Thailand Preview: Defeated Sri Lanka, time for the WT20 Qualifiers

In a disappointing Asia Cup campaign, Thailand only managed to win two of their five matches. However, one of these wins came against Sri Lanka, a more experienced side than theirs’, and will help the Thai team gain some confidence heading into the World T20 Qualifiers.



 



Here’s all you need to know about the squad:



Key Players:



For Thailand, bowler Wongpaka Liengprasert will play a big role in the side. A skilled medium pacer, Liengprasert shone against Sri Lanka, snaring five wickets. She can also contribute with the bat, hitting 13* off 9 balls in the same match to guide her team home.



Another important player for the Thai team will be opener Naruemol Chaiwai. Though not a hard-hitter of the ball, Chaiwai will play a vital role in anchoring the innings and creating partnerships to prevent collapses in the batting order. Her highest score in the Asia Cup was 43 off 56, in a winning cause, against Sri Lanka.



 



Strengths:



The Thai teams’ strength lies in their bowling, as was evident in the Asia Cup. Thailand has a disciplined bowling attack that does not leak too many runs. Against Sri Lanka, the bowlers managed to restrict the total to just 104 runs, which the batters could then chase without much trouble.



Even while defending a low total, the bowlers kept their line and length to elongate the run chase. This happened in their match against Pakistan, where Pakistan needed 14 overs to chase down the small target of 67 runs.



 



Weaknesses:



The consistency they have in bowling is, unfortunately, lacking in Thailand’s batting. They lose wickets regularly and are unable to build partnerships to put their opponents under pressure, often posting small totals on board that are easy to chase down.



Thailand does not have a hard-hitting batter that can really take the game away from the opposition, which is imperative, especially in T20 cricket. Their average run rate in the Asia Cup was 3.73 runs an over, which simply is not enough in this format and is an area where the team needs to improve.



 



Importance:



The Qualifiers present an opportunity to the Thai team to redeem itself after the Asia Cup. But, more importantly, qualifying would mean playing against the current best teams in the world and what better way is there to improve than by playing against and learning from such teams?



 



Squad:



Sornnarin Tippoch (c), Nattaya Boochatham, Naruemol Chaiwai, Natthakan Chantham, Onnicha Khamchomphu, Rosenanee Kanoh, Nannapat Koncharonkai, Suleeporn Laomi, Wongpaka Liengprasert, Rattanaporn Padunglerd, Srinitra Saengsakaorat, Sainamin Saenya, Chanida Sutthiruang, Arriya Yenyueak