Winning the ICC Associate Member Women’s Performance of the Year award is no doubt a proud moment for United Arab Emirates cricket.
UAE scooped the Associate Member Women’s Performance of the Year at the ICC Development Awards after emerging victorious at the 2023 Twenty20 World Cup Asia Qualifier, winning all six matches in the tournament and beating Thailand in the final.
ICC Associate Member Women’s Performance of the Year award acknowledges the outstanding women's on-field performance of the year by an Associate Member team in an International Cricket Council event or bilateral cricket.
The UAE women’s cricket team are ready to show they are a force to be reckoned with on the global stage, according to star player Kavisha Kumari Egodage.
They happened to miss out on a place in Bangladesh following a defeat to Sri Lanka in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2024 Global Qualifier but Egodage, whose performances with bat and ball were key to getting them there, is proud their progress has been recognized.
“It’s an amazing feeling to win this award and be recognized by the ICC,” she said.
“Success is not an overnight thing, it has involved years of hard work, patience, determination and passion.
“Over the years, we’ve come close to beating Thailand so it was very special to finally beat them and it felt like all those years of hard work completely paid off.
“We put a dominant foot forward as underdogs in the final. And we’ve beaten Thailand after that too, so we’ve proved it wasn’t a fluke.
“We are here to be a dominant team and to be a dominant side of the Asia region.”
Egodage hopes the team’s success will give the players the recognition they deserve on the global stage.
“Everyone performs in different games,” she added.
“Someone will put in a stellar performance, but everyone chips in and gives their support.
“It’s a really good team combo, with everyone backing each other and putting their best foot forward. We are having the time of our lives and enjoying it.
“As Associate nations, we don’t get much limelight compared to full members, so it’s all about the team and winning so we can all make our teammates shine and hopefully in the future, franchises will look to us.”
Women’s cricket has been steadily growing in the UAE.
There have been up to 28 teams competing in the seven provinces, with participation gathering momentum every year.
The women’s Under-19 domestic championship, which has a participation of 300 girls, and the U-19 T20 championship have been success stories and Egodage knows there is more to come.
“We want to get to the World Cup,” she added.
“Thailand already did it, so it’s our turn now.
“We were so close to getting there and we are definitely ready to perform on the main stage.
“I’m sure reaching the semi-finals will have opened quite a few eyes to everyone that UAE are here to play because it was such a close game.
“To lose by 15 runs (against Sri Lanka) was heartbreaking but we have to take the positives. We want to be on that stage and show everyone what we can do.”
Over the last few years, UAE have laid special emphasis on promoting and developing women’s cricket, and it is surely heartening to see those efforts bear fruit.
