The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday announced a list of 17 women cricketers who have been awarded incentive and performance-based contracts. These contracts are from January 1, 2019 till June 30, 2019. “The contracts for the first half of 2019 have been awarded following the settlement of all outstanding payments from the July-December 2018 contract period,” said a spokesman for the PCB. Fareeha Mehmood, Ghulam Fatima, Maham Tariq and Rameen Shamin have lost their contracts, while Omaima Sohail is the only new face in the 17-player list. Sidra Amin and Aliya Riaz have been promoted from category D and E to category C and D, respectively, while Muneeba Ali Siddique has slipped from category C to D. Fresh contracts have been awarded following an appraisal process, in which the player performances in the six-month contract period were taken into consideration by the four-person committee, comprising Haroon Rashid (Director – Cricket Operations), Jalaluddin (Chairman of the Selection Committee), Mark Coles (Head coach – Pakistan women’s cricket team) and Asmavia Iqbal (Member – Pakistan women’s selection committee). In the second half of 2018, the Pakistan women cricketers featured in the ICC Women’s Championship, ICC Women’s World T20 2018 in the West Indies and visited Bangladesh for ODI and T20I series. “I want to congratulate all the women cricketers who have been awarded the central contracts and wish them well,” said Director Domestic Cricket Operations Haroon. “I know the four players who have not been awarded contracts will be disappointed, but the new contracts are related to performances. I am confident that these players will continue to work harder to reclaim their places in the contract list. The new contracts are more competitive and further motivate the top performing players. This is part of the PCB’s strategy to encourage and promote women’s cricket. The PCB will continue to invest in women’s cricket as we aspire to be one of the top and consistent performing sides,” he added. Pakistan women’s captain Bismah Maroof thanked the PCB and said: “It is always a matter of pride to be handed a central contract. I am sure our players are happy and looking forward to doing their best in the coming months. Our aim being to build a fine team and bench-strength, these contracts certainly contribute to that purpose.” In the ICC women’s ODI player rankings, Javeria Khan is the highest-ranked Pakistan batswoman ranked 24th, followed by Nahida Khan (25th), Bismah Maroof (28th), Sana Mir (34th) and Nida Dar (69th). Sana is the world’s highest-ranked bowler, while Nashra Sandhu is the next highest-ranked bowler in 37th position. Nida is 45th, Bismah 59th, Anam Amin 69th and Aiman Anwer 80th. In the ICC women’s T20I player rankings, Javeria Khan is the highest-ranked Pakistan batswoman at 14th position. She is followed by Bismah (18th), Sana (43rd), Nahida (47th) and Nain Abidi (64th), while ninth-ranked Nida is the highest-ranked Pakistan bowler, followed by Nashra (10th), Anam (19th), Sana (25th) and Aiman (65th). Nida is Pakistan’s highest-ranked T20I all-rounder in 16th position. The Pakistan women’s side are ranked seventh in both the ODI and T20I ICC team rankings. Pakistan women cricketers’ international commitments in the first half of 2019 include home series against the Windies and away series against South Africa in the ICC Women’s Championship, while Bangladesh are also scheduled to pay a return visit in March. List of contracted players: Category A – Bismah Maroof, Javeria Wadood, Nahida Khan and Sana Mir Category B – Nashra Sundhu, Nida Rashid and Sidra Nawaz Category C – Aliya Riaz, Anam Amin, Diana Baig, Omaima Sohail and Sidra Amin Category D – Aimen Anwar, Ayesha Zafar, Kainat Imtiaz, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui and Natalia Pervaiz. Published in Daily Times, January 22nd 2019.