Teams prepare to slug it out for place in ICC Women's World T20 2018

Bangladesh and Ireland lead a list of eight nations who will be aspiring to give it their best shot in the ICC Women’s World T20 Qualifier 2018 in the Netherlands from Saturday, which provides the top two teams passage into the event proper in the West Indies later this year.

Bangladesh and Ireland are ranked ninth and 10th respectively on the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s Team Rankings and pose a huge challenge to other teams in the eight-team tournament being held at the VRA Cricket Ground in Amstelveen and Kampong Cricket Club in Utrecht.

Bangladesh is in Group A, which also comprises the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, and the United Arab Emirates, while Ireland is in Group B along with Scotland, Thailand, and Uganda. Both finalists from the tournament will join Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and host West Indies in the ICC Women’s World T20 2018 from 9-24 November.

Bangladesh women beginning to impress

Apart from the two qualifying spots and the exposure of playing, sides also have an added incentive since all matches of the tournament are classified as Twenty20 Internationals.

Bangladesh and Ireland are not taking any team lightly and would be looking to grab eyeballs during a season that has seen several new highs. New Zealand set a new high ODI score last month while the T20I record team score has been broken three times this year, including twice in the same day by New Zealand and then England in a tri-series last month.

Anju Jain, a former India wicketkeeper-batter who has recently taken over as Bangladesh’s coach, is impressed not just with her own team but also the talent in other sides in the competition.

“I have been pretty impressed with the potential and talent of the Bangladesh team. I have only been here for the past two months and in that time the girls have been doing really well, credit goes to the players for the way they have responded. Our main focus has been converting potential to performance, as a team we need to look to keep on improving and make sure we qualify for the ICC Women’s WT20 in the West Indies.

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