Nigar Sultana Joty says Bangladesh’s players are grateful to be “healthy and safe” despite the disappointment of seeing their home Women’s T20 World Cup relocated.
They started their campaign in fine style, claiming a first win in a women’s World Cup since 2014, as they beat Scotland by 16 runs at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
The competition had been due to be staged in their homeland, only for it to be switched to Sharjah and Dubai as a response to political unrest and protests in Bangladesh.
The protests lead to more than 200 confirmed deaths, thousands of reported injuries, and more than 11,000 arrests.
When victory was sealed in the opening game in Sharjah, a number of players, including Joty, were visibly moved.
“It was hard work because we always had in our mind that we were going to play in front of our home crowd,” Joty, the Bangladesh captain, said.
“But still, there were quite a few people who came here today and were supporting Bangladesh. It was brilliant.
“As a professional team I think we need to move on and not think about the fact we might have been playing in Bangladesh in front of our home crowd.
“We are able to play here. We are fortunate because we all are healthy and all are safe, and representing our country.
“We got a good win in front of a good number of people. Back home they were very happy, I think. Our friends and family will be in a very good mood now.”
The UAE is providing a secure second home for a T20 World Cup the second time in three years. In 2021 the men’s version was brought here because of the Covid situation in India.
Again, it means the home national team are absent, but they did at least have some representation on the opening day.
Esha Oza, the UAE captain, forced a smile as she carried out the trophy ahead of the start. She had played the innings that took the national team to the brink of qualifying for this tournament earlier this year, only for them to fall agonisingly short.
The two opponents in the first fixture had both played Qualifiers in Abu Dhabi in recent times.
Bangladesh qualified for last year’s tournament in South Africa via an event in the capital, while Scotland did similar this time around by beating Ireland in the decisive match.
It meant they had the chance to play at a women’s World Cup for the first time, and for much of their debut fixture, they acquitted themselves well.
They restricted Bangladesh to 119-7 from their 20 overs, with Saskia Horley taking 3-13.
The fact scoring was difficult was evidenced by there being only 15 boundaries hit in the match. Just five of those were contributed by Scotland.
After keeping wicket for the Bangladesh batting innings, Sarah Bryce batted through Scotland’s 20 overs.
Given they made it to 103-7 in their reply, it meant she ran 83 times between the wicket in the innings, and she finished a run short of a half century by the end, too.
“There is a bit of disappointment not getting the win, but there is so much we can take from today’s game,” Horley said.
“Having restricted them to 120, there are definitely some mixed emotions. There are still so many games left, and we are competing. There were some great performances out there today.”
Bangladesh will face England next time out when they return to the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday evening, while Scotland face West Indies a day later.
India begin their tournament when they meet New Zealand in Dubai at 6pm on Friday.
