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| England skipper Salma (left) with captains of the other countries |
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| The T10 World Cup winners - England! |
A NUMBER of Great White Sharks players took part in the inaugural T10 Women's World Cricket Cup competition at the Birmingham International Futsal Arena on April 21.
And Sharks captain Salma Bi lifted the trophy as skipper of the tournament-winning England side, which also featured GWS players Camilla Olsen and Anisha Bi!
The pioneering event, organised by Salma's MAD (Making A Difference) foundation, involved 32 women split into four teams of eight each representing a Test cricket playing country.
England, Australia, Pakistan and India battled it out in a thrilling tournament which also raised over £1,000 for the charity Mencap.
For Salma, it was a second major indoor sporting event she had hosted just six weeks apart.
On March 10, the 26-year-old from Bordesley Green was one of 24 women who completed a 10-hour non-stop futsal marathon at the same Birmingham venue from which over £1,000 was raised for the National Autistic Society.
After the final ball was kicked Salma immediately set about organising the T10 World Cup helped in various ways by sister Aisha, Futsal Arena staff Gemma Smith and Ikhlaq Hussain and Welsh sports journalist Dave Jones.
Pre-tournament preparations did not always go smoothly with the West Indies team pulling out the day before, plus there was family focus on the imminent addition to the Bi family, a baby nephew for Salma, but come the day all went swimmingly.
In the group stage, countries played one another on a round-robin basis with results as follows:
Game 1- England 248 Pakistan 246 (ENG WIN BY 2 RUNS)
Game 2- India 256 Australia 273 (AUS WIN BY 17 RUNS)
Game 3- India 240 England 301 (ENG WIN BY 61 RUNS)
Game 4- Pakistan 164 Australia 277 (AUS WIN BY 113 RUNS)
Game 5- England 274 Australia 268 (ENG WIN BY 6 RUNS)
Game 6- Pakistan 301 India 270 (PAK WIN BY 31 RUNS)
Game 7- Pakistan 247 England 299 (ENG WIN BY 52 RUNS)
Game 8- Australia 309 India 244 (AUS WIN BY 65 RUNS)
Game 9- England 277 India 278 (IND WIN BY 1 RUN)
Game 10- Australia 284 Pakistan 247 (AUS WIN BY 37 RUNS)
The final group standings saw England and Australia finish on four points with Pakistan and India one apiece.
Pakistan skipper Zem Afzal won the toss for the third-fourth place play-off and opted for a bowl out.
This was won 3-0 by Pakistan, with Joanne Insley, Farzana Hussain and captain Zem all hitting the stumps.
The final saw England win the toss for the first time all day and opt to bat.
They scored at a steady 20 runs per over before Mina Zahoor and captain Amna Rafiq grabbed six wickets in four overs for the Aussies.
England then fought back, Nicky Preston and Anisha Bi guiding the "hosts" to a final score of 281.
In reply, Australia batted sensibly and looked to be heading for victory on 273 in the seventh over.
However, cometh the hour cometh the hero and "Queen ov Speen" Salma took three wickets in an over before handing the ball to Nicky, who claimed another victim, leaving Australia on 251 at the close and England victorious by 30 runs.
After the tournament Salma said: "Who could have written a better script?
"Thirty-two girls from all walks of life participated in an event never attempted before. Out of all 32 girls only 10 play at club level or higher.
"As well as pulling off an event such as this, the girls also raised over £1,000 for Mencap.
"Women's sport deserves recognition, it deserves promotion, it deserves it's time to set new records, to provide for individuals who are yet to grasp the game, who are yet to be recognised for their talents - who are yet to Make A Difference."
Salma hopes to bring more events such as this not just to the Midlands, but further afield.
In the meantime, a big month is coming up for the first Asian female to play cricket for Worcestershire.
On May 2, Salma is one of three contenders in the Outstanding Contribution section at the Muslim Women's Sports Foundation Ambassador Awards at Wembley Stadium.
Then on May 18, she will be among the nominations in the Sport category at the Asian Women of Achievement Awards, also in London.
Three years ago Salma won the Outstanding Achievement accolade at the British-Asian Sports Awards.
T10 WORLD CUP SQUADS
PAKISTAN: Zem Afzal (cptn), Joanne Insley, Farzana Hussain, Zakia Malik, Halima Khan, Tasha Beck, Aisha Ahmed, Shareen Rahim.
AUSTRALIA: Amna Rafiq (cptn), Aisha Bi, Hayley Shaddic, .Sophie Molyneux, Sara Ali, Zoya Saleh, Chantel Hunter, Mina Zahoor.
INDIA: Gemma Goode (cptn), Amanda Payne, Gail Collins, Gemma Smith, Hira Jan, Rahima Khan, Hassina Begum, Charlie Charmer.
ENGLAND: Salma Bi (cptn), Maya Vashi, Anisha Bi, Masooma Naqvi, Rahilla Rafiq, Nicky Preston, Camilla Olsen, Myra Faz.
