Lahore, 23 October 2023: Rameen Shamim, captain of Pakistan Women’s A team, and Rashada Williams, captain of West Indies Women’s A team, spoke with the media ahead of the three-match One-Day series, which is scheduled to take place at two venues – Ghani Institute of Cricket and Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore – from 24 to 29 October.
Rameen Shamim:
“This is our first emerging series at home so there is a lot of excitement [in the camp]. Grassroots initiatives like these are extremely important in the [development of] players, especially for the international stage… U19 series and emerging series really help us grow as players because it gives us exposure. Recently, Pakistan played U19 World Cup and emerging Asia Cup which really helped the players as well. The gap between domestic and international cricket is huge and initiatives like these help the players bridge the gap between the two stages. It gives a lot of confidence to the younger players.”
“We have a healthy combination in the team because there are capped played like Omaima [Sohail], Sidra [Nawaz] and Tuba [Hassan]. The younger ones are all exciting [prospects] for the Pakistan team as well, so I am looking forward to the games…. Tasmia Rubab is a left-arm pacer and those are always a hot commodity in the circuit because of how exciting they are. From what I have seen, Tasmia is a complete bowler. With her arrival, Pakistan team has a very rare new talent.”
“We clean-swept them in the previous series when we travelled to West Indies for the A team tour in 2021, so it was a good series for us. Both the T20 and One-Day series went completely in our favour. As for this series, I am hoping it goes similarly for us. But I don’t think too ahead. I will take it one game at a time.”
“There is more excitement than pressure. The girls are all very excited to play at home. Especially the girls from Lahore are all very excited because everyone dreams to play at home. Ghani Institute and Gaddafi are both very good grounds to play at so we are looking forward to it. “
“We have covered a lot in all practice camps, which were first held in Muridke and now at Ghani Institute. Professionally, you should always strive for more so there is always room for improvement. But we have worked hard [in the camps] and have covered bowling, batting and fielding in our practices so far and are completely focused on the One-Day series right now.”
Rashada Williams:
“There are no [definitive] plans personally. We have been practicing as a team and are eying the series like that. I believe winning games is about execution. What matters the most is how you execute on the day.”
“The conditions are different from what we have back home. The pitches are slower and get more turn here than those in the Caribbean. But we have practiced here and have tried to understand how the conditions work here…… Cricket is a condition-dependent sport so there may be a [home] advantage. But I believe that if you do well on the day, anyone can win.”
“I was much less experienced when I last toured Pakistan but this time around, I am more experienced and have played a lot more cricket since the last time I was here a couple of years ago. More importantly, this time, I am also the leader of the team, so I have a lot more responsibility. So, I am looking forward to captaining the side and playing in Lahore this time around.”
