WGDS heads to Australia to take part in WBBL warm-up games

The second Women’s Global Development Squad (WGDS) will be heading to Australia to compete in the five matches against WBBL clubs. This is a joint initiative run by the International Cricket Council (ICC), Cricket Australia and the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) where eleven promising players will take part.



The squad will come from seven ICC Members - Netherlands, PNG, Scotland, Thailand, Vanuatu and Zimbabwe. Along with them, local players from Australia will take part in the matches. The squad will attend the training schedule under former Australia player Alex Blackwell. This training will be followed by a five-match series, which will be a part of the WBBL warm-up schedule for Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricane and Sydney Thunder.



Thailand has three players representing the WGDS, with 18-year-old Nannapat Khoncharoenkra, Nattakan Chantham and Nattaya Boochatham will play from Thailand. Khoncharoenkra is the youngest player of the squad. Cricket Association of Thailand (CAT) has identified her talent and she has earned a full educational and cricket scholarship from the CAT. Along with them is Nattaya Boochatham, the experienced all-rounder with the highest-ranked Associate Member all-rounder on the ICC Women’s T20I Player Rankings.



From PNG, the players will be Ravini Oa, Kaia Arua and Veru Frank. Ravini Oa and Kaia Aura have retained their places in the squad after their wonderful performances in the first edition of the ECB Super League. Veru Frank had a wonderful season for PNG in the ICC Women's World T20 Qualifier in July with the highest strike-rate of 102.81 and an average of 24.33.



Modester Mupachikwa from Zimbabwe made her debut in 2011 at a very young age of 14 and has become one of the most dependable players in the team. Captain of Zimbabwe, Chipo Tiripani, too will be a part of the team.



The remaining three players will be Vanuatu’s captain Selina Selman, the Netherlands’s 19-year-old Sterre Kalis, who was the highest run-scorer at the ICC Women’s World T20 Qualifier 2018 with 231 runs, and Priyanaz Chatterji, Scotland’s right-arm pace bowler.



Steven Knox from Scotland has been named as the Head Coach of the team. Along with Knox, ex-Australian international Julia Price will join as the mentor coach, who has coached Tasmania Roar and Hobart Hurricanes.



Holly Colvin, Women’s Cricket Manager of ICC told, "The ICC are excited for the second Women's Global Development Squad, following the success of the first edition in July at the ECB Super League. We are delighted to be working with Cricket Australia and the WBBL to provide this fantastic opportunity to upcoming players in the women's game."



"We have already seen some standout performances in the ICC Women’s World T20, showing the women’s game is continuing to grow from strength to strength. We need to continue to promote world-class development opportunities for players and coaches from emerging countries for the global game to flourish as a whole."



Kim McConnie, the Head of Big Bash League said, "The Rebel WBBL continues to go from strength to strength each season and it’s a pleasure to have the ICC’s support in making this fantastic initiative possible."



"Women’s cricket across the globe continues to advance and having eleven talented players from seven aspiring nations training and playing against three of our WBBL clubs provides them with the unique opportunity to learn from some of the world’s best players. We are excited to see what this year’s group of players has to offer when they take to the field next Monday and look forward to continuing working with the ICC to develop women’s cricket."



Former Australia all-rounder turned coach, Alex Blackwell, said, "I am excited to work with the Women’s Global Development squad because I am passionate about providing equal opportunities for cricketers from all around the world to fulfil their potential."



"This development squad provides a wonderful opportunity for female cricketers from developing cricket nations to experience top-level cricket and take back what they learn to share with their national teammates. Cricket for women has continued to go from strength to strength and it would be fantastic to see players from the Global Development Squad being selected in the Rebel Women’s Big Bash or ECB Super League in the not too distant future."



Full Fixture here



Squad:



Nannapat Koncharoenkrai (Thailand), Nattakan Chantham (Thailand), Nattaya Boochatham (Thailand), Ravini Oa (PNG), Veru Frank (PNG), Kaia Arua (PNG); Chipo Tiripani (Zimbabwe), Modester Mupachikwa (Zimbabwe), Sterre Kalis (Netherlands), Priyanaz Chatterji (Scotland), Selina Solman (Vanuatu), Mikayla Hinkley (Local selection, Australia).