Bangladesh, Ireland, Scotland and Thailand register victories in their warm-up matches

Often warm-up matches give us a clearer idea as to which of the teams will do well in the main event. If the victories of Bangladesh, Ireland, Scotland and Thailand are anything to go by, then rest assured the ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifiers 2019 will be owned by these teams.

In the first clash, Netherlands took on Bangladesh at the Arbroath Cricket Club. After electing to bat, Netherlands were shot out for 51. Only Sterre Kalis, the young opener, got into double digits for them. Bangladesh had a ball (literally), with three of their bowlers - Fahima Khatun, Khadija Tul Kubra and Shaila Sharmin - picking up two wickets apiece.

In reply, the highest-ranked team in the competition romped home in style to register a ten-wicket win. Openers Sanjida Islam and Ayasha Rahman stayed unbeaten on 24 and 19 respectively, taking only 39 balls to finish the chase.

Expectedly, Netherlands weren't pleased with their outing. "We’re very disappointed by the loss. We haven’t shown what our standards are. We’re looking to regroup and think about our standards," said Denise van Deventer, their vice-captain, after the match.

 

In the second warm-up match, Ireland locked horns with Papua New Guinea at Forthill Sports Club in Dundee. Ireland decided to give their batters a go after they won the toss. They recovered from Gaby Lewis' (1) early fall. Kim Garth scored 57 off 35 balls with seven fours and a six. With useful support from the middle order, Ireland posted 147 on board for the loss of six wickets.

Only Ravina Oa and Mairi Tom bowled their full quota of four overs for PNG. Their batters were never in the game in the 148-run chase. They could hit only five boundaries in their innings; only two batters registering double-figure scores in the process. Eimear Richardson, with figures of 4-0-13-2, stood out for Ireland with the ball. PNG were restricted to 77 for seven in their 20 overs, losing the game by a 70-run margin.

 

In the afternoon game in Dundee, Scotland warmed up in fine fashion as they beat Namibia by 84 runs.

Sarah Bruce and Lorna Jack warmed up with fifties, stitching together an 87-run opening stand. With the base they had set, Scotland posted 170 runs in their 20 overs. Kayleen Green, Namibia's medium pacer, got the breakthrough as well as the next two wickets to fall. To put things into perspective, she was the side's designated wicket-keeper. As many as 11 bowlers were used by them.

In riposte, Namibia could only reach 86, with Dietland Foerster top-scoring with a 20-ball 27. She combined with Irene van Zyl (20) as the pair added 42 runs together to delay the inevitable.

 

In the final warm-up, the United States of America were beaten by 58 runs by Thailand in Arbroath.

The victors were helped by a 76-run partnership between Naruemol Chaiwai and Nattaya Boochatham. The former scored 54 off 59, while the latter chipped in with a run-a-ball 43. Eventually the team ended up with four for 124.

"Not the result we were looking for, but a great experience ahead of the tournament. It’s great for our bowlers and batters to get exposed to the conditions here," said USA captain Sindhu Sriharsha after the side was restricted to just 66 in their 20 overs. Onnicha Kamchomphu was the wrecker-in-chief with three for nine in her four overs.

 

Brief Scores:

Netherlands 51/10, 16.5 overs (Sterre Kalis 19; Shaila Sharmin 2/2) lost to Bangladesh 53/0 in 12.1 overs (Sanjida Islam 24*)

Ireland 147/6 in 20 overs (Kim Garth 57; Mairi Tom 1/25) beat Papua New Guinea 77/7 in 20 overs (Brenda Tau 20; Eimear Richardson 2/13) by 70 runs.

Scotland 170/3 in 20 overs (Lorna Jack 58, Sarah Bryce 51; Kayleen Green 3/26) beat Namibia 86/7 in 20 overs (Dietland Foerster 27; Abtaha Maqsood 2/5) by 84 runs.

Thailand 124/4 in 20 overs (Naruemol Chaiwai 54, Nattaya Boochatham 43; Samantha Ramautar 1/16) beat United States of America 66/7 in 16.4 overs (Nadia Gruny 22; Onnicha Kamchomphu 3/9) by 58 runs.