Thailand Women 63 (18 overs) beat Canada Women 61 for nine wkts (20 overs) by two runs
Canada’s Women cricketers lost by just two runs to the 2013 Asian Cricket Council Women’s Champions Thailand at the Civil Service Ground, Phoenix Park, Dublin on Friday (July 19) after an earlier 17 run loss to Scotland.
Pundarika Prathanmitr hit four boundaries in top-scoring with 18 runs from 24 balls for Thailand, who won the toss and elected to bat. Three of the top five Thai batters were run out in the early going but the next four batters each stuck around for 16-19 balls, but the Thais were all out for 63 from 18 overs. Kamla Michandani picked up three wickets for three runs from two overs to mop up the tail-end batters. Number five bat Durriya Shabbir battled away to make 23 runs (one boundary) for Canada before being run out, but no other batter was able to reach double figures and Thailand’s women won by two runs in a low scoring game.

Batting conditions were not too favourable as the day wore on, based on one report. Canada-Thailand was the third game of the day at the Civil Service ground, Dublin. Play began with Scotland scoring 130 for six (20 overs) then restricting Canada to 113 for nine wickets (20 overs) and was followed by Scotland reaching 95 for eight in 20 overs against Thailand. A second wicket stand added 34 runs in eight overs for Thailand, but the Scots bowlers limited the Thais to 81 for eight. So Scotland won by 14 runs.

In the loss to Thailand there four Canadian bowlers conceded between 1.50 and 2.33 runs per over, which is very good by normal Twenty20 standards but there was a costly gap between the 24 bowling extras (21 wides, 3 no-balls) conceded by Canada and the 11 bowling extras conceded by Thailand (11 wides).

Both Canada and Thailand face tough starts in the Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier on Tuesday as each face the top-seed in their respective groups. Canada plays Sri Lanka and Thailand meet Pakistan. The differences in Women’s Cricket rankings can include some significant gaps, which is still a factor in the world of women’s ice hockey. Still, Japan’s Women split two games with Scotland in early May 2013 in Glasgow. Lack of knowledge about the opposition and how quickly players attune to different conditions can make a difference, particularly in short Twenty20 matches. (EN)