Ongama Gcwabe
WHENEVER the International Cricket Council (ICC) needs rescuing, particularly when it comes to last-minute and forced venue changes, the United Arab Emirates seems to swoop in.
The UAE came to the rescue almost exactly three years ago when India could not host the Men’s T20 World Cup because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Push has come to shove once again, this time due to political unrest in Bangladesh, which was set to host the women’s version of the competition next month.
Once again, the UAE has opened its doors in the form of two world-class stadiums – Sharjah Cricket Stadium and Dubai International Cricket Stadium – to save the world game.
There are minor changes to the schedule, however.
Last year’s runners-up, South Africa, will no longer play the opener of the tournament nor will they take on England in the first fixture of the tournament, as was initially scheduled.
However, Proteas Women’s batting coach Baakier Abrahams emphasised that they have been working hard to ensure that their game plans and the skill levels of all players in the squad are suitable for them to thrive anywhere in the world.
“The initial reaction to the venue change was that we’re going to have to think on our feet and be a little bit more adaptable now,” Abrahams said.
“When I just came in, we were just trying to identify skill sets, areas of progressions that we could bring within the Proteas Women’s team knowing that would then allow us to be able to play in different conditions based on the growth in our skill sets and our mindset.”
The Dubai International Cricket Stadium had some interesting returns during the Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021. Those games were heavily reliant on who called correctly at the coin toss prior to the game.
Of the 13 matches that were played there, 12 were won by teams who won the toss and opted to chase while Scotland were the only team that chose to defend and eventually lost (to Pakistan).
At Sharjah Cricket Stadium, the matters were not as imbalanced because six of the 11 games that were played there were won by teams batting second while five were won by those batting first.
Despite the glaring differences in the nature of the results between the two venues, Abrahams is adamant that their tour to India last month will work in their favour.
“It’s still the subcontinent, at the end of the day. Going to India also allowed us to start implementing a lot of those skills growth sessions and actually be able to try to implement in real-time and in games of consequence,” he said.
“I think we are (heading) in the right direction in terms of growing the women’s space in terms of their skill sets, the game plans, the tactical acumen and pushing the benchmark a little higher. Once we get there (UAE), tactically we are going to have to assess very quickly.
“It’s going to be up to the coaching staff and the analysts in the Word Cup to pick up some kind of trends very quickly and adapt our game plans accordingly.”
The Proteas Women are currently in camp at Kingsmead in Durban as they prepare for their World Cup opener against the West Indies on October 4 in Dubai.