Pak women cricket team to face New Zealand in ICC World Cup

LAHORE, July 7 (APP): Pakistan women cricket team will play New
Zealand in the ICC Women World Cup on Saturday (tomorrow) at Taunton, England.
Pakistan, beaten by India and Australia, again faces an uphill
task while playing Kiwis. Pakistan team is still in search of the
first victory in the tournament, according to the information made
available to APP, here on Friday.
A big win over the West Indies pushed New Zealand back into the
top four after four games at the ICC Women’s World Cup, but Captain
Suzie Bates knows that every game is crucial ahead of Saturday’s
clash with Pakistan.
She said: “This whole tournament we’ve understood that every
game was going to be a big match, and having the rain-affected
match has made that even more important.
“Every game is almost a knock-out game so we have to bring our
A class game, and play as well as we can against any opposition.”
Although not mathematically eliminated, Pakistan’s chances of
progressing are slim, but captain Sana Mir feels the team has learnt
a lot so far, and needs to build on that experience.
She said: “We may not have had the best tournament so far but we
need to enjoy it; we only qualified for the tournament a few months
ago so just being here is an achievement in itself and I think we are
better than we have shown so far.
“What’s very important is that we are able to bat out the 50 overs
like we did against Australia. We need young girls who are playing in
the future to get an opportunity to face the best bowlers in the world.
This is a learning curve for the newcomers.
“I think we have started very well with the ball against all the
big teams so we’re not afraid of them [New Zealand].
“I think with the kind of attitude and consistency we’re showing
with our bowling, particularly early on, we can hurt New Zealand.”
Squads:
New Zealand: Suzie Bates (captain), Erin Bermingham, Sophie Devine, Maddie Green, Holly Huddleston, Leigh Kasperek, Amelia Kerr, Katey
Martin, Thamsyn Newton, Katie Perkins, Anna Peterson, Rachel Priest,
Hannah Rowe, Amy Satterthwaite and Lea Tahuhu.
Pakistan: Sana Mir (captain), Asmavia Iqbal, Ayesha Zafar, Diana
Baig, Ghulam Fatima, Iram Javed, Javeria Wadood, Kainat Imtiaz, Marina Iqbal, Bibi Nahida, Nain Abidi, Nashra Sundhu, Sadia Yousaf, Sidra Nawaz
and Waheeda Akhter.
Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite and S Saikat.
Match referee: Richie Richardson.