Maidens to bowl us over in World Cup
By Karien Jonckheere and Nazli Thomas
The Australia and New Zealand teams arrived in the country on Wednesday, radiating confidence ahead of the Women's Cricket World Cup which kicks off in Gauteng on Tuesday.
For many South Africans this will be the first time they've witnessed women's cricket and few will realise that the Women's World Cup was around two years before the men cottoned on to the concept.
What the SA public will have the opportunity to observe over the next three weeks will be the best eight teams in the world all striving for what only Australia, New Zealand and England have achieved in the tournament's 32-year history - to get their name on the coveted trophy.
We are very confident and are looking forward to playing in South Africa, said New Zealand captain Maia Lewis on her arrival in the country.
We are expecting it to be really tough, though, because the Australians have been on a bit of a winning streak in the past few years and they'll definitely be the favourites, she added.
Also the crowd support certainly won't be as strong as it was when we won at home in 2000.
The South Africans will have a big advantage there. They are the dark horses, I think, because they're a bit of an unknown factor at home.
And England and India will also be much stronger than they were at the last World Cup. I think most of the other teams have improved, so the whole tournament will be a lot more even this time.
Australia coach Steve Jenkins expressed his excitement at being in South Africa for the first time.
We'll spend a couple of days acclimatising at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria and getting used to the conditions and then we look forward to playing all the teams here, he said.
England are a greatly improved team and India are also very strong, so it will be interesting.
As for the New Zealand team that got the better of his side in the last World Cup final in Auckland five years ago, Jenkins added: We've played them 18 times since then and lost only twice, but they're a good side. And they come out strong for the big occasions, so we're expecting them to be tough competition.
Captain of the Australian side Belinda Clark added: Even though we've just come off a series win against New Zealand, they are always a threat.
But we have a lot of experience in our side with more than half the women having played in the last World Cup.
That famous final between the two sides back in 2000 saw the New Zealanders batting first and scoring an unconvincing 184 runs.
Australia batted their way to 150/7, but lost two more wickets and eventually needed five runs off the final over for their fifth World Cup title.
But it was not to be as the Aussies lost their last remaining wicket on the first ball of the over, handing the home side their first World Cup win.
The Australians will certainly be hoping to put the desperate disappointment of that tournament behind them.
But with one side doggedly determined to defend their title and a number of other top contenders, including an impressive-looking English outfit, ready to put an end to the Aussie dominance, the next three weeks are likely to produce a scintillating spectacle of cricket.
Favourites
With four World Cup titles to their credit already, the Australians have to go into this tournament as firm favourites. They may not be the current world champions - having lost out to New Zealand by just four runs five years ago - but there's no doubt the Aussies are the team to beat.
As far as favourites go, all indications are that
Australia will meet New Zealand or possibly even England in the final. But with the Australian side having beaten the Silver Ferns 16 out of the 18 times they've played them in the last five years, the safe bet would certainly be on the Australian side to regain the title. Adding to their already sky-high confidence is the fact that they beat the New Zealand side 3-0 in the recent Rosebowl series.
Outsiders
Another team who are right up there are England. Having made vast improvements since the last World Cup, where they finished fifth, the English side pulled off a 3-2 series win over New Zealand last year and may just spring a few surprises, as may the Indians, who were third on the table five years ago. The Indians also managed to get three games off the mighty Australians in their seven-match home series in December. Meanwhile, playing on home soil, the South Africans may just also be in with a shot at reaching the semifinals, although two consecutive defeats to England in recent warm-up matches would not have helped in boosting their confidence levels.
No-hopers
The fact that Ireland and Sri Lanka have booked their flights back home for April 4, a day before the first semifinals of the tournament, speaks volumes. These teams, together with the West Indies, are expected to occupy the spots at the bottom of the table by that stage in the competition.
