Pakistan, South Africa women’s teams to clash in first ODI

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan women’s national cricket team will be in action after a gap of over 10 months for the first of the three one-day-internationals against South Africa on Wednesday.

The match will be played at Kingsmead Cricket Stadium.

The national team played last in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia before the Covid-19 pandemic brought an abrupt halt to sporting activities across the globe.

Javeria Khan captains Pakistan for the series.

All three ODIs and the three T20Is, which follow them, will be played at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium and this will mark the first instance of the side playing at this venue.

Javeria Khan: “We are absolutely delighted to be in South Africa to resume international cricket after a long gap of 10 months. We have been eagerly waiting for this moment and since now it is here, every player is excited and looking forward to making it memorable.

“This squad has been sweating it out and have put in the hard yards in the last three months. Despite Covid-19 pandemic, we were fortunate enough to have a strength and conditioning camp, a three-team domestic T20 tournament and a pre-departure camp in which we got the desired match practice.

“This series is of great significance for us as it not only allows us to play a better-ranked side but it also serves as a platform to kick off our preparations for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers later this year. We have had competitive training sessions since our arrival here and they have helped us in acclimatisation.”

Pakistan and South Africa have played 21 ODIs against each other. Pakistan have won four, while South Africa have won 15.

Pakistan squad:

Javeria Khan (c), Aimen Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Anam Amin, Ayesha Naseem, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Kainat Imtiaz, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui, Nahida Khan, Nashra Sandhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Nawaz (wk) and Syeda Aroob Shah

Tour schedule (all matches at Kingsmead Cricket Stadium, Durban): 

20 Jan – First ODI, 1pm (PST)

23 Jan – Second ODI, 1pm (PST)

26 Jan – Third ODI, 1pm (PST)

T20S

29 Jan – First T20I, 6.30pm (PST)

31 Jan – Second T20I, 6.30pm (PST)

3 Feb – Third T20I, 6.30pm (PST)