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Writer's pictureGeorgie Heath

FairBreak Invitational T20 announces all-star line-up for South Coast Sapphires

Fairbreak Invitational Women's T20 has announced 11 of the 15-strong squad to make up Australia's entry to the groundbreaking tournament.


The 'South Coast Sapphires' will be based in Dalmeny, NSW, Australia before heading out to compete in Dubai from 1-15 May 2022.


Captaining the side is former Pakistan Captain Sana Mir, who is not only a legend of the women's game, but also a winner of the Asia Game Changer Award for her humanitarian work.


"It’s a very proud moment for me to be captaining the South Coast Sapphires. The team comprises some incredible cricketers like Chamari Athapaththu, Shabnim Ismail and Kim Garth. There will be 10 to 13 different nationalities in any one team so it’s going to be an incredible tournament” - Sana Mir

Featuring players from nine different countries, this side is the first demonstration of the global reach of this tournament and how it seeks to encompass both affiliate and associate ICC Nations.


Four more players will be announced at a later date as well as the five other sides ready to show their class in the heat of Dubai.


The privately funded tournament is a world first global event for women's cricket and will bring together players for 36 countries to form six teams. The teams will play 19 games across 15 days in Dubai from May 1-15 2022.


It is a groundbreaking tournament and the opportunity to showcase the wealth of talent across the women's game and will also encompass sustainability aims with players wearing uniforms manufactured from recycled plastic bottles.


"We see a world where people have fair and equal access to opportunities that enable them to succeed in their chosen endeavour, independent of gender or geographical location. Our mission is to create opportunities that progress gender equality on a truly global scale, using cricket as our primary vehicle. In doing so, we aim to create opportunities across health, business, media, arts and education to empower women to pursue success in their chosen field." - FairBreak

The further five teams will be release at a later date as well as the four players to fill the remaining spots in the South Coast Sapphires.



The South Coast Sapphires' Who's Who


CAPTAIN - Sana Mir

Country: Pakistan

DOB: 05/01/86 (Age 36)

Role: All-rounder

Bowling style: Right-hand off spin

Batting style: Right-hand bat

Bio: Sana is former Pakistan Captain and winner of the Asia Game Changer award. She brings a wealth of experience to the role and has two Asian Games titles to her name. The all-rounder's stats speak for themselves with best T20I bowling figures of 4/13 and T20 bowling figures of 4-9. She also boasts an top WT20I score of 48* and a domestic 50*. In 2018 she became the first Pakistan women cricketer to rank number 1 in the ICC ODI rankings and was the first Pakistan woman to take 100 wickets in WODIs. She retired from international cricket in April 2020. Sana is also part of FairBreak's management team

Twitter: @mir_sana05

Instagram: mir.sana05



Jade Allen

Country: Australia

DOB: 13/11/03 (Age 19)

Role:

Bowling style: Right-arm leg spin

Batting style: Right-hand bat

Bio: Jade is in her first season of a two year contract with NSW Breakers (WNCL) and Sydney Sixers (WBBL). She also represents Universities CC in Sydney Premier Cricket. Jadegrew up at Cobargo, on the Far South Coast of New South Wales. Aged just 12she began playing cricket with Bega Angledale Junior Cricket Club. Until her move into representative cricket, Jade’s sole teammates were her male

peers.

Instagram: jade.allen1



Kim Garth

Country: Ireland

DOB: 25/04/96 (Age 26)

Role: All-rounder

Bowling style: Right-arm medium

Batting style:

Bio: Kim made her debut in 2010 at the age of 14 and has been named in the Irish Team of the Decade. She played 100 games for Ireland before she made the move to Australia to pursue a full-time career as a cricketer. She was impressive during the 2021 WBBL where she played for Melbourne Stars. She became the first bowler in WBBL history to rack up three maidens during her staggering spell of 3-3-0-3 against Sydney Thunder. She amassed 164 runs throughout the WBBL at an average of 27.33 and with a strike-rate of 106.49. Added to her 15 wickets at 18.73 she was named in the espn team of the tournament.

