Nearly blanked!

Pakistan’s women cricket team was nearly blanked by the visiting West Indian women team. The hosts lost six of the seven games played in Karachi during the tour that culminated last Friday. They were first whitewashed by the visitors in the three-match ODI series and then defeated 4-1 in the five-game T20I series. The one-day whitewash prompted the PCB to make changes to the selection committee, bringing in Abdul Razzaq and Asad Shafiq, but that hardly made a difference.

Pakistan’s ordeal started with a 113-run defeat in the first ODI. Chasing 270 to win, Pakistan women were bundled for a mere 156. The hosts did make a match in the second one-dayer. Scoring a fighting 223, they lost the game only on the last ball, by two wickets. The third game again was a one-sided affair with the tourists triumphing by 88 runs to make a clean sweep. From Pakistan side, there were just two fifties in the three games – one each by Sidra Amin and Bismah Maroof – as against a century and two fifties by the visitors. Skipper Nida Dar’s 4 for 52 in the second game and Nashra Sandhu’s 3 for 54 in the third game were the only bowling performances of note from the home team. Meanwhile, the T20I series saw Pakistan women losing three games on the trot. They made it 3-1 winning the fourth game, pretty convincingly. But then the tourists bounced back in the final game to seal the series 4-1.

Given the poor performance against the West Indies, there is need to make a few changes – especially a replacement for former skipper Bishmah Maroof who had been around for the last 18 years – for the upcoming tour of England that features three T20Is and three ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25 fixtures scheduled from May 11 to 29. However, for long-term pursuits, the cricket czars need to hunt and hone new talent.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2024.

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