Get a glimpse of the next generation of England and Australia’s women cricketers as they go head-to-head at Dubai’s ICC Academy.
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The two sides will meet in four ODI matches with the first on Thursday, before the teams meet again two days later. The third and fourth matches will be on April 6 and 8 before they take on each other in the two-match T20 series on April 11 and 12.
Spectators can look forward to some thrilling matches and they can see how the teams fare with free admission to all games. Kent’s Tammy Beaumont will lead the England Women’s Academy team, which includes 2014 Ashes winners Georgia Elwiss and Natasha Farrant.
The team will also have some promising players like left-arm spinner Alex Hartley and all-rounder Alex Macdonald who will all be looking to make an impression.
They will come against a strong Commonwealth Bank Shooting Stars team, which includes batswoman Elyse Villani and allrounder Delissa Kimmince.
Tammy Beaumont and Natasha Farrant on England Women’s Academy, who soon face the Australians. http://t.co/cDslOG77sz pic.twitter.com/HrgPwvddeF
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) March 28, 2015
With key tournaments coming up over the next year including the Ashes series in July in England, both sides will be eager to do well.
England and Wales Cricket Board’s head of England women’s cricket, Clare Connor said: “The series against the Commonwealth Bank Shooting Stars presents a very exciting opportunity for this group of players to gain some valuable experience of playing in overseas conditions against tough opposition.
“Ahead of the 2016 ICC Women’s World Twenty20 in India, the conditions presented at the ICC Academy will be similar to those on the sub-continent, so this exposure to playing a strong opposition in a different environment will be very beneficial.”
And Julie Savage, chair of selectors for Australia, said: “It is important to expose our players to different playing conditions around the world to ensure that we are prepared for events such as the 2016 ICC Women’s World Twenty20 in India, as well as tours to these regions in the future.
“These series are a tremendous learning experience for the young players in our system, providing experience of overseas conditions as well as an intensive playing and training programme in a touring environment.”
It is not the first time that the ICC Academy is hosting international teams. In October and November, the UAE played their one-day series against Pakistan and New Zealand ‘A’ teams, while the Australian and IPL teams also trained at the state-of-the-facilities last year.
And it is no surprise that the England team is looking forward to playing and training in Dubai. Connor said: “The facilities at the ICC Academy are superb; for training purposes across the extensive array of nets boasting different styled surfaces, the indoor cricket school and gym and for match situations on the two playing pitches.
“(It means) the ICC Academy provides the ideal venue to host both a training camp and an international series, and the distance from England and Australia helps to minimise the number of acclimatisation days that both sides need ahead of the start of the competitive matches.”
What: Commonwealth Bank Shooting Stars (Australia) vs England Women’s Academy ODI and T20 series.
Where: ICC Academy, Dubai
When: ODI series beginning on Thursday, April 2. T20 Series on April 11 and 12
Contact: www.dsc.ae
