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May 16, 2008

An overseas player job application

Posted 1 day, 8 hours ago in Asia Cup, 2008





Few highlights for Pakistan in the Asia Cup © Tigercricket.com
I am now back in Pakistan after the conclusion of the Women's Asia Cup and it is good to be home after such a disappointing performance at the event.

We know we didn't do as well as we should have done in the tournament, but at least we managed to register one victory against Bangladesh in our return match.

There were few highlights to pick out at the event apart from my recording my first ODI fifty against Sri Lanka and Javeria Khan's extraordinary match-winning performance against Bangladesh when she took 6-8.

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May 14, 2008

An easier ride than expected

Posted 3 days, 7 hours ago in





Mithali Raj receives the Women's Asia Cup from Gamini Lokuge, Sri Lanka's sports minister © Cricinfo Ltd.
Mithali Raj

It’s good to be home after a successful tour. When we landed last night in Chennai there were a lot of reporters waiting for us but I had to rush to catch my connecting flight to Hyderabad and couldn’t give any interviews. There have been a few calls for interviews here as well.

Overall, I felt it was a good tournament for India. We tried out five newcomers and I am happy that all of them utilised the opportunity to ease themselves in to international cricket. As far as the other teams are concerned, at the start of the tournament I thought we would get some stiff competition, but after the first leg, I felt it was easier than it should have been.

Bangladesh is a very talented side. In their very first outing, they have performed – so they are ready to play in this level. Pakistan, I feel, have underperformed. This is the more or less the same side as the last Asia Cup but they haven’t delivered this time – maybe their batting has failed. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have a good bowling and fielding side but they don’t have depth in their middle order. Their top order is good but once they are dismissed, Sri Lanka don’t have the batsmen to take them to a competitive total.

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May 9, 2008

Two-hour drives, and a six-match winning streak

Posted 1 week ago in Asia Cup, 2008





A good tournament for me as a batsman © Tigercricket.com

Mithali Raj

We have won all our matches and that feels great but there is no point winning all the league matches if you lose the final – for then you’ve lost the Asia Cup. So we have to maintain our focus till the end.

What has been satisfying is that the girls who are making their debuts are performing really well and that shows that our standard is higher than the other sides. Pujare Seema, who is the tournament’s highest wicket-taker with 11 from four games, has been impressive. She has the slow loop of an offspinner and on a turning wicket she can give a lot of problems. With Jhulan Goswami getting 100 wickets, we now have two players – the other being Neetu David – in the side who have reached the landmark. Now I’m looking forward to other bowlers getting to that milestone – Rumeli Dhar and Amita Sharma.

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May 7, 2008

Room for improvement

Posted 1 week, 2 days ago in Asia Cup, 2008





Urooj Mumtaz shakes hands with her Bangladeshi counterpart, Salma Khatun, before a match © TigerCricket.com
Urooj Mumtaz

Four matches, four defeats is not exactly how I imagined our Asia Cup campaign would begin. Quite simply, our batting, bowling and fielding hasn't been up to the levels that I would expect considering the ability of players in our team.

We always knew that it would be a challenge to take on the likes of India and Sri Lanka, who are two of the best sides in the world, but we shouldn't really being losing to Bangladesh. However, we have been really impressed with how they have taken the playing at this level and they should be congratulated on the impact that they have on this tournament in their inaugural appearance.

The main positive to take from the event so far was our performance against Sri Lanka in our return match. In all honesty, we probably should have won but once again our batting let us down. We know that we need to eliminate this habit of losing wickets in quick succession if we are to have an impact at the ICC Women's World Cup next year.


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The Contributors

Mithali Raj, India's captain, has been on the international circuit for nearly a decade. In August 2006 she led the side to their first-ever Test and series victory in England and wrapped up the year winning the Asia Cup - the second time in 12 months - without dropping a single game. India, under her captaincy, also reached the World Cup final in 2005 and she will be hoping she can do the same next year but before she can do that she has to tackle the Asia Cup, a tour of England and the small matter of a Twenty20 World Cup.

Urooj Mumtaz managed to juggle a course in dentistry along with captaining Pakistan. Their most recent triumph was qualifying for the World Cup next year and the 22-year old Urooj will lead a young team to Australia in hope of creating a favourable impression of the Pakistan women's team among the other sides as well as back home. A legspinner, she has a hat-trick against Zimbabwe.
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