THAILAND T20 SMASH SET TO TAKE WOMEN’S CRICKET TO A NEW LEVEL
THAILAND WOMEN’S T20 SMASH 2019
January 3, 2019
THAILAND WOMEN’S T20 SMASH 2019 DAY ONE ROUND UP
January 12, 2019
The Cricket Association of Thailand have built up a great reputation for hosting major international cricket tournaments in recent years as they have staged the 2016 Women’s Asia Cup T20 for the ACC which saw India play Pakistan in the final and the 2015 ICC Women’s World T20 Qualifier which saw Bangladesh face Ireland in the final.
Thailand also regularly host the Asian qualifying events for ICC Women’s World Cups in both 20-over and 50-over formats with the next competition being held in Bangkok in February, but before that there is a wonderful new tournament being played from Saturday 12th January to Saturday 19th January.
Ten international teams from across Asia are gathering in Bangkok to take part in the inaugural Thailand Women’s T20 Smash which sees the teams compete in two groups of five before the tournament concludes with two rounds of play-offs. UAE, Nepal, China, Malaysia and Thailand A will play each other in Group A, while Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Bhutan and Myanmar will play each other in Group B.
The ICC recently announced the launch of their women’s T20 International rankings for all member countries and that all 20-over matches played between these teams in series or competitions across the world would have official T20 International status from 1st January 2019. This means that all matches in this tournament apart from those involving Thailand A are official women’s T20 Internationals. All the teams will be looking to improve their rankings and for some to achieve a ranking for the first time.
Thailand are the highest rated team in the competition, ranked in 13th place after being overtaken by Zimbabwe who are playing a T20 series against Namibia, but UAE are only one place behind them in 14th; Nepal stand in 18th place and Hong Kong (21) and Indonesia (22) are also strong contenders; China (25) and Malaysia (31) are the other teams who have played enough matches to be given a ranking.
Bhutan Women are making a welcome return to international cricket after being starved of opportunities to play since taking part in the ACC Women’s Premier competition held in Chiang Mai in 2014. Myanmar Women are making their first appearance in a tournament of this sort and it is also a wonderful opportunity for Thailand’s second string side to gain valuable experience by playing against international opposition.
The group stages get underway on Saturday 12th January with four matches being played on each day as there will be morning and afternoon sessions at Terdthai Cricket Ground and at the Asian Institute of Technology. The Groups will be completed after five days of action with each team playing four matches and all the teams will then play a round of semi-finals before the tournament finishes with the final play-offs which will decide all the finishing positions.
A total of 28 matches will be played, the majority of them official women’s T20 Internationals so these girls from teams across Asia have a fantastic opportunity to come together to play cricket in a big international competition. It is the first time anywhere in the world that so much officially recognized international cricket has been played by women’s teams at this level.
Thailand are the strongest team according to their ranking, thanks to playing in a number of major international competitions and regularly beating their local rivals and even defeating Sri Lanka during last year’s Asia Cup. The hosts will need to perform well again because they will soon be meeting UAE, Nepal, Hong Kong, China and Malaysia again in the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier for the Asian region at the same venues in Bangkok in February.
The next two months will be a wonderfully exciting time for women’s cricket in the Land of Smiles and it all gets underway with the Thailand Women’s T20 Smash. UAE face Thailand A, Nepal play China, Thailand face Myanmar and Hong Kong play Indonesia in the first round of matches on Saturday.
Which of the ten teams will Smash the most sixes and fours and which team will Smash their way to the title?
