Zimbabwe Women Face Tough ICC World Cup Hurdle

Zimbabwe were last week drawn in Group A alongside African giants South Africa, Sri Lanka, Netherlands and USA. They will be aiming to finish in the top two in their group before the semi-finals, which will feature the other two finalists from Group B.

Group B will see the hosts, Bangladesh, battling it out against West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland and Japan.

All 10 teams meeting in Dhaka this November will be eyeing one of the available four tickets to India – venue for the 2013 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2013.

England, Australia, India and New Zealand, who finished in the top four at the previous event in 2009, have already been given the green light following their impressive performances.

Zimbabwe, who were captained by Julia Chibhabha, earned their ticket to Bangladesh for their chance of the final fight after finishing second behind South Africa in the African division qualifying tournament staged in Kenya last December.

They beat Tanzania and Uganda before losing to Kenya and South Africa in the round robin phase. They faced South Africa in the finals to be beaten by 218 runs.

Zimbabwe’s provisional squad: Julia Chibhabha , Precious Marange, Sharye Saili, Monalisa Chimutashu, , Audrey Mazvishaya (Eagles), Thandolwenkosi Mlilo, Sarah Dambanevana, Christabel Chatonzwa, Nyasha Gauzeni (Rhinos), Nonhlanhla Nyathi, Ruvarashe Chinyemba, Ashley Burdett, Ashley Ndiraya, Sinikiwe Mpofu, Privilege Charumbira (Rocks), Sharne Meyers, Tazmeen Granger, Loreen Tshuma (Tuskers), Chipo Mugeri, Pellagia Mujaji (Mountaneers).

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Zimbabwe Draws South In Women's Cricket World Cup

Zimbabwe has been drawn in the same group with South Africa in the qualifiers for the 2013 International Cricket Council Women’s World Cup to be hosted by India following the draw conducted by the ICC Wednesday.

The qualifiers, to be held this year, from 14 to 25 November, will see Zimbabwe also in the group with the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, and the United States of America in Group A of the qualifies to be held over four venues in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The other teams at the competition are in Group B where the hosts Bangladesh will compete with the West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland, and Japan.

According to a statement from the International Cricket Council, four teams from the 10 teams at the competition will take the four remaining slots at the 2013 World Cup. The two top teams from each group will qualify for the finals set for India in 2013. India jointly hosted the 2011 ICC World Cup.

England, Australia, India, and New Zealand have already qualified by virtue of finishing in the top four at the ICC Women’s World Cup held in 2009.

Zimbabwe, though, should count themselves luck as their group appears to be the weaker of the two as only South Africa, and probably, Sri Lanka have a history to talk about in world cricket among the teams in the group.

The Netherlands and the United States of America are not known for their cricket and are not even among the Test playing nations where the Zimbabwe men’s team has just made a welcome return after six years of absence.

The 2013 World Cup qualifiers in Dhaka will be held at She-e-Ganga National Cricket Stadium, the Narayangani Osmani Stadium, and the Bangladesh Kirira Shikkha Prostishtan institute of Sports which will contribute two venues.

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Last Spots Up For Grabs In Women’s World Cup

The battle lines have been drawn for the Women’s Cricket World Cup qualifiers, with 10 teams set to duke it out for the remaining four spots in the tournament, which will be held in India in 2013.

Bangladesh is hosting the qualifiers, which run from Nov. 14 to 25 in Dhaka, and has been put in Group B along with the West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland and Japan. Group A features South Africa, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, Zimbabwe and the U.S., the International Cricket Council said in a statement.

The top four teams will join England, Australia, India and New Zealand, who have already qualified for the World Cup after finishing in the top four at the 2009 tournament.

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Women's Ex Captain In Running For CA Top Post

  

Melbourne: Belinda Clark, Australia's most successful women cricketer and captain, has emerged as one of the front runners for Cricket Australia's (CA) newly created post of cricket supremo.

The Daily Telegraph reported that the supremo besides looking at the men's cricket team will also be in charge of the centre of excellence and work closely with state cricket performance and talent managers. The supremo will also be responsible for women's high-performance cricket.

The appointment will reduce the role of current general manager of cricket operations Michael Brown, who still would be responsible for scheduling, player contracts, security and anti-corruption, state and other competitions, umpires and coaches.

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Nicola Browne Announces Retirement

New Zealand allrounder Nicola Browne, 27, has announced her retirement from international cricket. 

"It was a tough decision but I feel that it's the right time to step away," Browne said. "When I look back I feel that I've achieved a lot of what I set out to do and have a lot of fond memories. 

"I am still passionate about cricket and keen to stay involved. My focus will be on helping and supporting others to achieve their goals and dreams and doing my part to continue to grow the women's game in New Zealand." 

Browne, who made her international debut in 2002, played two Tests, 108 ODIs and 34 Twenty20s for New Zealand. She enjoyed a good run in the shorter formats, picking up 77 wickets and scoring 1745 runs in one-dayers, and picked up 33 wickets in T20s, the most by a New Zealand bowler. She was named player of the tournament at the ICC World Twenty20 tournament in 2010. 

"She [Browne] developed into one of the best bowlers in women's cricket and is an excellent role model for the other players," women's coach Gary Stead said. "She is an extremely dedicated and professional athlete and that showed in the way she went about preparing and playing the game."

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Time To Infuse New Talent Say Indian Cricketers

India's drubbing in the just-concluded Test series in England has signalled the urgent need for youngsters to be blooded into the Test team, according to former India captain Anil Kumble. Kumble said that while it could take time for India to return to their best, players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh needed to be given an extended run to allow the rebuilding process to take place.

"They have to be given a long rope," Kumble told AFP. "You may not see India come back to the top in quick time. But we have to ensure that with these youngsters, we remain in the top three and climb to the top spot after a few years."

Arun Lal, the former India batsman, echoed Kumble's view. "You cannot go on with 35 or 38-year-olds till eternity," Lal said. "We need to infuse new talent. What happened in England was in a way good. We needed an awakening."

India's 4-0 loss is the their first whitewash since the three-match series in Australia in 1999-2000, and the first by a four-game margin since the 1967-68 tour of Australia. Since Sourav Ganguly took over the captaincy in 2000, India's overseas record has shown marked improvement - India have won 24 away Tests in the last 11 years as compared to only four between 1980-99.

However, the players responsible for several of these wins have already gone - Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly - or are close to retirement, while the likes of Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, who were part of these wins, have been dogged by injuries recently.

Kapil Dev, another former captain, said several of these players would be hard to replace, making India's task that much harder. "We were fortunate to have such good players all at one time, but they can't go on forever," Dev said. "It won't be easy to replace them."

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said, during commentary, that while England were the better side, he had not expected India to cave in so meekly. "Losing is part of the game but for a top-ranked side to lose so badly is inexcusable," he said. "England were magnificent, they were much superior to India and much better prepared. But I did expect India to show more fight than they did in the four Tests."

With the Don Argus-led review of Australian cricket getting a lot of attention over the last week, there has been speculation over whether the BCCI will commission a similar appraisal in the aftermath of the England series. Former captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi said he didn't anticipate too many changes coming into place. "The BCCI is not going to show a great deal of vision," Pataudi said. "Cricket will continue [in India] the way it is, but I sincerely hope that some sense does come in."

Ravi Shastri, another former captain, said it was time to look at different players for the different formats, with an emphasis on Test cricket. "It's time for Indian cricket to identify players who are specifically suited to the different formats of the game," Shastri wrote in the Times of India. "A way has to be found to encourage those cricketers who want to give Test cricket priority. There ought to be superior remuneration or compensation."

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