interesting with regards to the four teams that could qualify for the semi-finals. With a loss to Bangladesh, Pakistan handed their Asian counterparts their maiden win in their debut World Cup.
Maroof added, “It has been a great learning experience for us as a team. We have learned many things from the other seven participating nations during the World Cup. We will certainly be looking to work on those aspects when we go back home. Mental strength will be one of the important things that we need to work on. Taking the right decision in pressure situations is the key and I feel we missed that trick in the World Cup. Apart from this, I think that we also need to improve our bench strength.”
She also highlighted that despite the losses, there were some positives for Pakistan. She mentioned Sidra Ameen’s century, which was the first century for Pakistan in the Women’s Cricket World Cup. Ameen plundered a delectable century against Bangladesh, however, her effort went in vain as Pakistan lost by just nine runs. Nida Dar was the other positive for Pakistan. Against West Indies, Dar picked up 4-10, registering the best bowling figures for Pakistan in Women’s Cricket World Cup. Apart from her bowling, she was good with the bat. In a match against New Zealand, she muscled a brilliant 50 to top score for Pakistan in that match.
Maroof also stated, “It has been an honor to make a comeback after maternity leave and captain Pakistan. I am happy with the kind of love and support that the players and team management showed to me. Also, I am glad that people around the world showered a lot of love on my daughter Fatima. I have carried some great memories with me from this World Cup and when Fatima grows up I will definitely show her everything.”
Towards the end, captain Maroof mentioned that the players will have a good domestic season and international series in the immediate future. It is known that Pakistan will play eight international series, including ICC Women’s Championship commitments, ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup from May 2022 till February 2023.
Complete schedule of Pakistan from May 2022 to April 2023
| Dates | Host | Opposition | Venue | Format |
| May 18 – June 7 | Pakistan | Sri Lanka | Rawalpindi | 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is |
| July 12 – July 24 | Ireland | Ireland and Australia | Dublin | 4 tri-series T20Is |
| July 25 – August 8 | Commonwealth Games | Birmingham | T20 | |
| August 2 – August 18 | U-19 Women’s T20 Tournament (Domestic) | Muridke | T20 | |
| September 10 – September 17 | 19th Asian Games | TBA | T20 | |
| September 20 – October 12 | Triangular T20 Women’s Cricket Championship (Domestic) | TBA | T20 | |
| October 30 – November 20 | Pakistan | Ireland | Lahore/Karachi | 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is |
| December (Dates TBC) | ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup | TBA | T20I | |
| January 4 – February 1, 2023 | Australia | Australia | Australia | 3 ODIs, 3T20Is |
| February 2 – February 26, 2023 | ICC Women’s T20 World Cup | South Africa | T20I | |
| April 5 – April 25, 2023 | Pakistan Women’s One Day Tournament (Domestic) | Karachi | One-Day | |
In addition to this, there will be three domestic competitions in Pakistan. First, a U19 T20 competition will be held in August in Muridke with all six Cricket Associations fielding their teams. Second, in September, the senior domestic season will begin with the T20 championship in which seven teams will participate. The event will be divided into two phases with four teams, comprising the best players from the six Cricket Associations that featured in the U19 T20 competition in August. Third, the season will conclude with a 14-match One-Day tournament in April 2023 with Karachi hosting the four-team event. The tournament will be played on a double round-robin league basis to provide all the participating players a healthy mix of quality and quantity.
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