Gavaskar advises India to believe in itself and take heart from men’s team’s win in 1983
Akram says Pakistan girls deserve to compete against the best; Ranatunga confident Sri Lanka capable of causing a few surprises
Hunger and drive necessary to be the absolute best, reminds Vettori; Strauss says England should be proud of its recent record
Former and current captains of the men’s teams have sent their respective national cricket teams good-luck messages ahead of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2009 which gets underway in Australia next week.
Eight teams – holder Australia, India, England, New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Pakistan – will go head to head from 7 March in a 16-day tournament during which 25 matches will be played.
ESPN STAR Sports, ICC’s official broadcaster, will broadcast all seven matches that will take place at North Sydney Oval, including the final. This will ensure that the event will be the most widely viewed yet, with the coverage to be aired in more than 100 countries.
Indian great Sunil Gavaskar, one of the ICC Hall of Famers, said the India team should take heart from the 1983 ICC Cricket World Cup triumph and continue to believe in itself. “The Indian team was good enough to get to the finals of the last World Cup, so it should believe in itself and play freely. It is a team with a combination of youth and experience and that is always a great way to begin a campaign.
“The team was lucky that it was practised at the National Cricket Academy and the players were able to interact with the likes of VVS Laxman and RP Singh which would have given them a lot of confidence.
“This is the silver jubilee year of India’s triumph in the 1983 World Cup and if the women’s team can take heart from that effort and keep fighting till the last ball is bowled, who knows, it may be able to do what we did 25 years ago.”
Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram, who was player of the final of the 1992 World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against England, said Pakistan’s participation in the premier competition was evidence that the country’s girls had the talent to compete against the best. “It is great to know that Pakistan women’s cricket team has qualified for the World Cup. It clearly proves that the team has the talent that is required to line up with the best in women’s cricket.
“I want to see the Pakistan team go out there and give its best. It has nothing to lose as it is not amongst the top-ranked teams. This should lessen the pressure on the players and when you have nothing to lose and nothing to fear, you tend to give up your best,” said Akram who took 414 Test and 502 ODI wickets during his career.
Arjuna Ranatunga, who led Sri Lanka to World Cup glory in Lahore in 1996, advised his team to go match by match as the event was not about big names. “The World Cup is not about big names but about how you perform in the big arena.
“Sri Lanka needs to take each game at a time and go stage by stage. Its first target should be to qualify for the Super Six stage. The players need to trust their talent, ability, prowess and need to believe that they are good enough to win the ICC Women’s World Cup,” said Ranatunga, a veteran of 93 Tests and 269 ODIs.
New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori said Haidee Tiffen’s side was strong and had some good performers. “The New Zealand side looks to be one of the most experienced we’ve had in a while and there is some world-class talent in there with hitters like Suzie Bates, all-rounder Nicola Browne and bowlers like Sophie Devine.
“In a World Cup it’s all about performance on the day so there’s got to be a hunger and a drive to be the absolute best you can be.
“We cheered them when they played the curtain- raiser to our Twenty20 International against Australia and will be sending messages of support to the team throughout the World Cup and keeping in contact with them as much as possible.”
England captain Andrew Strauss said Charlotte Edwards’ team should be proud of its recent record which will give it the confidence to do well in Australia. “The England women’s team can be really proud of its record over the last few years and beating Australia at home and away was a terrific achievement. The team has plenty of talented young players coming through the system too which bodes well for the future.
“We always take an interest in how the women’s team is doing and it was great to see Charlotte Edwards winning the ICC Women’s Player of the Year award in Dubai last year.
“It’s an important year for the women’s team. With three major competitions coming up, it gives them a great opportunity to get more exposure for women’s cricket and hopefully it will help encourage more women and girls in this country to take up the sport.”
Akram says Pakistan girls deserve to compete against the best; Ranatunga confident Sri Lanka capable of causing a few surprises
Hunger and drive necessary to be the absolute best, reminds Vettori; Strauss says England should be proud of its recent record
Former and current captains of the men’s teams have sent their respective national cricket teams good-luck messages ahead of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2009 which gets underway in Australia next week.
Eight teams – holder Australia, India, England, New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Pakistan – will go head to head from 7 March in a 16-day tournament during which 25 matches will be played.
ESPN STAR Sports, ICC’s official broadcaster, will broadcast all seven matches that will take place at North Sydney Oval, including the final. This will ensure that the event will be the most widely viewed yet, with the coverage to be aired in more than 100 countries.
Indian great Sunil Gavaskar, one of the ICC Hall of Famers, said the India team should take heart from the 1983 ICC Cricket World Cup triumph and continue to believe in itself. “The Indian team was good enough to get to the finals of the last World Cup, so it should believe in itself and play freely. It is a team with a combination of youth and experience and that is always a great way to begin a campaign.
“The team was lucky that it was practised at the National Cricket Academy and the players were able to interact with the likes of VVS Laxman and RP Singh which would have given them a lot of confidence.
“This is the silver jubilee year of India’s triumph in the 1983 World Cup and if the women’s team can take heart from that effort and keep fighting till the last ball is bowled, who knows, it may be able to do what we did 25 years ago.”
Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram, who was player of the final of the 1992 World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against England, said Pakistan’s participation in the premier competition was evidence that the country’s girls had the talent to compete against the best. “It is great to know that Pakistan women’s cricket team has qualified for the World Cup. It clearly proves that the team has the talent that is required to line up with the best in women’s cricket.
“I want to see the Pakistan team go out there and give its best. It has nothing to lose as it is not amongst the top-ranked teams. This should lessen the pressure on the players and when you have nothing to lose and nothing to fear, you tend to give up your best,” said Akram who took 414 Test and 502 ODI wickets during his career.
Arjuna Ranatunga, who led Sri Lanka to World Cup glory in Lahore in 1996, advised his team to go match by match as the event was not about big names. “The World Cup is not about big names but about how you perform in the big arena.
“Sri Lanka needs to take each game at a time and go stage by stage. Its first target should be to qualify for the Super Six stage. The players need to trust their talent, ability, prowess and need to believe that they are good enough to win the ICC Women’s World Cup,” said Ranatunga, a veteran of 93 Tests and 269 ODIs.
New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori said Haidee Tiffen’s side was strong and had some good performers. “The New Zealand side looks to be one of the most experienced we’ve had in a while and there is some world-class talent in there with hitters like Suzie Bates, all-rounder Nicola Browne and bowlers like Sophie Devine.
“In a World Cup it’s all about performance on the day so there’s got to be a hunger and a drive to be the absolute best you can be.
“We cheered them when they played the curtain- raiser to our Twenty20 International against Australia and will be sending messages of support to the team throughout the World Cup and keeping in contact with them as much as possible.”
England captain Andrew Strauss said Charlotte Edwards’ team should be proud of its recent record which will give it the confidence to do well in Australia. “The England women’s team can be really proud of its record over the last few years and beating Australia at home and away was a terrific achievement. The team has plenty of talented young players coming through the system too which bodes well for the future.
“We always take an interest in how the women’s team is doing and it was great to see Charlotte Edwards winning the ICC Women’s Player of the Year award in Dubai last year.
“It’s an important year for the women’s team. With three major competitions coming up, it gives them a great opportunity to get more exposure for women’s cricket and hopefully it will help encourage more women and girls in this country to take up the sport.”
ICC Media Release
Thursday, February 26, 2009 5:35:20 PM
No comments:
Post a Comment