Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD(January 28, 2020):-The Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Dr Geoffrey Shaw Tuesday hosted a reception in the honour of Pakistan women’s cricket, which will take part in International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s T20 World Cup 2020. The prestigious women’s cricket event will be held in different cities of Australia.
The ceremony was aiming to wish “good luck” to Pakistan Women’s team ahead of the ICC T20 Women's Cricket World Cup in Australia. The ICC T20 Women's Cricket World Cup is scheduled in Australia starting on Friday February 21, as the Australia will host 10 teams and 23 matches across six cities.
Speaking at this occasion, the high commissioner said, "It is a great privilege to meet the Pakistan National Women's Cricket Team. I wish the team a fantastic stay in Australia. The players will receive a very warm Australian welcome. We expect some fabulous cricket."
High Commissioner Shaw highlighted that it would be a big year for women's cricket in Australia."Australia is about to become the first cricketing nation to close the gender prize money gap. At this year's T20 World Cup, Cricket Australia will top up winning prize money by the women's team to deliver parity with their male counterparts,"
Dr Shaw said, “The High Commissioner also invited fans and visitors from Pakistan to be part of the T20 World Cup. We are holding the final of the World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), the biggest cricket stadium in the world, with a bold ambition to set a record for attendance at a women's sporting fixture," he added.
The current record for attendance at a women's sporting fixture is 90,185, set at the final of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup in the USA. "We aim to beat that," he added. The selected players for the T20 World Cup, the Chairperson of the Pakistan national women's selection committee Urooj Mumtaz, the team's coaches and senior members of the Pakistan Cricket board were present in the ceremony. The Pakistan team would depart for Australia on January 31 and will play its first match against West Indies on February 26 at Manuka Oval.
