From the diary of a cricketer

The eight captains pose with the trophy. (ICC) The 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa is fast approaching. The dates are out, the venues nailed down, and the excitement around the tournament is building nicely. However, before we get to South Africa for the first game, there is the simple matter of identifying the final two teams who will make the trip there. That will be done over the course of the next week at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifiers in Abu Dhabi, where between September 18 to 25, eight teams will battle it out for that coveted prize. Bangladesh and Thailand, who were part of the previous World Cup in 2020, will be joined by the five regional qualifiers — Papua New Guinea (EAP), Scotland (Europe), United Arab Emirates (Asia), United States of America (Americas) and Zimbabwe (Africa) — and the highest ranked non-winner, ie Ireland. The teams have been divided into two groups of four and will play each other once, with the top two teams from each group pro

Zimbabwe squad in the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru (Zimbabwe Cricket - Women/ Twitter) It’s a rather humid morning in Bengaluru thanks to the overnight rain. The sun is out, beating down on the still slightly damp outfield of the NICE Cricket Arena. At one end of the ground, the NICE Academy players are sitting in their dugout, sharing a laugh as they prepare for their warm-up. At the other end, the Zimbabwe women’s cricket team have already begun their pre-match routines. It is July 29, Zimbabwe’s last day in India – the end of an 18-day tour during which they played a total of nine limited overs matches against NICE Academy and Karnataka State Cricket Association teams, all in preparation for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifiers in Dubai beginning on September 18. “We arrived here on 12 July,” batter Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano tells me. “It’s been a great experience being here and playing in India for the first time. We have learnt a lot about playing spin and have also gotten u