Brief History of Thailand Women’s National Cricket Team
Thailand has been a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1995. The team made its international debut against Bangladesh in July 2007, where they played two matches, both of which they lost. The team was awarded Women’s One Day International (ODI) status in 2022, with their first ODI ranking established in November 2022.
Historical highlights – Thailand Women’s National Cricket Team
In April 2018, the ICC granted Women’s Twenty20 International (WT20I) status to all its members, making all T20 matches between Thailand and other international sides hold WT20I status from 1 July 2018.
In August 2019, during the Netherlands Women’s Quadrangular Series, Thailand extended their win streak to 17 matches, surpassing Australia’s previous record of 16 consecutive wins in WT20Is.
Tournament Highlights – Thailand Women’s National Cricket Team
ICC Women’s T20 World Cup:
In 2020, Australia hosted the tournament. Thailand were in Group B alongside South Africa, England, West Indies and Pakistan. They had a disappointing tournament with no match wins in three games, and due to rain, their match against Pakistan got washed out, resulting in a bottom-table finish in the group stage and an early exit from the competition.
ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier:
In 2015, Thailand hosted the tournament for the first time which automatically made their qualification. They were placed in group A alongside Bangladesh, Scotland and Papua New Guinea. They couldn’t manage a single victory in 3 matches and were last in their group A, thus they couldn’t qualify for the 2016 World Twenty20 tournament in India.
In the year 2018, they were placed in Group B alongside Ireland, Scotland, and Uganda. It was a disappointing tournament for them as they failed to secure any wins out of the three games they played, finishing last in their group. Consequently, they did not qualify for the 2018 ICC Women’s World Twenty20 tournament in the West Indies.
In the year 2019, they were again in Group B, this time with Ireland, the Netherlands, and Namibia. They had an excellent tournament, topping their group by winning all three matches and advancing to the semi-final. In the semi-final, they faced Papua New Guinea and won by 8 wickets, moving on to the final. Despite losing to Bangladesh by 70 runs in the final, they finished second in the standings and qualified for the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup tournament. This marked Thailand’s first qualification for the Women’s T20 World Cup.
In the year 2022, they found themselves in Group B with Zimbabwe, Papua New Guinea, and the United Arab Emirates. Thailand finished second in their group with 2 wins and 1 loss, which came against Zimbabwe, allowing them to advance to the semi-final. They faced Bangladesh in the semi-final and lost by the narrow margin of 11 runs. In the 3rd place play-off, they lost to Zimbabwe by 7 runs, finishing in 4th place in the final standings. As a result, they did not qualify for the 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa.
In 2024, Thailand was placed in Group A alongside Sri Lanka, Scotland, Uganda, and the United States. They secured two wins and suffered two losses, finishing third in their group and failing to advance to the playoffs. In the final standings, they were positioned 5th.
Women’s Asia Cup (T20I format):
In 2012, the team competed in Group A alongside India, Pakistan, and Hong Kong. Their tournament began with consecutive losses to the cricketing powerhouses Pakistan and India. They managed only one win against Hong Kong, finishing third in their group and failing to advance to the playoffs.
Hosting the tournament for the first time in 2016, the format changed, and there were no groups. Each team played one match against all the other participating teams: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal. They finished fifth, securing only one win against Nepal and losing the remaining matches, which meant they did not qualify for the final.
Similar to the previous edition, there were no groups, and the team played one match against each of the other teams: India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia. They finished fifth, with two wins and three losses, thus failing to qualify for the final.
In 2022, the team registered their best performance in the Asia Cup, advancing to the semi-final. The format remained the same, with each team playing one match against the others: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates, and Malaysia. They finished fourth with three wins and three losses, which allowed them to advance to the semi-final. However, they faced India in the semis and lost by 74 runs.
Asian Games (T20I format):
In 2010, cricket made its debut at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. Thailand was in Pool A with Pakistan, China, and Malaysia. They managed to win only one match, against Malaysia, and lost the remaining two. Consequently, they couldn’t advance to the playoffs, missing a podium finish.
In 2014, at the Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea, Thailand was placed in Group D alongside Nepal and Malaysia. They won both matches and topped their group, advancing to the quarterfinal. However, they faced a setback, losing to Pakistan by 51 runs, and once again failed to add a medal to the Thailand contingent tally.
In 2023, the Asian Games took place in Hangzhou, China, with a different format where teams were seeded according to their T20I rankings as of June 1, 2023. Thailand played Sri Lanka in the quarterfinals and lost by 8 wickets.
Southeast Asian Games (T20I format):
In 2017, the Southeast Asian Games were held in Malaysia. The competition followed a round-robin format, with each team playing one match against the others: Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. After playing three matches, the top two teams competed for the gold medal, while the others contested for the bronze. Thailand won all three of their matches and faced Indonesia in the final, winning by 23 runs to secure the gold.
In 2023, the Southeast Asian Games took place in Cambodia and featured four medal events for women’s cricket: 6s, T10, T20, and 50-over. Thailand won three gold medals in the T10, T20, and 50-over events, while Indonesia claimed the remaining gold in the women’s 6s event.
In the T10 event, Thailand was in Group A with Malaysia and Singapore. They topped the group by winning both matches and advanced to the final, where they faced the Philippines. Thailand won comfortably by 10 wickets, chasing a target of just 12 runs to secure the gold medal.
In the T20 event, Thailand was placed in Group A alongside Malaysia, Myanmar, and the Philippines. Winning all their matches, Thailand topped the group and advanced to the final, where they defeated Indonesia by 40 runs to claim the gold medal.
In the 50-over event, Thailand was in Group A with Malaysia and Myanmar. They won both matches and topped the group, advancing to the final to face Indonesia. Thailand won by 93 runs and secured the gold medal.