Team Preview | ICC U-19 Women's T20 World Cup | USA


Written By: Jeet Vachharajani & Ritwika Dhar
Date: 12-01-2023

Picture Courtesy: Cricket Queens

The United States of America qualified automatically as they were the only eligible ICC member in the Americas regional group that was able to meet the qualification standards for the World Cup. With this qualification, they made history as they became the first USA women’s team to qualify for the Cricket World Cup in any format, and only the second USA team to appear since the men’s U-19 side in 2010.

FIXTURES:

USA are placed in Group A alongside some very experienced ICC full member sides - Australia, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. They will kick off their World Cup journey against Sri Lanka on 14th January under the watchful eyes of their head coach & West Indian legend, Shivnarine Chanderpaul.



SQUAD:

USA has a high number of players (10) to have already played for the senior side. They made their senior debuts at a very young age & the squad shares a total of 78 international caps between them.



RECENT FORM:

In 2021, USA Cricket introduced Youth National Championships that involved the 28 best players at the U-19 level to compete against one another. The tournament featured several players who have been selected for the current squad. In August 2022, USA played a 5-match T20 series against the West Indies U-19 team and won it comfortably by 4-1.

Recently, they toured UAE to play a 5-match Youth T20 series. It was a highly competitive series that was won by the USA by a 3-2 margin. 14 of the 15 players from that squad have been selected for the World Cup squad. Taranum Chopra, who was in the non-traveling reserves replaced Tya Gonsalves in the main squad. USA played a couple of warm-up games, the first one against Scotland which they lost by 45 runs, & the other one against UAE which they won by 31 runs. 

PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR:

Sai Tanmayi Eyyunni - A name that's not talked about so often will be a name that will be better known by the end of the tournament. The right-arm wrist spinner is accurate and spins the ball both ways. Her tight lines always keep the batters in check & her pace is right in the ideal zone to do the damage. You know that the player is ridiculously talented when she makes her senior debut for the country at the age of just 15! Eyyunni was on song in the 2nd warm-up game against UAE where she finished with 2/14 (4).

Geetika Kodali - Captain Kodali made her debut for her country at the age of just 14 and is the 2nd youngest player to do so for the USA after Lisa Ramjit (reserves). The tall right-arm pacer can be a menace with the ball & was a fantastic performer in the Fairbreak Global. She would be the key with the ball as she will spearhead the pace attack. She bowls at a decent pace and gets the ball to shape back in nicely. She was also a part of the Trinbago Knight Riders in the inaugural WCPL in 2022.

Bhumika Bhadriraju - The right-arm off-spinner would be operating in the middle overs. She bowls it slow and flights the ball with a higher impact against left-handed batters. She generates a decent amount of turn and often deceives the batters with her trickery. Bhumika made her debut late last year and has taken 8 wickets in 7 games that include her career-best 4//9.

Disha Dhingra - The right-handed opener has a fantastic judgment of the line. She picks the right deliveries to attack and is strong through the off-side. She has represented her nation at the senior level in 8 T20Is with her highest score of 23 coming against a strong Irish bowling attack.

Snigdha Paul - Snigdha Paul offers variety to the batting lineup being a left-handed batter. She has a resolute technique and plays the spinners quite well. She is also likely to take the new ball in the upcoming tournament and bowl her right-arm pace.

Ritu Singh - Ritu Singh was not an easy pacer to face for the West Indies U-19 a few months ago. She generally bowls in the latter half of the innings & her loopy deliveries dip late to deceive the batters and the West Indies U-19s found that out. The right-arm pacer will yet again have a role to play in the 2nd half of the innings.

Suhani Thadani - The right-arm pacer takes the new ball. She has a gentle run-up, but bowls excellent line and length to threaten the outside edge of the batters. She has already played 10 games for the senior team and has taken 10 wickets at an average of just 8.9 and economy of 3.1.


PREDICTIONS:

Australia likes to have multiple all-rounders in their squad and so does the USA. With several players having already played top-level cricket by representing their nation at the senior level, this team knows how to handle pressure. With a decent amount of exposure to take a lot from, they will look to push the likes of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in order to make it to the top 3 of their group.