- Australia
Belinda Clark (captain)
Alex Blackwell,
Kate Blackwell,
Louise Broadfoot,
Cathryn Fitzpatrick,
Julie Hayes,
Melanie Jones,
Shelley Nitschke,
Julia Price,
Karen Rolston, Clea Smith,
Lisa Sthalekar,
Emma Liddell,
Lisa Keightly
Coach: Steve Jenkins
- England
Clare Connor (captain),
Rosalie Birch, Arran Brindle,
Katherine Brunt,
Charlotte Edwards,
Jenny Gunn,
Lydia Greenway,
Isa Guha, Beth Morgan,
Laura Newton, Lucy Pearson,
Nicky Shaw, Jane Smit,
Claire Taylor,
Clare Taylor
Coach: Richard Bates
- India
Mamath Maben (captain), Mithali Raj,
Nooshan Al-Khadeer,
Anjum Chopra,
Neetu David,
Jhulan Goswami,
Anju Jain, Hemlata Kala,
Arundhati Kirkire,
Deepa Kulkarni,
Monica Sumra,
Amita Sharma,
Jaya Sharma,
Varsha Raphael
Coach: Sudha Shah
- Ireland
Clare Shillington (captain), Cecelia Joyce,
Emma Beamish,
Caitriona Beggs,
Aoiffe Budd,
Una Budd, Nicki Coffey,
Jo Day, Miriam Grealy, Marianne Herbert,
Anne Linehan,
Barbara McDonald,
Ciara Metcalf, Elaine Nolan,
Eimear Richardson,
Jillian Smyth,
Heather Whelan,
Jill Whelan
Coach: Peter Johnston
- New Zealand
Maia Lewis (captain),
Nicola Browne,
Sarah Burke, Anna Corbin,
Emily Drumm,
Maria Fahey,
Sara McGlashan,
Louise Milliken,
Rachel Pullar,
Rebecca Rolls,
Rebecca Steele, Haidee Tiffen,
Natalee Scripps,
Helen Watson
Coach: Mike Shrimpton
- South Africa
Alison Hodgkinson (captain), Crizelda Brits,
Lonell de Beer,
Shandre Fritz,
Ashlyn Kilowan,
Johmari Logtenberg, Nolubabalo Ndzundzu, Shafeeqa Pillay,
Tamara Reeves,
Alicia Smith,
Angelique Taai,
Claire Terblanche,
Magdalena Terblanche, Charlize van der Westhuizen
Coach: Stephen Jones
- Sri Lanka
Sandamali K Dolewette (captain),
HA Shashikala Siriwardena, Hiruka Dilani Fernando,
Proba Malkanthi Udewatte,
S Inoka Galagedera,
L Dedunu U W de Silva,
AD Janakanthi Mala,
P Chamari Sarojiki Polgammpola,
PD Swini P de Alwis,
BA Thilaka Nilmini Gunaratne, J Mitchelle Perera,
S Sripalee Weerakody,
L Eshani Kaushalya,
EM Thanuja Priyadararshini Ekanyake
Coach: Nihal Senaka Kodituwakku
West Indies
Stephanie Power (captain), Kirbyina Alexander,
Melisia Billingy, Jade Chadee, Felicia Gail Cummings,
Shane Da Silva,
Verena Felicien,
Nadine George,
Indomatie Goordial,
Cordel Jack, Pamela Levine, Debbie-Anne Lewis,
Anisa Mohammed,
Juliana Nero,
Jaqueline Robinson,
Philippa Thomas,
Envis Williams, Nelly Williams
Coach: Anne Brown-John
Fixtures
- March 21
Opening Ceremony - SuperSport Park
- March 22: Match Day 1
South Africa v Ireland - SuperSport Park
New Zealand v West Indies - Harlequins
Sri Lanka v India - Centurion Laudium
England v Australia - Technikon A
- March 23: Rest day
- March 24: Match Day 2
South Africa v West Indies - Centurion Laudium
India V Ireland - Technikon A
New Zealand v Australia - LC Oval
England v Sri Lanka - Harlequins
- March 26: Match Day 3
Australia v West Indies - Rustenburg
England v Ireland - Eersterust Cricket Club
South Africa v India - Technikon A
New Zealand v Sri Lanka -- Harlequins
- March 28: Match Day 4
England v India - Laudium Oval
Sri Lanka v West Indies - Willowmoore Park
South Africa v Australia - LC Oval
New Zealand v Ireland - Harlequins
- March 30: Match Day 5
West Indies v Ireland - Laudium Oval
South Africa v England - Harlequins
Australia v Sri Lanka - LC Oval
India v New Zealand - Technikon Oval
- April 1: Match Day 6
India v West Indies - Harlequins
South Africa v Sri Lanka - Technikon Oval
England v New Zealand - LC Oval
Australia v Ireland - Eersterust Cricket Club
- April 3: Match Day 7
England v West Indies - Harlequins
Sri Lanka v Ireland - Technikon Oval
Australia v India - Centurion Laudium
South Africa v New Zealand - LC Oval
- April 5: Semifinal 1
Team 1 v Team 4 - Potchefstroom
- April 5: Reserve day
- April 7: Semifinal 2
Team 2 v Team 3 - Potchefstroom
- April 8: Reserve day
- April 10: Final
SuperSport Park
- April 11: Reserve day
All games begin at 10am except the final which starts at 9.30am.
Entrance to all matches is free, except for the final. Tickets for the final cost R20 and can be purchased at SuperSport Park.