Day 1 of the Qualifier - Business as usual or party-poopers' day?

 

Bangladesh versus Papua New Guinea in Dundee

Bangladesh take on Papua New Guinea at the Forfarshire Cricket Club in Dundee in the opening match of the Qualifier. The Asian team is coming on the back of some convincing wins over Thailand and Netherlands. They dumped the latter in their only warm-up game as well.

The side under Salma Khatun didn’t have to bat much, as the bowlers had done their bit in bowling out Netherlands for 51. Fahima Khatun, Khadija Tul Kubra and Shaila Sharmin all took three wickets apiece.

PNG, on the other hand, are coming on the back of a hammering on the hands of Ireland in the warm-up clash. Their batting fell well short and that’s a point they would ponder a great deal over.

 

Netherlands versus Thailand in Arbroath

The second match of the day will see Netherlands take on Thailand at the Arbroath Cricket Club. The latter have made the right noises in the build-up to the tournament and will look to continue to build on that promise.

They seem to be living up to that billing by the looks of it as they won over the United States of America by 58 runs. They’d think that their loss against Bangladesh would just be an aberration.

Netherlands haven't had the best of times in the phase leading up to this tournament. They finished last in the Women's T20I Quadrangular series held at home. They'll be aiming to shrug off their run of losses and begin in the right manner.

 

Scotland versus United States of America in Dundee

USA clearly are the underdogs in this clash. “Not the result we were looking for, but a great experience ahead of the tournament,” said their captain, Sindhu Sriharsha, after the loss in the warm-up match against Thailand. They will be hoping to turn their form around and give Scotland a hard time in their opening game of the tournament. That, however, isn't as easy as it sounds.

Scotland are a well-oiled outfit and their openers being in form are ominous signs for USA. Sarah Bryce and Lorna Jack added 87 for the opening stand against Namibia, both crossing the half-century mark in the process. It is the first time these sides are meeting each other in a T20I. Chances of an upset, then, to get the tournament underway?

 

Ireland versus Namibia in Arbroath

Given Thailand's rise in the shortest version of the game, Ireland have been quietly pushed down in the list of favourites for the competition. They would like their performances to do the talking and assert that they are the second-best when it comes to the affiliate/associate teams.

As if to just scream out loud that they are here to qualify for the global event, they thrashed PNG in the warm-up clash by 70 runs. While Kim Garth made merry with a fifty, Eimear Richardson picked up a couple of wickets to put in a strong performance.

Namibia’s captain Yasmeen Khan had said that her team isn’t here to just participate but are hoping to cause an upset or two. However, after the warm-up defeat to Scotland, she said, “Today was a good taste to see how the team can adapt to the conditions. Not a good start, but we’ll look to improve throughout the rest of the week.”

An improved outing from them won’t do any harm for us, will it?