What is Fantasy Cricket?
Fantasy Cricket is an online game that gives viewers of the sport a platform to be more involved in it and challenge others online. It draws a huge number of users as it offers them intense competition, the ability to form and manage their own cricket teams with real players and a sense of thrill and adventure.
How to play Fantasy Cricket?
At first, every user gets a fixed amount of points through which they buy players and assembles their squad. Users are then awarded points depending on their players’ real-life performances in all fields – batting, bowling and even in fielding. The user with the highest points at the end of the tournament is declared the winner and is awarded a prize. Fantasy Cricket tests an individual’s knowledge about the sport, analytical skill and the ability to predict results of matches. It also offers the ability to compete against friends which makes it even more engaging and enjoyable. It is gaining huge popularity in India because of the enormous fanbase of cricket present in the country.
ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020:
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup of 2020 will be the seventh T20 World Cup for women organized by The International Cricket Council. Australia is hosting the tournament which is scheduled to be held between 21 February 2020 and 8 March 2020. The tournament will be played across 6 venues in 4 cities- Sydney, Canberra, Perth, and Melbourne. The final match, which will be played on International Women’s Day, will take place in Melbourne. Team India will face defending champions Australia in their first match.
Participants and Qualification:
A total of 10 teams will be participating in The Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup. The teams are further divided into 2 groups. Group A includes hosts, 4 time and defending champs Australia, India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh while Group B includes 2-time winners and 2018’s runners up West Indies, 2-time champions England, South Africa, Pakistan, and Thailand. This will be Thailand’s first Women’s World T20 World Cup. Bangladesh and Thailand had to win qualifying rounds while the other teams were automatically qualified as they were the highest ranked 8 teams.
Introduction of new Technology:
The ICC has announced the use of special technology that will check the bowler’s front foot landing position on each bowl for The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. The Umpires on the field are instructed to not call any no-ball due to front foot landing without the nod from the off-field official who will monitor every delivery. This technology by the ICC is advantageous as it will help in better umpiring and decision making.
Players to Watch out for:
Shefali Verma
With a strike rate of 140.86 and a couple of half-centuries in just 14 innings, Shefali Verma of India can be unstoppable and prove to be very valuable for the Women in Blue led by Harmanpreet Kaur.
Ellyse Perry
Perry is a cricket legend and there are arguably no players that are more consistent than she is. She has 113 wickets in 116 T20Is and is undoubtedly Australia’s Most Valuable Player.
Danielle Wyatt
The 2019 KIA Super League was left stunned after England’s Wyatt’s amazing performance. Scoring 466 runs at an average of 42.36 and scoring 2 centuries in the format, she has proved to be an explosive force who can create problems for the opposition.
Sophie Devine
Devine’s last four innings saw 3 half-centuries and one century. She has also bagged 5 wickets. Her contribution to New Zealand has been of the highest order in recent games. She is the most in-form player for the White Ferns.
History of The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup:
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup was first organized in the year 2009 and since then 6 editions of the cup have been played. The seventh ICC Women’s T20 World Cup will be played in Australia in March 2020. For the first three tournaments, there were only 8 participants but since 2014 the number of participants has been increased to 10. The most successful team is Australia, which has won the Cup 4 times. Suzie Bates of Australia is the highest run-scorer with 881 runs and Ellyse Perry of Australia is the highest wicket-taker, having 36 dismissals to her name.
2009 ICC Women’s World Twenty20:
The first edition of the World Cup was held in the year 2009 and England was given the role of the host. All group stage games were played at the County Ground, Taunton. The final game was held at the legendary Lord’s between England and New Zealand. Katherine Brunt’s amazing bowling spell of 3-6 helped England bowl New Zealand out at a mere 85 runs. Aimee Watkins of New Zealand registered the most runs (200) and the best bowler of the tournament was Holly Colvin with 9 wickets for England. Indian Cricket legends like Jhulan Goswami and Mithali Raj were also participants in the cup.
2010 ICC Women’s World Twenty20:
The second edition took place after a gap of just one year and was hosted by West Indies. Australia lifted the cup for the first time, after beating New Zealand on the very last ball. Ellyse Perry’s right foot deflected a shot hit by Sophie Devine of New Zealand, which was headed towards the boundary, and the Kiwis could only manage a single and hence Australia became champions. Deandra Dottin of West Indies scored the first century by a woman in a T20 match against South Africa. Nicola Browne from New Zealand was named the player of the series. The highest run-scorer was New Zealand’s Sara McGlashan (147) and the highest wicket-takers were India’s Diana David and New Zealand’s Nicola Browne with 9 wickets each.
