Photo Credit: USA Cricket
- 6 matches in 6 days between the Eastern/Central Conference and the Western Conference in Florida for the National Championship
- Every game will feature live coverage on www.usacricket.org and a 3 camera Live Stream on USA Cricket’s YouTube channel with commentary
- Sistar Mortgage Player of the Match to be awarded in all games alongside awards for Leading Runscorer, Leading Wicket Taker and Player of the Series
After a history-making season of women’s cricket across the United States following the creation of the Women’s Domestic Pathway, the Sistar Mortgage Women’s National Championships 2021 gets underway today at the Central Broward Park & Broward County Stadium, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and will run through from August 3-8.
The Sistar Mortgage Women’s National Championships represent the culmination of the pathway for the best players selected from the recently completed Regional Championships and will be the ultimate challenge for players vying for selection in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup Regional Americas Qualifier and the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier to be held later in the year.
Western Conference, and Team USA Women’s Captain Sindhu Sriharsha commented on the Women’s Domestic Pathway to date, “We spent a lot of time indoors, on our own and working on the mental side of the game in 2020 so it has been great to finally get out on the field to showcase our talent. It’s been an amazing experience to participate in the historic USA Cricket Women’s Domestic Structure and this week brings together the best 28 players in the country to participate in the Sistar Mortgage National Championships. I’m sure it will be a hard-fought competition this week with some hugely competitive cricket and I’m really excited for what the future holds for the women’s senior and U19 national teams and women’s cricket generally in the USA!”
USA Women’s Head Coach Julia Price also emphasized the importance of the pathway and particularly the decision to bring back a National Championships at the top of that pathway, stating “The Sistar Mortgage Women’s National Championships will showcase the longstanding and competitive rivalry between the best players in the USA representing their geographical regions, and thereby providing that extra bit of pressure and competition which we are looking for when preparing our players for international cricket. Selection for the teams that are participating in the National Championships was highly sought after and we hope that the importance placed on this event and the pathway generally by USA Cricket will serve as motivation to those who missed out and also inspire other players from around the country to either participate or support the women’s structure that is being developed by USA Cricket in the future.”
With women’s cricket on the rise, the Sistar Mortgage Women’s National Championships has seen the inclusion of plenty of new faces from all parts of the country, and the inclusion of many talented junior players who have also been selected to participate in the Sistar Mortgage Women’s U19 National Championships that follow immediately after. The format of the series allows players to be exposed to both 50 over and T20 formats at the highest level which will assist with their development for potential selection to Team USA squads in the future.
PLAYING SQUADS
Eastern/Central Conference Squad:
| Shebani Bhaskar (Capt.) – Atlanta |
| Bhumika Bhadriraju – Chapel Hill |
| Holly Charles – New York |
| Moksha Chaudhary – Boston |
| Disha Dhingra – Philadelphia |
| Sara Farooq – Philadelphia |
| Nadia Gruny – Atlanta |
| Aafia Khazia – Raleigh |
| Geetika Kodali – Chapel Hill |
| Nishka Kumar – DC |
| Anika Kumar – DC |
| Mitali Patwardhan (WK) – Raleigh |
| Lisa Ramjit – DC |
| Onika Wallerson – Philadelphia |
Western Conference Squad:
| Sindhu Srihasha (Capt.) – Bay Area |
| Akshatha Rao – Bay Area |
| Anika Kolan (WK) – Seattle/Bay Area |
| Chetnaa Prasad – Bay Area |
| Erica Rendler – Southern California |
| Gargi Bhogle – Southern California |
| Isani Vaghela – Southern California |
| Jivana Aras – Seattle/Bay Area |
| Laasya Mullapudi – Bay Area |
| Mahika Kandanala – Dallas |
| Snigdha Paul – Dallas |
| Suhani Thadani – Southern California |
| Uzma Iftikar – Seattle/Bay Area |
| Yashditi Tekki – Seattle/Bay Area |
The selected players will represent the two Conference teams and play-off in Fort Lauderdale in 3 x 50 Over matches, which will be followed by 3 x Twenty20 matches.
COACHES
USA Cricket has also named the following two coaches for the representative sides:
- Eastern/Central Conference: Chita Nilak, coach of the DC team in the Intra-Regionals
- Western Conference: Asif Mujtaba, Women’s National U19 Coach
MATCHES
Tues August 3: Starting at 10am – 50 overs
Weds August 4: Starting at 10am – 50 overs
Fri August 6: Starting at 10am – 50 overs
Sat August 7: Starting at 10am and then starting at 2.30pm – Twenty20
Sun August 8: Starting at 10am – Twenty20
All matches are being played at the Central Broward Park & Broward County Stadium, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida with free admission on all 5 days for all 6 matches.
Every game will feature live coverage on www.usacricket.org and a 3 camera Live Stream on USA Cricket’s YouTube channel with commentary
The Sistar Mortgage Women’s National Championships will then be immediately followed by the historic inaugural Sistar Mortgage Women’s Under 19 National Championships, when 4 Twenty20’s will be played between the two teams from August 11th to 13th.
Name of Author: USA Cricket
USA Cricket (USAC) is the governing body for cricket in the United States, overseeing the national men’s, women’s, and youth teams. It also manages Major League Cricket, the premier domestic Twenty20 competition in the U.S.
