‘Fearless cricket’ and men’s success can inspire Mir’s girls
PAKISTAN were winless in the ICC Women’s World Cup four years ago but don’t need to look too far for inspiration heading into this year’s tournament.
When the men’s team were comprehensively beaten by India in their opening ICC Champions Trophy game, few gave them a chance – and look what happened next!
The team need captain Sana Mir to fire if they are going to come close to repeating the men’s success with a coach in Sabih Azhar who only took up his new role in April.
But Pakistan legend Shahid Afridi is confident that they can cause a few upsets when the tournament gets underway tomorrow.
“My advice to the team would be similar to the one that I gave to the men’s team – the players must play fearless cricket and shouldn’t be worried about defeat,” he said.
“While the competition is stiff, I have a feeling that Sana Mir’s side will make its mark in the championship.
“Sana has done a wonderful job as an astute and intelligent leader. She has left a lasting impression on the game and has been the most recognised female cricketer in the country for a long time. The all-rounder has to, I feel, lead from the front just as Sarfraz (Ahmed) did for the men’s team during the sensational ICC Champions Trophy campaign.”
Mir took two wickets but was not required to bat as Pakistan won their first World Cup warm-up fixture against reigning T20 world champions West Indies by five wickets.
Nain Abidi (81no) and Bismah Maroof (75) saw their team successfully to their target of 249 with 14 balls to spare.