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China’s Women’s team are preparing for the Asian Games in November with their first tour of Bangladesh. Based at the National Academy BKSP, 19 miles north of Dhaka, the team are two-thirds of the way through a six-match schedule and are doing well.

“So far they have won three and lost one, playing strong sides,” says ACC Development for China Aminul Islam.

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Thirty players are in Bangladesh, 17 seniors and 13 U-19 players, and in conditions of high humidity and with temperatures reaching 41ºC, “they never say ‘tired’”says Aminul. “Whenever they can, by themselves they go out and knock up and do fielding drills. They have a great enthusiasm and seriousness about the game.”

On the field the senior Chinese players’ fielding, fitness and running between the wickets has been superior to their opponents and their three Twenty20 wins, against Azad Sporting Club, BKSP Academy (both of which had 4 national players) and the Clamon Asia Academy have been by comfortable margins. Their loss to the BCB Women’s XI (virtually the national side) in a 25-over match was by nine wickets with nine balls to spare, after making 78.

Bangladesh’s Aminul Islam keeping an eye on China

On non-match days, the cricketers have four hours practice and an hour-long English tutorial with retired Dhaka University Professor Abdul Hai, from whom Aminul Islam himself learnt the basics of Chinese.

There is a specialist fielding coach from the Bangladesh Cricket Board seconded to the visiting Chinese. Former Bangladesh national player Manjural Islam is the bowling coach and Mamatha Maben is the batting coach. Aminul Islam is on hand in a supervisory role.

   

Sun Mengyao     

Wang Meng

The Chinese women’s team was formed in 2007 and its first senior international tournament was the ACC Women’s Twenty20 in 2009. In November 2009 they were in Mohali, India, and have recently completed a tour of Hong Kong.

The men’s U-19 team was in Bangladesh in November 2009 for a similar training camp at BKSP. China’s women, however, are expected to do better than their men at the Asian Games in November this year. “Training in Bangladesh where there are so much more facilities for cricket, so much more cricket all around, will help China develop more quickly than just being back at home,” says Aminul.

   
Wang Meng, women’s senior captain, says she is learning a great deal. "It is like a cricket heaven here. They provide us with the best facilities, best fields and best coaches to help us improve the skills," she said.

Former India captain Mamatha Maben, who became head coach of the Chinese women's cricket team in March 2009, said, "Although the players have the skills and potential, they are lacking of match experience. That's why we came here and arranged matches with local teams."

After Bangladesh, China’s women will continue their training in Chengdu, south-west China.

China Cricket Profile
Source: www.asiancricket.org