Team Preview | ICC U-19 Women's T20 World Cup | USA


Written By: Jeet Vachharajani & Ritwika Dhar
Date: 12-01-2023

Picture Courtesy: Cricket Queens

The United States of America qualified automatically as they were the only eligible ICC member in the Americas regional group that was able to meet the qualification standards for the World Cup. With this qualification, they made history as they became the first USA women’s team to qualify for the Cricket World Cup in any format, and only the second USA team to appear since the men’s U-19 side in 2010.

FIXTURES:

USA are placed in Group A alongside some very experienced ICC full member sides - Australia, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. They will kick off their World Cup journey against Sri Lanka on 14th January under the watchful eyes of their head coach & West Indian legend, Shivnarine Chanderpaul.



SQUAD:

USA has a high number of players (10) to have already played for the senior side. They made their senior debuts at a very young age & the squad shares a total of 78 international caps between them.



RECENT FORM:

In 2021, USA Cricket introduced Youth National Championships that involved the 28 best players at the U-19 level to compete against one another. The tournament featured several players who have been selected for the current squad. In August 2022, USA played a 5-match T20 series against the West Indies U-19 team and won it comfortably by 4-1.

Recently, they toured UAE to play a 5-match Youth T20 series. It was a highly competitive series that was won by the USA by a 3-2 margin. 14 of the 15 players from that squad have been selected for the World Cup squad. Taranum Chopra, who was in the non-traveling reserves replaced Tya Gonsalves in the main squad. USA played a couple of warm-up games, the first one against Scotland which they lost by 45 runs, & the other one against UAE which they won by 31 runs. 

PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR:

Sai Tanmayi Eyyunni - A name that's not talked about so often will be a name that will be better known by the end of the tournament. The right-arm wrist spinner is accurate and spins the ball both ways. Her tight lines always keep the batters in check & her pace is right in the ideal zone to do the damage. You know that the player is ridiculously talented when she makes her senior debut for the country at the age of just 15! Eyyunni was on song in the 2nd warm-up game against UAE where she finished with 2/14 (4).

Geetika Kodali - Captain Kodali made her debut for her country at the age of just 14 and is the 2nd youngest player to do so for the USA after Lisa Ramjit (reserves). The tall right-arm pacer can be a menace with the ball & was a fantastic performer in the Fairbreak Global. She would be the key with the ball as she will spearhead the pace attack. She bowls at a decent pace and gets the ball to shape back in nicely. She was also a part of the Trinbago Knight Riders in the inaugural WCPL in 2022.

Bhumika Bhadriraju - The right-arm off-spinner would be operating in the middle overs. She bowls it slow and flights the ball with a higher impact against left-handed batters. She generates a decent amount of turn and often deceives the batters with her trickery. Bhumika made her debut late last year and has taken 8 wickets in 7 games that include her career-best 4//9.

Disha Dhingra - The right-handed opener has a fantastic judgment of the line. She picks the right deliveries to attack and is strong through the off-side. She has represented her nation at the senior level in 8 T20Is with her highest score of 23 coming against a strong Irish bowling attack.

Snigdha Paul - Snigdha Paul offers variety to the batting lineup being a left-handed batter. She has a resolute technique and plays the spinners quite well. She is also likely to take the new ball in the upcoming tournament and bowl her right-arm pace.

Ritu Singh - Ritu Singh was not an easy pacer to face for the West Indies U-19 a few months ago. She generally bowls in the latter half of the innings & her loopy deliveries dip late to deceive the batters and the West Indies U-19s found that out. The right-arm pacer will yet again have a role to play in the 2nd half of the innings.

Suhani Thadani - The right-arm pacer takes the new ball. She has a gentle run-up, but bowls excellent line and length to threaten the outside edge of the batters. She has already played 10 games for the senior team and has taken 10 wickets at an average of just 8.9 and economy of 3.1.


PREDICTIONS:

Australia likes to have multiple all-rounders in their squad and so does the USA. With several players having already played top-level cricket by representing their nation at the senior level, this team knows how to handle pressure. With a decent amount of exposure to take a lot from, they will look to push the likes of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in order to make it to the top 3 of their group.