Match: 3rd T20
Teams: Ireland W vs Scotland W.
Venue: Civil Service Cricket Club, Stormont, Belfast, Ireland.
Time: 3:30 pm IST.
Preview: Ireland Women were beaten by Scotland Women in a low scoring thriller by 11 runs in the 1st T20. Ireland displayed a brilliant all-round performance in the 2nd T20 to level the series 1-1. Now the focus will be on the third match of the series. Remember who wins this won’t lose the series.
Weather Report: A clear sky is predicted for the 3rdT20. Intermittent showers are expected.
Pitch Report: Out of the 18 T20s held at Civil Service Cricket Club, the team batting second has won 12 of those matches. The surface is likely to assist the bowlers initially and bowling first will be a good advantage. But recent matches played over here has shown that batting first is a good option too.
Matches this series:
1. SCO-W vs IRE-W on 25.05.2021
IRE-W: 137/4.
Gaby Lewis: 47.
Shauna Kavanagh: 31.
Orla Prendergast: 24 & 19/2 (3).
Leah Paul: 16/4 (4).
Laura Delany: 11/2 (3).
SCO-W- 76/10.
Katie McGill: 19 & 26/2 (4).
Kathryn Bryce: 17 & 22/1 (4).
Abtaha Maqsood: 27/1 (4).
2. SCO-W vs IRE-W on 23.05.2021.
SCO-W- 87/9.
Sarah Bryce: 14.
Kathryn Bryce: 12 & 8/2 (3).
Katie Mcgill: 20 & 18/3 (4).
Priyanaz Chatterji: 11 & 3/0 (3).
IRE-W- 76/10.
Leah Paul: 18.
Shauna Kavanagh: 12.
Celeste Raack: 15/3 (4).
Laura Delany: 13/2 (4).
Lara Maritz: 12/1 (3).
Common Players: Kathryn Bryce, Katie Mcgill, Leah Paul, Laura Delany, Gaby Lewis, Shauna Kavanagh.
Other H2H Records:
1.SCO-W vs IRE-W on 14.08.2019.
SCO-W- 126/7.
Sarah Bryce: 49.
Samantha Haggo:18.
Katie Mcgill:16/1 (3)
IRE-W- 130/1.
Gaby Lewis: 65.
Lara Maritz: 4/3 (3)
Laura Delany: 18/1 (3)
2. SCO-W vs IRE-W on 10.08.2019.
SCO-W- 105/6.
Lorna Jack: 32.
Priyanaz Chatterji:20 & 16/1 (2)
Katherine Fraser: 12/1
Katie Mcgill: 18/1 (3)
IRE-W- 94/7.
Gaby Lewis: 14.
Laura Delany: 24 & 19/1 (4)
Lara Maritz: 14/2 (3)
Common Players: Sarah Bryce, Kathryn Bryce, Katie McGill, Priyanaz Chatterji, Leah Paul, Gaby Lewis, Laura Delany, Lara Maritz.
Probable Playing Xi:
Ireland Women
Gaby Lewis, Rebecca Stokell, Laura Delany (C), Shauna Kavanagh (Wk), Amy Hunter, Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast, Celeste Raack, Lara Maritz, Ava Canning, Cara Murray.
Scotland Women
Sarah Bryce (Wk), Kathryn Bryce (C), Becky Glen, Ikra Farooq, Priyanaz Chatterji, Alisa Lister, Samantha Haggo, Katie McGill, Abbi Atiken, Abtaha Maqsood, Katherine Fraser.
Players to watch out for:
IRE-W:
Laura Delany: Ireland’s skipper Laura Delany has played 62 T20Is and has scored 605 runs She also has scalped 37 wickets at an economy of 6.35. She is a must pick and a safe C/Vc choice.
Gaby Lewis: The experienced Gaby Lewis too is an important pick. She has scored 721 runs in 39 T20I matches. She has given her team flying starts.
Lara Maritz: She has been in good nick. She has been among wickets and also hitting those important runs in the death. A good differential pick as captain.
Leah Paul: She has been the find of this series. In the first match she has contributed with runs and in the second match she picked up 4 wickets. Could be a crucial pick as her selection percentage is low.
SCO-W:
Kathryn Bryce: Perhaps the most MVP of the series, the young all-rounder has represented Scotland in 16 T20Is and has notched 429 runs at an average of 50, while with the ball, she has scalped 18 wickets. She is a must pick and is carrying her team single handedly.
Abtaha Maqsood: She is Scotland’s leading wicket taker in this format and has scalped 19 wickets at an average of 10.84. Her best bowling figure is 8/3.
Sarah Bryce: The wicketkeeper batswoman has scored 122 runs in the 5 innings she has played against Ireland. She is the designated opener and her wicketkeeping skills would be an added advantage.
My fantasy playing XI:
Wk: Sarah Bryce/ Shauna Kavanagh.
Batsmen: Gaby Lewis, Rebecca Stokell/Becky Glen, Leah Paul.
Allrounders: Kathryn Bryce, Laura Delany, Katie Mcgill, Orla Prendergast/ Lara Maritz,
Bowlers: Katherine Fraser, Celeste Raack, Ava Canning.
Safe C/Vc: Kathryn Bryce, Leah Paul, Kaite Mcgill.
Differential: Lara Maritz, Gaby Lewis, Laura Delany.
GL Tip: Kathryn Bryce and Laura Delany are the obvious choices and rightly so. However, you can pick one of them as Captain and club them with a risky or differential pick.
There will be a budgetary concern too so try playing in Gamezy as you can pick them all in Gamezy.
Pick players from the top order of both teams and focus more on the bowlers and the all-rounders who regularly bat and bowl.
(Disclaimer: You can do your own research and go through the H2H records, ground records before finalising the team. Also keep an eye on the weather as a rain curtailed match will have a separate strategy.)