For the first time ever, the Austrian Women’s National Team took part in an international series. From 30th July till 4th August the Austrian Women played in the 2019 France Women’s T20I Quadrangular Series in Nantes, which was hosted and organized by Nantes Cricket Club.
First International Win for Austria Women’s Cricket Team
The Austrians competed against the national teams from Jersey, France, and Norway, whereby they played twice against each team. After a poor start in the first game (where every girl gave her international debut), which they lost against the Norwegians by 21 runs, Austria made a strong comeback by defeating Jersey by 3 runs and thus creating history, as this was the very first T20 international win for Austria!
3rd Place for Austria Women’s team with 2 wins
The following game against France Women, Austria lost by 8 wickets but again came back very strong against Norway in the 2nd round of the series by winning by 6 wickets. In this game, the highest partnership of the entire tournament (68 runs) was created by Austrian girls. On the last day of the series Austria lost against Jersey by 9 wickets, but therefore presented the best fielding performance of the series in order to give a very tough fight against France. France still won by 7 wickets. In the end, France finished off 1st place with 5 wins, Jersey became runners-up with 4 wins, Austria ended up 3rd place with 2 wins and the last place went to Norway with 1 win. (scorecards are available here: ). After the prize ceremony, there was a BBQ, where Austrian girls got the opportunity to get to know other female cricketers in a lovely atmosphere.
Squad: Austrian Women’s National Cricket team
Each girl of the following squad is very proud to have represented our country Austria at their very first international ICC tournament and bore the name Austria with full honor:
1. Albulena Avdylaj
2. Elvira Avdylaj
3. Rezarta Avdylaj
4. Valentina Avdylaj
5. Harjivan Bhullar
6. Harjot Dhaliwal (WK)
7. Sylvia Kailath
8. Tugce Kazanci (VC)
9. Doris Kumar
10. Anisha Nookala
11. Priya Sabu
12. Büsra Uca
13. Andrea-Mae Zepeda (C)
Lots of learning and fun for the Austrian Women’s team
The 13-member squad, which was accompanied by one coach and one manager, was captained by Austrian star player Andrea-Mae Zepeda, who also got the trophy for best Batswoman with 125 runs. As most of the girls started playing Cricket 2-3 years ago, they could gather much experience (e.g.: playing on a turf pitch for the first time) and take it back with them to improve their individual game. Every single player enhanced a lot over the four days, not only in showing her skills but also in developing their mindset. After four sunny and hot days filled with non-stop Cricket, the Austrians were full of positive energy and motivation in order to take their newly acquired knowledge home with them, to learn from their mistakes and to work even harder on themselves.
Upwards and onwards for Austrian Women’s Cricket team
The team would sincerely like to thank the Austrian Cricket Association, which made this tour possible and therefore promotes women’s cricket all over the country. Due to the participation in the 2019 France Women’s T20l Quadrangular Series a big step was taken for women’s cricket in Austria, not only because we are now listed in the official ICC ranking, but also because the number of female players in Austria is increasing and tours like these are not only an incentive but also a goal – the goal for every player, to proudly represent her country and play cricket at a high level.
Player testimonials:
Here are few statements from the national team players, followed by highlights from the Nantes 2019 Tour:
“It was a great and learning experience for us. After this tournament, we became even stronger as a team and now we are even more motivated to improve our skills.” Harjot Dhaliwal
“Unforgettable and very bonding experience.” Priya Sabu
“By playing cricket on a level, that was new and also high for us, we were able to learn a lot. We very much hope that we can show our hard work in the next few years on the field too.” Jivan Bhullar
“We cherish this experience of playing international cricket for the first time, where we got to know inspiring people from different parts of Europe and had an incredible time as a team.” Anisha Nookala
“It is a special feeling to represent your country abroad. We got the opportunity to play cricket for the first time on a turf pitch and gained a lot of experience. Also, our self-confidence and improvement increased with each match.” Rezarta Avdylaj
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