Thailand ready for Women’s T20 World Cup debut
Thailand captain Sornnarin Tippoch is hoping that the Kingdom’s first ever appearance in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup will be an inspiration for the entire country.
The 2020 World Cup in Australia will run from Friday to March 8.
Hosts Australia are in Group A with India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
In Group B, Thailand will face England, South Africa, the West Indies and Pakistan.
Thailand face West Indies in their opening match on Saturday.
The top two teams of each group advance to the semi-finals.
“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,’’ Sornnarin told www.icc-cricket.com.
“People back home don’t know me, some people know cricket but it’s not on television. They will follow us on Instagram and Facebook and know about our game.”
She said Thailand had never competed at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup before and the players were determined to be an inspiration for their country.
“Competing at Australia 2020 will be a massive step for Thai cricket, and we’re keen to make the most of the opportunity while we are out there,” Sornnarin said.
“We are the first team from Southeast Asia to qualify for such an event, which is such a special achievement for us all, and we really want to build on that honour. I hope that our success will elevate the game in the region and improve the standard of cricket in our part of the world.”
Meanwhile, Australia warmed up for their Twenty20 World Cup defence yesterday with a battling win over South Africa.
Playing their last game before the tournament starts on Friday, Australian skipper Meg Lanning and deputy Rachael Haynes steered them to a fourwicket victory.
England’s final preparations couldn’t have gone any worse as they suffered a setback in a shock 10-wicket hammering by Sri Lanka.
Heather Knight won the toss in Adelaide and batted first but her team never got going, struggling to 122 for 9, with Sri Lanka’s spinners inflicting the damage.
India warmed up for a tilt at a first ever World Cup crown by beating 2016 champions the West Indies by two runs.