FairBreak Invitational giving some of Asia’s best the chance to shine on world stage
- Cricket tournament will highlight strength of women’s game among associate nations when it comes to Hong Kong next month
- 12 of the city’s players will take to the field alongside opponents from Thailand, UAE, Kuwait, Pakistan and India
More than a third of the players taking part in the Fairbreak Invitational next month will be from Asian teams, with most of those representing associate sides.
Some 90 cricketers from 36 different countries will take part in the two-week competition at Kowloon Cricket Club, with organisers targeting the occasions as another step towards greater recognition and the development of talented players from teams such as the UAE, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, Bhutan, Kuwait and Hong Kong.
In addition to 12 players from Hong Kong, leading associates Thailand and UAE will have five and four representatives, respectively.
UAE and Warriors batter Esha Oza was awarded the ICC Associate Player of the Year award, accumulating 675 T20I runs, including two hundreds and a top score of 158* in 2022. Still shy of her 19th birthday, Theertha Satish scored a half-century against Australia at the Under-19 T20 World Cup, and will be looking to push her team, last year’s runners up the Falcons, to the trophy in Hong Kong.
Satish will have Falcons teammate and Hong Kong all-rounder Mariko Hill for company. A long-time FairBreaker, Hill grew as the 2022 tournament progressed, notching up a partnership of 92 with Marizanne Kapp in the final against the Tornadoes. Within months of the 2022 tournament, she was selected to play for the Northern Diamonds in England’s regional competition.
Team Spirit and Hong Kong batter Yaz Daswani played alongside Mariko at Spencer CC in Division 1 of the Women’s Cricket Super League (WCSL) in the UK, notching up 278 runs in 8 innings at an average of 34.75 and a strike rate of 92.67.