Bangladesh await WC debut against SA

Bangladesh women’s national cricket team will take the field in a historic match on Saturday as they will take on South Africa in their first-ever match at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 in New Zealand.

Bangladesh have played in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup four times, but this will be their maiden entry to the 50-over World Cup.

Nigar Sultana Joty, captain of Bangladesh, is relishing the opportunity to lead Bangladesh in their first World Cup and believes they perform on the global stage.

’’It is a big opportunity for Bangladesh. We are an improving side, and we want to show that we can compete on the world stage,” she said.

The last time Bangladesh faced South Africa in ODIs was back in May 2018, when the Proteas dominated the five-match series at home beating Bangladesh 5-0.

South Africa Emerging women’s team toured Bangladesh in April 2021, playing a five-match One-Day series in Sylhet.

Bangladesh can draw inspiration from that series as they got the better of the Proteas, winning the series 4-0 with the last match being abandoned.

Bangladesh failed to win any of their two practise matches as they were beaten by England and Pakistan. But solid performances from top-order batters Fargana Hoque and Sharmin Akter Supta will give Bangladesh confidence.

Supta’s 81 against England and Fargana’s 71 against Pakistan were the standout performances in the practice games.

The Bangladesh skipper pointed out that their early arrival in New Zealand and good preparations at home have put them in a solid position from where they can perform.

’’We came here early because we wanted to adapt to the conditions and get used to the wickets as we’ve never played here before.

“We have been working hard since the T20 world cup and believed that this is our best chance. We want to play to the best of our abilities and fulfil our potential,” she explained.

Nigar will rely on her bowling unit to come good as she believes their strength is in their bowling. Fast bowlers Fariha Trishna, Ritu Moni, and left-arm spinner Nahida Akter impressed in the warm-up matches.

“Everyone knows that we have a good bowling unit, and so we want to go with our strength and utilise our potential,” she said.

Nigar emphasised the impact of good performances in the World cup on aspiring cricketers back home saying, ”If we do well here, we can inspire a lot of cricketers back home.”