THE Pakistan women’s cricket team’s tour to South Africa, which is all set to commence in January 2021, will give much-needed foreign exposure to a side that has not seen notable international activity during the past year, mainly due to the pandemic. The series, comprising three ODIs and an equal number of T20 games, holds a lot of significance for Pakistan’s women cricketers who will be featuring in the ICC Women’s World Cup qualifier in July 2021 to make the grade for the mega event in 2022. This will be the side’s second tour to South Africa in 18 months. And they can take heart from their performance in the series played in May 2019 which was one of the most keenly contested on all counts. The three-match ODI series resulted in 1-1 with the last match ending in a thrilling tie, while the hard-fought five-match T20 series was clinched 3-2 by the hosts. Pakistan will once again be led by veteran Bismah Maroof who was the first woman cricketer to have scored 1,000 runs in ODIs. She will be looking at her talented teammates such as Aliya Riaz, Javeria Khan, Nahida Khan, Nida Dar, Diana Baig and others to produce match-winning performances against a competitive rival.
From the start of the training camp in Karachi until the side’s departure for Durban on Jan 11 the cricketers will train in a bio-secure environment and will also be required to serve the quarantine period upon landing in South Africa. It remains to be seen how they cope with the Covid-19 protocols which have already taken a heavy toll on a number of men players around the world, some of whom have opted out of tours citing mental pressure brought on by mandatory isolation. The role of head coach David Hemp and bowling coach Arshad Khan will be important for Bismah and her team in this regard, and should hopefully help them overcome the off-field challenges to excel in the contest itself.
Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2020
