Pakistan and South Africa have also qualified for the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012 by finishing in the top four of the event. West Indies and Sri Lanka are already qualified for the tournament which will be played in September next year (ICC Womens World Cup 2013).
Meanwhile, Bangladesh and Netherlands will now head to play-offs for ODI status. The hosts will face USA in a bid to gain ODI recognition while The Netherlands will play fellow European ODI side Ireland in a bid to retain ODI status – win or lose, Europe will finish this event with only one ODI women’s side.
In the ninth/10th play-off, Japan defeated Zimbabwe by six runs in a high scoring match at BKSP* 2, securing Ema Kuribayashi’s side ninth place in the ICC WWCQ 2011 and its only win of the tournament. At Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS), watched by another fantastic crowd of local support, Sri Lanka took to the field as Bangladesh elected to bat first under the bright sunshine.
Of the most recent meetings between the two sides, five in total, Sri Lanka have come out on top all five times and today looked to be no different in the showdown between the two Asia sides. Sri Lanka’s opening bowler Udeshika Prabhodani had the hosts reeling at 13 for three, with the departure of key players Ayesha Akhter, Fargana Pinky and Suktara Rahaman.
It was then up to Salma Khatun to lead from the front with the captain striking 32 before she was caught by the ever athletic Sherina Ravikumar. Things didn’t get much better for the hosts as they managed to make just 100 in less than 50 overs as once again Sri Lanka’s bowlers continued to hit the target and the side’s fielding remained tight.
In reply, Dilani Manodara’s side stumbled in the beginning and struggled to secure runs thanks to some tight bowling by the hosts.
Yashoda Mendis departed early but Inoka Galagedara and Sandamali Dolawatte ensured the runs were on the board and after their departure it was up to Shashikala Siriwardene to hit the side’s winning runs and secure ICC Women’s World Cup qualification for 2013.
“I’m delighted that we’ve secured a place at the ICC Women’s World Cup 2013 and retained our ODI status, it was our main target when we came out to Dhaka. Now we have that, our next target is to win the tournament and improve our global ranking.
“We knew today that if our bowlers restricted the side to below 200 we would do well and the best score Bangladesh have against us in 190 which was in Sri Lanka. I do think they are a much improved side but today was our day in the field.
It was disappointing that we lost wickets again early on but this can only be improved upon. “We knew that it was a slow wicket and coming out second to bat it would only get slower and would take to the turn, but we finished the job and secured our win and a place at the World Cup,” said Manodara at the conclusion of the game at Mirpur.
Bangladesh captain Salma, was disappointed with the loss but still had ODI status in her sights for the side. The all-rounder secured Player of the Match from the on-field umpires, Richard Smith and Kathy Cross, for her all-round performance in a day which saw a team-effort by both sides.
“I’m obviously disappointed that we have lost out on ICC Women’s World Cup qualification but we have to remain positive and make sure we qualify for ODI status which is our next task.
“Today our batting didn’t perform and we should have made more runs but once again the Sri Lankans were very tight in the field against us. We should have batted better out there today, their bowling was good but runs were there to be scored and we didn’t make them.
“The biggest difference I have found playing against the stronger sides in this tournament has been the fact that they have played a lot more cricket than we have, some of the sides here have had well established women cricket for over 20 years, whereas we have only been playing regularly for about five years,” said Salma.
At Khanshaheb Osman Ali Stadium (KSOAS), Sana Mir’s Pakistan made sure runs went on the board to make it a tough task for Helmien Rambaldo’s side when it came to chasing down the target.
The Dutch were set a mammoth total of 278 after Sana, along with Bismah Maroof, Nida Dar and Javeria Wadood piled on the runs for the Pakistanis to help them on their way to qualification for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2013.
Javeria’s 67 along with Nida’s half-century were helped by in-form all-rounder Bismah who finished the game 66 not out as the side displayed some masterstrokes against the Dutch pace and spin attack.
In reply, The Netherlands were once again undone by spin, with Bismah and Nida combining to take three wickets each while Sadia Yousuf claimed two wickets also.
Qanita Jalil’s pace took the early wickets of Rambaldo and Miranda Veringmeier and the Dutch batting line-up collapsed for 84, with only Denise Hannema and Kerry-Anne Tomlinson managing double figures.
Sana was delighted to once again qualify for an ICC Women’s World Cup, saying: “It feels great to qualify again for the ICC Women’s World Cup again, I have to say though the competition has been much tougher this time round. We were in a group with the likes of Bangladesh, Ireland and West Indies all of whom have proven a tough opposition.
“Today’s performance was great, we wanted to make at least 250 and we did that, with three of the team making half-centuries too. There was some good bowling which was really tight, the only thing I would like to improve upon ahead of our match against South Africa is the amount of extras that we bowled.”
Sana added that qualification for the 2013 event would mean even greater things for women’s cricket in Pakistan: “After we won gold at the Asian Games recently, women’s cricket has really taken off in the media in Pakistan and increased in popularity.
