Hardly had the dust settled down in England after the conclusion of the ICC T20 World Cup when the minnows of cricket locked horns to participate in the ACC Women’s T20 Championship 2009. 12 Non Test playing countries which included the likes of Iran, UAE, Nepal, China, to name a few performed with such aplomb credit should go to the ACC for spreading cricket far and wide in Asia. India, Sri lanka and Pakistan were the only three teams playing and now Asia can boast of 16 countries who participate in International Women’s cricket tournaments.

The tournament itself was keenly contested with the Nepal vs Singapore match going to a bowl out. UAE won against debutants Iran by 1 run, Hong Kong emerged winners against Thailand in the final but it could have been anyone’s game till the end. Thailand lost by 4 runs in a well fought final.

The progress of the Chinese team was heartening particularly since the players did not have much exposure to cricket and do not get to watch the game live or on television. Good students of the game, the team was athletic and strong, played technically correct cricket and were a tremendously disciplined lot. The Coach of the team, Mamatha Maben, former Captain of the Indian team, and Rashid Khan, ex Pakistan player and bowling coach have done a very good job with the team.

It was encouraging to see teams from Qatar, UAE, Oman and Kuwait participating in the tournament. Mostly expatriates, the teams brave issues in the Middle Eastern countries particularly cultural inhibitions and lack of facilities. Inspite of facing challenges, the players are determined to play cricket and pursue their interest.

Hong Kong, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore have shown a marked improvement since their first outing in 2007. Hong Kong was professional in their approach and displayed good skills. Nepal and Thailand comprising of local players, are a talented lot. Thailand displayed excellent fielding skills and had a do or die approach on the field. Singapore and Malaysia are showing signs of improvement and are determined to focus on areas which need to be improved. Bhutan and Iran were debutants in the senior tournament. Bhutan had participated in the junior event and shown tremendous potential. They are still in the learning stage and have a long way to go to catch up with the rest.

The pick of the teams was Iran. In their first ever competition, they won the match against Bhutan and lost to UAE by just 1 run. Covered from head to toe with only their faces and palms exposed, they were a tremendously spirited side. The enthusiasm with which they played the sport caught everyone’s attention. Coached by ex Pakistan captain, Shamsa Hashmi, they were athletic and showed tremendous determination to perform well. Extremely disciplined and mindful of Islamic culture, the development of women’s cricket in Iran is something which can be showcased not only by ACC but something the ICC can be proud of.

The ACC Women’s T20 Competition 2009 for the senior women from the Non Test playing countries was a very successful event. There are areas which the teams will need to work on. On seeing the intensity with which the girls played , I am sure they will work on perfecting their skills and will come back better prepared in the next version.

The ACC organizes an international tournament every year, alternately for the seniors and juniors. This year a very special guest, Javed Miandad, witnessed the matches and shared his valuable experience with the Chinese team. Javed is the Ambassador from Pakistan for cricket in China and has been very keenly involved in its development. On a few occasions I saw him actually training with the Chinese women’s team and giving them practical tips on various aspects of the game. It was heartening to see a player of his stature encouraging the girls and sparing time to share his rich experience to help them grow.

Cricket has come a long way and ACC has taken the game far and wide. This tournament in Kuala Lumpur was a curtain raiser for the minnows in preparation for the Asian Games in 2010 . With more exposure and experience I wont be surprised if in the years to come, teams from China, Thailand and a few others will be on par, if not better, and will challenge the Big Three in Asia.