Pak Women eye ‘good results’ in T20 World Cup

KARACHI: When the ICC Women's T20 World Cup gets underway in South Africa from February 10, Pakistan won't begin as one of the title contenders.

With teams like England and Australia likely to dominate, second-tier sides including Pakistan would be hoping to making their presence felt in the 10-nation spectacle.

However, Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof stressed on Saturday that her team will go all out to produce “good results” in the tournament.

“We have improved as a team over the years and this tournament gives us another opportunity to test ourselves. We are all pumped up and we’re excited to put in our best efforts to create good results for our team,” Bismah commented on the Captains' Day in Cape Town.

Cape Town’s Table Mountain was the backdrop for the Captains’ Day, setting the tone for an exciting month of fast-paced and high-energy cricket as the World Cup comes to South African shores for the very first time.

The Captains’ Day which took place at Cape Town’s Waterfront marks the start of the eight edition of the World Cup which is now just six days away.

The wait for Africa’s first Women’s T20 World Cup is nearly over as the 10 best teams in the world will be in action across three iconic venues, Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town, Boland Park in Paarl and St George’s Park in Gqeberha, with the opening match taking place on February 10, when South Africa face Sri Lanka at Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town.

The 10 captains have shared their excitement and thoughts ahead of the start of the event.

Australia’s Meg Lanning said: “It’s great to be here, we’ve been looking forward to this tournament for a while. We’ve spent a couple of days getting used to the new climate – it’s pretty hot here – and there’s some amazing things to see and experience”.

New Zealand’s Sophie Devine said: “It’s such an awesome experience. Taking part in a World Cup is such a special moment and honour to represent your country. This is an awesome opportunity to show off our beautiful game to the rest of the world.”

India’s Harmanpreet Kaur said: “After watching the U19 World Cup, we are motivated to do what they have done. They have motivated us to do well, they have done it and we have not done it yet.