“With our qualification for the ICC Women’s World Cup and the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 it means two more years of competitive women’s cricket for Pakistan which is great, it will mean the Pakistan Cricket Board can plan further about the women’s game and develop women’s cricket even more than it already has done.”
Rambaldo was disappointed to miss out on World Cup qualification but admitted it was now about learning from the past mistakes and focussing on the ODI play-off against Ireland with the victor retaining its ODI status. Rambaldo said:
“It’s obviously extremely disappointing to have missed out again on an ICC Women’s World Cup qualification but we’ve now got to focus on the game against Ireland. We’ve made mistakes this week and now it’s about rectifying those mistakes against Ireland, a side we know well.
“We’ve played Ireland many times before and in our most recent fixture against them we beat them. It will be sad to know that at the conclusion of Thursday’s game there will only be one European side with ODI status but we have to remain positive and beat them.” Rambaldo commented on today’s loss:
“I think Pakistan’s win was down to a combination of batting well along with us bowling some bad balls. We gave them the opportunity to put runs on the board, even after we took early wickets; we gave them the chance to build partnerships.
“In our reply, they bowled well taking two early wickets and despite us getting some momentum with our partnerships we never managed to get going.
We should have performed better against the spin, it’s what we have been practising for in this event and there’s no excuse for poor batting. The point of cricket and events like this is about accessing and adjusting to the conditions.”
In the final fixture of the day, Japan took on Zimbabwe in the ninth/10th play-off at BKSP 2. Neither side had secured a win in the tournament ahead of the fixture today but it was Japan’s chance with Kuribayashi’s side finishing the victors over their African opponents in a tight contest.
Having won the toss, Sharne Mayers elected to field first for the Zimbabweans and the side’s bowling attack took its time to get going, with Japan not losing its first wicket till it had posted 42 runs on the board after Mariko Yamamoto made a patient 38. However, Yamamoto departed after she was clean bowled by Sinikwe Mpofu.
Kuribayashi led by example, the 28-year-old left-hander, was also patient in her innings, taking 98 balls to reach 47, her highest score of the tournament. Zimbabwe’s bowlers did a good job with Japan’s lower order, dismissing the last five Japanese wickets for 27 runs but not before Japan had posted its highest total of the tournament, 153.
In reply, Zimbabwe’s batters were undone by the quickness of the Japanese in the field and good bowling from Kuribayashi. The captain claimed one wicket but also caught both Christabel Chatonzwa and Privilledge Charumbira and was key in the run-out of her counterpart Mayers. Yamamoto also showed her agility by snaffling key middle-order batter Nonhlanhla Nyathi caught and bowled.
As was the case against USA, Zimbabwe fell short of its target, although in this case by six runs and succumbed to fifth and final loss in the event. Audrey Mazvishaya and Sarah Dambanevana were well placed to score the remaining runs but the side ran out of overs after losing key wickets early on and victory was there for Japan to savour for the first time.
Tomorrow is a rest day, with play resuming on Thursday, fixtures are listed below.
Upcoming fixtures:
24 November
ODI – South Africa v Pakistan (Winner to 1st/2nd play-off, loser to 3rd/4th play-off) – SBNCS
ODI – West Indies v Sri Lanka (Winner to 1st/2nd play-off, loser to 3rd/4th play-off) – KSOAS
ODI – Ireland v Netherlands (winner qualifies for 5th/6th play-off and retains ODI status, loser to 7th/8th play-off) BKSP 3
Bangladesh v USA (winner qualifies for 5th/6th play-off and gains ODI status, loser to 7th/8th play-off) BKSP 2
26 November
– 1st/2nd play-off – SBNCS
– 3rd/4th play-off – KSOAS
– 5th/6th play-off – BKSP 2
– 7th/8th play-off – BKSP 3
Scores in brief – Day Five
At Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium
Bangladesh 100 all out, 47 overs (Salma 32; Prabodhani 2-14)
Sri Lanka 101-4, 26.3 overs (Attappattu 26, Siriwardene 22 not out; Salma 2-22)
Sri Lanka won by six wickets
Player of the Match: Salma Khatun (Bang)
At Khanshaheb Osman Ali Stadium (ODI)
Pakistan 277-4, 50 overs (Sana 49, Nida 57, Javeria 67, Bismah 66 not out)
Netherlands 84 all out, 37 overs (Tomlinson 22; Bismah 3-14, Nida 3-15)
Pakistan won by 193 runs
Player of the Match: Bismah Maroof (Pak)
At BKSP 2 – 9th/10th play-off
Japan 153 all out, 49.5 overs (Yamamoto 38, Kuribayashi 47; Charumbira 2-10)
Zimbabwe 146-8, 50 overs (Mupachikwa 32; Nakayama 1-15)
Japan won by six runs
Player of the Match: Ema Kuribayashi (Japan)
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