When Thailand attempt to force their way back on to cricket’s biggest stage in Abu Dhabi this week, their quest will be led by a player who only happened on the sport by accident.
At No 16 in the ICC’s T20 international standings, Natthakan Chantham will be the highest ranked batter on show at the Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier.
The eight-team competition in the capital carries with it two places for the main even in South Africa next year.
It may seem odd to those used to mainstream cricket that Thailand are among the favourites to make it. They are the second-highest ranked side in the event, behind Bangladesh.
How Chantham became to be one of the leading lights of the remarkable rise of the Thai women’s side in cricket is curious.
“I had to pick a club in school,” Chantham recalled of her eight-year-old self. “I wanted to pick movie club, but it was already full. Cricket was still empty, so it was really an accident that I picked cricket. I knew nothing about it. So my English teacher became my first coach.”
Her teacher was a Thai national who picked up the rudiments of cricket during the course of learning English.
“We started playing with a plastic ball,” Chantham said. “At that time I knew nothing about cricket.
“When I grew up a bit I found out cricket was played with a leather ball. It was surprise for me. Catching the leather ball was hard. There was no mercy.”
Since the advent of their women’s programme in 2007, Thailand's national team has advanced rapidly. They made their first appearance on the global stage at the last T20 World Cup two years ago.
They might have done the same in the 50-over version, too, had a series of unfortunate events – including the onset of the Omicron variant - not denied them.
Despite their successes, Chantham says word about the sport has not spread far.
“People don’t know about cricket,” Chantham, 26, said. “When I go to the market and I’m wearing a Thailand shirt, people ask me, ‘What sport are you playing?’
“I say cricket, and they say, ‘What is cricket?’ I explain that in cricket we have to use a flat bat, and explain about the ball.
“Then they say, ‘Ah, I know – that’s hockey!’ Then, I’m done. Nobody in Thailand knows much about cricket.”
Thailand were given a wake up call during a quadrangular series in Dubai last week when they lost to Zimbabwe, but Naruemol Chaiwai, their captain, is undaunted.
“Our team’s objective is to win the tournament,” she said. “We are a strong unit and have great teamwork and everyone will contribute to our success.
“In the last three months we travelled to India to train. We had a chance to play games with state teams and academy teams. We faced a variety of bowlers and played on different type of pitches that will help us adjust quickly and figure out our options.
“Covid-19 has kept us away from international competition. To come back and play in this tournament, it is quite exciting for me.”
UAE have suffered defeats over the past week, but they had reason to cheer in their warm up game against Bangladesh in the return of Esha Oza.
The big-hitting batter had suffered a facial injury in practice during the Quadrangular series.
“We have a lot of potential and talented players on board and on a given day anyone could be a match winner for us,” Chaya Mughal, the UAE captain, said.
“We have been preparing and working really hard despite the weather being extremely hot. Our outdoor centre wicket practice and match stimulation is something that is really helping us at present.
“Clearing the boundary ropes is something that we have been focusing on and we will be utilising that in the coming games.
“Playing at this level itself is a challenge considering the teams that we are going to face have already played the World Cup and we are very much prepared for this. We are not taking any pressure on us and just playing one game at a time.”
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The Programme
Saturday, October 26: ‘The Time That Remains’ (2009) by Elia Suleiman
Saturday, November 2: ‘Beginners’ (2010) by Mike Mills
Saturday, November 16: ‘Finding Vivian Maier’ (2013) by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel
Tuesday, November 26: ‘All the President’s Men’ (1976) by Alan J Pakula
Saturday, December 7: ‘Timbuktu’ (2014) by Abderrahmane Sissako
Saturday, December 21: ‘Rams’ (2015) by Grimur Hakonarson
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The biog
Job: Fitness entrepreneur, body-builder and trainer
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite quote: We must become the change we want to see, by Mahatma Gandhi.
Favourite car: Lamborghini
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
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MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Indian construction workers stranded in Ajman with unpaid dues
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Profile
Name: Carzaty
Founders: Marwan Chaar and Hassan Jaffar
Launched: 2017
Employees: 22
Based: Dubai and Muscat
Sector: Automobile retail
Funding to date: $5.5 million
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
The Florida Project
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
On Instagram: @WithHopeUAE
Although social media can be harmful to our mental health, paradoxically, one of the antidotes comes with the many social-media accounts devoted to normalising mental-health struggles. With Hope UAE is one of them.
The group, which has about 3,600 followers, was started three years ago by five Emirati women to address the stigma surrounding the subject. Via Instagram, the group recently began featuring personal accounts by Emiratis. The posts are written under the hashtag #mymindmatters, along with a black-and-white photo of the subject holding the group’s signature red balloon.
“Depression is ugly,” says one of the users, Amani. “It paints everything around me and everything in me.”
Saaed, meanwhile, faces the daunting task of caring for four family members with psychological disorders. “I’ve had no support and no resources here to help me,” he says. “It has been, and still is, a one-man battle against the demons of fractured minds.”
In addition to With Hope UAE’s frank social-media presence, the group holds talks and workshops in Dubai. “Change takes time,” Reem Al Ali, vice chairman and a founding member of With Hope UAE, told The National earlier this year. “It won’t happen overnight, and it will take persistent and passionate people to bring about this change.”
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Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
More on Quran memorisation:
