Pakistan women will face South Africa in a three-match women’s ODI series to start at the Gaddafi stadium from September 16 (Tuesday) today.
The ODIs will be staged at the Gaddafi Stadium on 16, 19 and 22 September, with the first ball of all matches to be bowled at 3.30pm PKT.
South Africa women’s cricket team are on their third tour of Pakistan in three years with the recent two acting as part of preparations for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 and ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025, respectively.
Pakistan’s 15-member squad will be captained by Fatima Sana, while Laura Wolvaardt will lead the visiting side. In the build-up to the series, Pakistan held a two-week pre-series camp in Lahore, which included practice sessions and scenario-based matches.
The squad features one uncapped player, Eyman Fatima, who recently made her T20I debut against Ireland in Dublin in August.
The forthcoming series provides both sides with an opportunity to finalise preparations for the eight-team ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, set to take place from 30 September to 2 November in India and Sri Lanka. Pakistan will play all their matches in Sri Lanka.
On head to head, in 28 ODI matches, South Africa had an upper hand against Pakistan, but the last time when both sides met, Pakistan had defeated South Africa by eight wickets in the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25 series fixture at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi on 14 September 2023.
For Pakistan, in the current squad, in the batting department, Aliya Riaz has featured in 11 ODIs against South Africa, scoring 351 runs, which included three half-centuries. In the bowling unit, left-arm spinner Nashra Sundhu has played 12 matches, claiming 16 wickets at an economy rate of 3.91.
Pakistan captain Fatima Sana, while talking to the PCB Digital ahead of the ODI series, said, “A series like this is very beneficial for the team ahead of the World Cup. It gives the players a good opportunity to put into practice all the preparation they have done in the recent times.
“Everyone knows Pakistan rely on their bowling attack, so this time our focus will be on getting more support from the batting unit as well. We worked a lot on batting during the camp.”
Fatima’s counterpart Laura Wolvaardt maintained, “This series is an important part of our preparations for the World Cup. The conditions will be similar to those at the World Cup, so it’s a great opportunity for us to get ready.
“Pakistan are a good side with some quality batters and players who play spin very well. I am expecting a strong contest in the series.”