Twitter: @kim_garth

Instagram: kim_garth



Jemimah Rodrigues

Country: India

DOB: 05/09/00 (Age 22)

Role: Batter

Bowling style: Right-arm off break

Batting style: Right-hand bat

Bio: Considered one of the most exciting young cricketers in the women's game, Jemimah has captained Mumbai in the Indian National Women's and also played for Melbourne Renegades in the WBBL. She was one of the biggest names to emerge from the Hundred in 2021, most notably for her 92* (74 of which came from boundaries) and her three totals past 50. She scored a staggering 249 runs in the tournament and went viral for her guitar playing alongside fellow Northern Supercharger Laura Wolvaardt.

Twitter: @JemiRodriguez

Instagram: jemimarodriguez



Shabnim Ismail

Country: South Africa

DOB: 05/10/88 (Age 33)

Role: Bowler

Bowling style: Right-arm fast medium

Batting style: Left-hand bat

Bio: One of the fastest bowlers in the women's game, Shabnim has clocked at 128km per hour (80mph). Since making her international debut for South Africa in 2007, she has become her country's leading wicket-taker across all formats. She missed out on defending the WBBL title with sydney Thunder in 2021 due to an injury sustained on International duty again the West Indies and played a huge part of the Oval Invincibles' victorious campaign in the Hundred's first edition in 2021.

Twitter: @Shabnin_ismail

Instagram: shabnim_ismail



Geetika Kodali

Country: USA

DOB: 07/06/04 (Age 17)

Role: All-rounder

Bowling style: Right-arm medium

Batting style: Right-hand bat

Bio: Geetika made her Women's Twenty20 International debut for the United States women's cricket team in 2019 aged just 15. She has played 11 international matches with the USA and has previously captained the USA Women's U19 side as well as being part of the FairBreak XI in 2020.

Twitter: @GeetikaKodali

Instagram: geetu_kodali



Chamari Athapaththu

Country: Sri Lanka

DOB: 09/02/90 (Age 31)

Role:

Bowling style: Right-arm medium

Batting style: Left-hand bat

Bio: Chamari holds the second highest individual score in Women's World Cup history. She smashed 179* against Australia in 2017 and has been dominant with the bat for over a decade. Chamari is the captain of the Sri Lankan women's T20 side who have qualified for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and was part of the Perth Scorchers side who won the WBBL in 2021. Her statistics include a staggering WODI top score of 113 and best bowling figures of 3/17.

Twitter: @58Chamari

Instagram: chamari_anthapaththu58



Shebani Bhaskar

Country: USA

DOB: 07/10/94 (Age 27)

Role: Wicket-keeper

Batting style: Right-hand bat

Bio: Shebani hails from a family of athletes and took her first wicket in a debut match aged just12. At 13 she was the first girl accepted into VB Chandrasekhar’s academy then at 16 she played her first club tournament in the US. Although she was noticed at domestic level in India she was never selected for the Indian national side and ey 2011 she was on the US roster. In one of her first games for the US she hit 72 from 89 to help her side register a victory against Zimbabwe. She plays primarily as a wicket-keeper but also bowls occasional right-arm legbreak.

Twitter: @shebanimb

Instagram: shebanibhaskar



Babette de Leede

Country: Netherlands

DOB: 08/10/99 (Age 22)

Role: Wicket-keeper

Batting style: Right-hand bat

Bio: Babette made her debut for the Netherlands at the 2015 ICC Women's World T20 Qualifiers. In 2018 she was again in the squad and was also named in the ICC Women's Global Development squad. In 2020 Emerging Cricket announced her as one of their emerging players to watch.

Twitter: @BabettedeLeede



Gaby Lewis

Country: Ireland

DOB: 27/03/01 (Age 20)

Role: All-rounder

Bowling style: Right-arm legbreak

Batting style: Right-hand bat

Bio: Gaby made her international debut aged 13 making her the first international player born in the 21st century. She has since featured in franchises around the world including playing for the Southern Brave in the Hundred and the Southern Vipers in the English women's domestic leagues. She currently captains the Women's Super Series team Scorchers and was named as one of the ICC breakout stars of 2018. Her father, Alan, and grandfather, Ian, also both played internationally for Ireland.

Twitter: @lewis_gaby

Instagram: gabby_lewis


Betty Chan

Country: Hong Kong

DOB: 18/01/89 (Age 33)

Role: All-rounder

Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak

Batting style: Right-hand bat

Bio: Chan can open both the bowling and the batting and first represented Hong Kong in 2006 at the age of 16. Since then she has become a key member of the Hong Kong team and is best known for her economical right arm off-spin bowling.


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