ICC Women World T20: We Can’t afford to slip anymore, says Meg Lanning
Every match for the Australian women’s cricket team has become crucial after the loss against Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand, captain Meg Lanning said on Tuesday.
“We are disappointed with our game on Monday. We are not panicking. Every game is a must win from now,” Lanning said on Tuesday.
When asked about their next match versus Sri Lanka here on Thursday, she said, “They are improving every day. They have got some really good spin options. Batting wise also they are improving all the time.”
The Southern Stars captain, who was present with her teammates at a cricket clinic organised at the Australian High Commission, where the team engaged with local teenage girls from Delhi-based NGO, CEQUIN, said that they need to put up a strong performance to reach the semi-finals.
The Australian team has won the last three T20 world cups in a row. Talking about the pressure as defending champions, Holly Ferling, the team’s right-arm fast-medium paced bowler, said that “this T20 is not going to be an easy championship as all teams are coming out with good performances. We need to keep up our game”.
Harinder Sidhu, the Australian High Commissioner to India, said that India and Australia are connected particularly through cricket. “It is great to see girls’ participation”, she added.
India’s Arjuna Awardee paralympic athlete Deepa Malik, who was also present there, shared her story of fight against paralysis saying that sports has become a medium to change her identity. She encouraged the girls to think of sports as a life-style. Having suffered from a string of tumours in her spinal cord at the age of 30, she said that she focused on every new day and came to be known as an international sports- person.
Team members Alex Blackwell, Lauren Cheatle, Alyssa Healy, Ellyse Perry also lauded the girls and gave them cricketing tips showing support to the cause of women empowerment.
