Match: 4th T20
Teams: Ireland W vs Scotland W.
Venue: Civil Service Cricket Club, Stormont, Belfast, Ireland.
Time: 3:30 pm IST.
Preview: The Scotland Women’s team got the better of Ireland Women’s team in the first match of the series but Irish women staged a remarkable comeback and took an unassailable lead by winning the next two matches. With the final match of the series left, the Ireland team cannot lose the series but Scotland has a wonderful opportunity to square it off 2-2.
Weather Report: A clear sky is predicted for the 4th T20. Temperature around 12 degree Celsius and Intermittent showers are expected.
Pitch Report: Historically, out of the 19 T20s held at Civil Service Cricket Club, the team batting second has won 12 of those matches. But the trend has been reversed in the ongoing series. Out of the 3 T20 matches played at this venue, the team winning the toss has won all the games. Batting first has been easy and the pitches has showed signs of slowing down with time. Unless a fresh strip is provided expect the pitches to assist the bowlers.
Matches this series: (H2H).
1. SCO-W vs IRE-W on 26.05.2021
IRE-W: 134/8.
Shauna Kavanagh: 37.
Laura Delany: 17.
Gaby Lewis: 16.
Orla Prendergast: 10 & 7/2 (3).
Cara Murray: 18/3 (3).
SCO-W- 93/9.
Kathryn Bryce: 45.
Katie McGill: 17 & 32/1(4).
Abtaha Maqsood: 19/2 (4).
Katherine Fraser: 29/2(4).
2. 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).
3. SCO-W vs IRE-W on 24.05.2021.
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).
Stats this series:
Highest Run-Getters:
Shauna Kavanagh: 90 runs.
Kathryn Bryce: 74 runs.
Gaby Lewis: 68 runs.
Katie Mcgill: 56 runs.
Orla Prendergast: 37 runs.
Highest Wicket Takers:
Leah Paul: 6 wickets.
Katie Mcgill: 6 wickets.
Laura Delany: 5 wickets.
Orla Prendergast: 5 wickets.
Katherine Fraser: 4 wickets.
Common Players: Kathryn Bryce, Katie Mcgill, Leah Paul, Laura Delany, Gaby Lewis, Shauna Kavanagh, Orla Prendergast, Katherine Fraser.
(Try to accommodate most of them in your core team.)
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 63 T20Is and has scored 622 runs She also has scalped 38 wickets. 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 737 runs in 40 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 6 wickets. Could be a crucial pick as her selection percentage is low.
Orla Prendergast: She is a find of this series and has evolved as one of the main all rounder of this series for Ireland. She has scalped 5 wickets and scored 37 crucial runs for her team this series.
SCO-W
Kathryn Bryce: Perhaps the most MVP of the series, the young all-rounder has represented Scotland in 17 T20Is and has notched 476 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 21 wickets at an average of 10.84. Her best bowling figure is 8/3.
Sarah Bryce: The wicketkeeper batswoman has scored 132 runs in the 6 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: Shauna Kavanagh.
Batsmen: Gaby Lewis, Becky Glen, Leah Paul.
Allrounders: Kathryn Bryce, Laura Delany, Katie Mcgill, Orla Prendergast.
Bowlers: Katherine Fraser, Celeste Raack, Abtaha Maqsood.
Safe C/Vc: Kathryn Bryce, Kaite Mcgill.
Differential: Gaby Lewis, Laura Delany, Orla Prendergast.
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. You can also pick Sarah Bryce as her selection percentage has dropped down.
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.)