This Sunday i.e 25th of May, the Isle of Man women’s cricket team will play in their first-ever ICC World Cup Qualifier in Italy. The 14-player squad will travel to Rome on 23rd of May to compete in Europe Division Two.
The Manx, who are presently rated 35th in T20 International (T20I) rankings, will play Jersey, Italy, Sweden, Germany, and Spain in the competition, which takes place from 25th of May to 29th May.
With Ireland and the Netherlands vying for two spots in the global qualifiers, the top two will move onto the Division 1 of the Europe Qualifier.
The Islanders’ tournament begins on 25th May afternoon with a match against the hosts, followed on 26th morning by a match against Sweden. On 28th of May, they will play two matches against Jersey and Spain. On 29th of May afternoon, they will play Germany to finish their campaign.
The team finished second last month in a Quadrangular tournament that included hosts Cyprus, Jersey, and Denmark. Isle of Man played a total of 6 games, winning 3 games and losing as many. Isle of Man registered 6 points on the table and stood as runners-up, with Jersey Women winning all the games and the series. Isle of Man got the better of Denmark Women with a higher Net Run Rate for standing up as runners-up.
When it was announced that the squad was going to enter the tournament in January, an Isle of Man Cricket spokesperson said, “This acknowledges the significant improvements made by the women’s national team since playing their first T20 international in November 2022 in Spain and the significant growth in the women’s domestic game in the island since the first soft ball cricket festivals back in 2019.”
Isle of Man Women’s schedule for ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers (GMT time):
Sunday, 25 May
2pm – Italy vs Isle of Man, Roma Cricket Ground
Monday, 26 May
9.15am – Isle of Man vs Sweden, Simar Cricket Ground
Tuesday, 28 May
9.15am – Isle of Man vs Spain, Simar Cricket Ground
2pm – Isle of Man vs Jersey, Simar Cricket Ground
Wednesday, 29 May
2pm – Germany vs Isle of Man, Roma Cricket Ground
Isle of Man women’s cricket team:
Lucy Barnett, Kim Carney, Ellan Cleator, Clare Crowe, Georgie Ford, Sam Hassall, Caitlin Henery, Jo Hicks, Lola Hornby-Wheeler, Dani Murphy, Rachel Overman, Catherine Perry, Alanya Thorpe, Bekkie Webster