2012 ICC Women’s World Twenty20:
This was the third edition of ICC Women’s T20 World Cup and was held from 23 September to 7 October 2012 in Sri Lanka. Australia clinched the cup yet again after beating England on the last ball of the match. The English captain Charlotte Edwards was declared the player of the tournament and was also the highest run-scorer having scored a whopping 172. Australian fast bowler Julie hunter ended the tournament with the highest number of wickets-11. The highest individual score was 65 not out by England’s Sarah Taylor. West Indies’ Dottin played an essential role in the team’s path to the semi-finals.
2014 ICC Women’s World Twenty20:
The fourth Women’s T20 World Cup saw the participation of 10 teams rather than the usual 8. Bangladesh was the host nation and the tournament was played from 23 March to 6 April 2014, running concurrently with the men’s tournament. Bangladesh and Ireland played the tournament for the very first time. Australia clinched their third title after beating England in the final by 6 wickets. Anya Shrubsole of England took 13 wickets and was named the player of the tournament. Meg Lanning from Australia scored 257 runs and ended the tournament as the top run-scorer. The hosts managed to win only one game in the group stage with skipper Rumana scoring a quick 41 off 34 balls against Sri Lanka.
2016 ICC Women’s World Twenty20:
West Indies ended Australia’s dominance as they defeated the defending champions by eight wickets at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The tournament was hosted by India from 15 March to 3 April 2016. Many records were broken in this edition of the cup as West Indian captain Stefanie Taylor, the top scorer and the player of the tournament, scored 246 runs, the highest ever in any Women’s T20 World Cup. Dottin of West Indies tied with Kasperek and Devine of New Zealand for the most wickets taken as they all had 9 dismissals to their names. Anisa Mohammed became the first player ever, male or female, to take one hundred T20I wickets.
2018 ICC Women’s World Twenty20:
Defending champions West Indies hosted the sixth edition of Women’s T20 World Cup from 9 to 24 November 2018. Australia ended the tournament as champions and won their 4th title after beating England by 8 wickets in the final. India managed to reach the semi-finals after beating Ireland by 52 runs but was knocked out by England. Alyssa Healy of Australia was the player of the tournament and the highest run-scorer with 225 runs. She also smashed a 21-ball half-century in the group stages against Ireland. The highest wicket-taker spot was tied between Dottin of West Indies and Gardener and Schutt of Australia. Ellyse Perry became the first Australian cricketer, male or female to take 100 T20 wickets.
Partnership with UNICEF:
History of the Partnership:
The United Nations Children’s Fund or simply UNICEF was formed by the UN in 1946 and is one of the most recognizable social welfare organizations on the planet. Their focus is on prevention of disease, availing treatment for children and mothers with HIV, improving infant and mother’s nutrition, promoting education and availing better sanitation to those who are deprived of it. The ICC joined hands with UNICEF in 2003 to spread awareness about the influence and impact of AIDS on the youth of nations who play cricket. In 2009 the THINK WISE campaign was conceived and the partnership of both organizations has launched many initiatives like producing public service announcements that feature the best cricketers around the world, players and umpires wearing red ribbons to show support to people living with HIV and many more. The ICC also donates a huge sum of earnings from the tournaments that it organizes to UNICEF.
Extension for ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020:
The ICC announced on 20 December 2019 that it has extended its partnership with United Nations Children’s Fund through to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020. The prime focus of this partnership is women empowerment and girls through cricket. The money raised from this tournament will be donated for charitable missions like a program to promote the participation of girls in cricket in Sri Lanka and build peace in communities across cricket-playing countries. ICC CEO Manu Sawhney hopes that the incredible reach of cricket can help empower women.
A chance for fans to contribute:
Cricket fans across the globe can contribute to this cause by donating set amounts when they buy tickets. Fans watching the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 can also join in and donate through an online mechanism if they want to support this partnership and care for a humanitarian aim for the betterment and welfare of many deprived sections of the world’s population.
