INTENSE CONTEST ON THE CARDS TO END AUSTRALIA’S SUPREMACY AT INSPORTZ TODAY
he 10th edition of the World Indoor Cricket Federation World Cup commences today at Insportz with all the competing countries aiming to end Australia’s supremacy in the men and women events.
Australian men have won the World Cup nine times since its inception in 1995 and women have bagged the title eight consecutive times since the start in 1998.
Answering to a query from Gulf News on whether there is intense pressure of having to defend the title, men’s team captain Lyle Teske, said: “It’s a nice pressure to have as every country is improving as a team. Last year we saw the skills in South Africa and New Zealand were good. Moreover this time with six ball overs it is going to be a very different tournament and hence any team can beat anyone. The edge we have over others is that we have done it before so that may work in our favour. When it comes to big games pressure is the main thing and we have to play well.”
Sri Lankan captain Tharindu Mendis, through his comments, represented the hopes of all the other teams. “This time it is a very open tournament and nobody can say a team is going to win because of the new court here. Australia, England and New Zealand are coming here after their winter and it is going to be very difficult for them to adjust to conditions within three to four days. So there is chance for every team.”
Rooting for Australia’s success is Australian International Test team captain Steve Smith, who loves indoor cricket.
Speaking from Australia, Smith said: “I hope that Australia can win again across the four categories — men’s, women’s under-21 men’s and under-21 women’s — but I also hope the World Cup will be a great advert for the sport and one that will take indoor cricket to next level.”
Smith who owes his success to indoor cricket even said: “Indoor cricket’s an exciting form of the game, something I enjoyed playing on a regular basis over many years and also something that helped shape me as a cricketer during my formative years, in Bankstown, Sydney. The skills I developed in indoor cricket — working the ball into gaps on either side of the pitch, the need to run well between the wickets, dynamic fielding and treating every ball as an event while never switching off — are ones that have stood me in good stead throughout my career playing the 11-a-side outdoor version of the game.”
The World Cup in Dubai has gained a big boost with even a Test star Jesse Ryder playing for New Zealand and Indian Test star Sandeep Patil as brand ambassador for Indian team.
New Zealand captain Victor Davies, commenting on Ryder’s presence and whether it will lead to more international players play indoor cricket too, said: “Ryder was playing indoor cricket before going on to play international Test cricket He loves it and it is great to have him as part of the team. Whether we will have more international players coming through, I cannot say now but if we can have more quality of players it will help grow the sport.”
UAE team will be playing in the World Cup for the first time with hope of making an impact.
Sameer Nayak, UAE team vice-captain, said: “We as the host country are super excited because it is also our first time as well to compete against the best teams. So we are going to keep it very simple, stick to our basics and play as a team.”
Australian women’s team skipper Jude Coleman is a captain who has never failed.
She is into her 12th year as captain and every time she has ensured to lift the world cup.
When Gulf News asked whether Australia, riding on her experience, will cruise to another World Cup triumph, Coleman said: “We definitely don’t think it will be easy. We are expecting extremely tough competition. There is definitely pressure on us as we are a team that has never lost a world cup final but we have prepared well and we are really excited about what lies ahead.
Coleman enjoys the challenge of increasing standard in women’s cricket. “We have set the standard and we find that other teams are always trying to catch up with us and we are wary of it,” said Coleman. “Indoor cricket is growing really fast. We are getting more and more exposure from social media. We have a very good domestic competition back home and that allows us to improve our skills every year,” said Coleman, who wants women’s indoor cricket to become more popular.
New Zealand skipper Regina Lilli is hoping that her team’s hardwork may be rewarded. “We’ve got a new team and we’re in a new place so a lot of the focus is on us and the girls have worked really hard to get here, so we are going to make the most of our opportunities, we have nothing to lose so we are going to give it our best shot.
England skipper Niki Patel is also aiming to stun teams. “This is one of the best ever teams we have brought here to the World Cup, and we have trained really hard over the past few months. We are being seen as underdogs, but we are hoping to shock a few teams this year, ” said Patel.