At the Taronga Zoo in Sydney all the 10 skippers of ICC women’s T20I World cup 2020 team gathered for the captain’s media launch on Monday(17 February). The league matches starts from Feb 21st and finals takes place in Melbourne on 8th March-International Women’s Day. A World record attendance for the match is expected on that day.
Australia
The host and the defending champion Australia led by Lanning will face team India led by Harmanpreet Kaur in the opening match of the World cup 2020. Australian captain Lanning states that they want to enjoy the experience of playing in front of their friends and family as they are playing in their home ground.
“We’re looking forward to getting started, it’s great that we get to reach out to all our fans across the country and they’ll get the chance to see what will be an amazing tournament,” she said. “It’s a once-in-a-career opportunity to play in a home World Cup, there is pressure and expectation in that but every team wants to win, as we do.”
India
India reached the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Final in 2017 and the experience learned from the mistakes would help India in this tournament. Moreover India faced the Australia in the Women’s Tri series match finals held earlier this month.
She also states : “Our team is growing day by day, everyone is looking so positive,” she said. “It’s going to be very big if we win, I was very surprised at all the reaction from 2017.
“My parents didn’t tell me, they didn’t want us to feel the pressure. If we win, it’s going to be very big for us. We will try to give our best.”
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka also placed in Group A. Sri Lanka women’s team captain Chamari Athapaththu have better record against Australia than her format average. She states :“We played against Australia last summer, we learned a lot about them and what makes them the best team in the world. We’re going to try to play positive cricket – our dream is to get into the semi-finals.”
New Zealand
For New Zealand’s Sophie Devine this is the first outing in the role of captain.“Captaincy is a huge honour but I’m a player like all the rest of my team, so I’ve got to keep doing my job and performing for my teammates,” she said. “I know cricket can be a really fickle game – you’ve got to ride the highs and lows of it and if I can stay nice and calm, it makes it even more special” she said.
Group A conclude with Bangladesh, who beat the India in Asia cup led by Salma Khatun. Regarding that she said: “The Asia Cup was a great experience, but the focus is now on the World Cup. We want to be focusing on New Zealand and Australia. Our U19 side won the World Cup recently and we are looking forward to getting started.”
Group B
England
England placed in group B, with their key player Heather Knight who showed her glorious form in the Australia Women’s tri series. She states that : “We had a great experience in 2017, which was unique in terms of expectation,” she said. “There’s a lot of momentum in this competition, similar to then. I went for coffee in Sydney and saw Ellyse Perry’s face on the side of three different buses!.
“You want to be tested at a World Cup, finding ways to improve and learn and the tri-series was brilliant for that – we’re now just ready to get going.”
Ellyse Perry’s popularity >>>>@EllysePerry | #T20WorldCup | @Heatherknight55 pic.twitter.com/jxecCQCTZ9
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) February 17, 2020
West Indies
The one of the former champions West Indies who lose the trophy against Australia in their home ground two years ago. She states that :“We’re really trying to focus on our own game and playing our best cricket,” she said. “We’ve been playing indoors a lot because of the awful weather so we’re looking forward to getting going.”
South Africa
South Africa enters this World cup with an inspiration from Siya Kolisi who lead the men’s rugby team to World Cup glory last year. She said: “Nelson Mandela said that sport can unite a nation and that’s what we as sportspeople do, we try and bring the people together. If we do something special such as Siya, it would be a dream come true and that’s what makes it special.”
🏏🏉
The 🇿🇦 skipper says that South Africa’s triumph at the Rugby World Cup has inspired them ahead of the 2020 #T20WorldCup. pic.twitter.com/JUWOHVcyTu
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) February 17, 2020
Pakistan
When it comes to Pakistan they failed to reach their full potential in ICC tournaments said : “It’s important for us to get the right mindset, we’re working on the mental side of our game and so we want to be in a good frame of mind ahead of the first game,” she said. “We are missing big moments in the World Cups, we need to create chances for ourselves, live in the moment and try not to think about the big stage.”
Thailand
At last its Thailand who made their first appearance in World cup led by Sornnarin Tippoch who have already made history by qualifying for a global event for the first time. Sornnarin Tippoch’s side haven’t stopped smiling since arriving, already warming the hearts of those around the world.
She said: “I’m nervous now! We’re really excited to be involved for the first time. We will look to play our best cricket and we’ll show how we play the game. People back home don’t know me, some people know cricket but it’s not on the television. They will follow us on Instagram and Facebook and will know about our game.”
