A good beginning

I couldn’t have dreamed for a better start to the tournament – played two, won two, and confidence in the side is sky high.

We have a really strong side – we have a very good bowling attack, with pace and spin options, and we have worked really hard on our fielding which has been good in this tournament so far. We know we have some more work to do on our batting, especially after six run outs in opening game against Ireland, but we showed some good form in our victory over Zimbabwe.

I am really enjoying the playing conditions in Stellenbosch, although the strong winds are a bit different to those back at home, but I have tried to use that to my advantage when I have been bowling. I also love the fact the outfield is soft – it hurts a lot more to dive around on the hard, dusty fields of Pakistan.

I was so proud to take a hat-trick in the game against Zimbabwe, although I was a bit worried that my third ball was going to be dropped as it was only caught at the second attempt.

It was great to speak to friends and family back at home straight after the match on my mobile, although many of them knew that the scores already as they have been following on the internet back at home.

I had taken a hat-trick for Pakistan before, but have yet to do so in a game which has ODI status, so I will have to add this to my to do list for the coming year – although qualification for the Women’s World Cup is certainly the top priority.

We are staying at a coastal resort called Strand, which is about 30 minutes from Stellenbosch, and I absolutely love the awesome views from my room. The sea looks absolutely fantastic and the mountains in the distance are very beautiful.

All eight teams are sharing the hotel and I love having the opportunity to talk to the players from the other teams.

My second team at the event is Bermuda, who we really bonded with when we played a practice game against them before the event started. After the game we shared the bus back with them and we had such fun singing together – we would sing our songs and they would then try and copy us which was so funny.

They are really great girls, who are trying their very best at the event, and it is a massive thing for them to even be playing here considering many of them only took up the game in the last couple of years. They have fantastic team spirit and we have learnt a lot from them in this area and I am sure they will get stronger in the future.

We haven’t toured much abroad before outside of Asia, although we did come on tour to South Africa last year, and I think we all appreciate how lucky we are to be able to travel as not as many girls back at home have that opportunity.

If we qualify for the Women’s World Cup in 2009 it will be the biggest thing that has ever happened in the history of women’s cricket in Pakistan.

Hopefully qualification may create opportunities to improve the support women’s cricket receives in Pakistan and by qualifying for the World Cup I hope that we may be able to generate more sponsorship as well.

It’s a big few months for me as well as once I have finished playing in this event I have my final dentistry exams – both my parents are dentists as well – so hopefully I will have double reason to celebrate in 2008. It’s certainly not been a quiet start to the year.

Tomorrow we are going to relax in the morning and see some of the tourist sites in Cape Town. I really wanted to go diving to see the sharks and I would love go to fishing, which is how I relax in my spare time, but there isn’t time, so instead I’m going to have settle for enjoying the views at the top of Table Mountain. I just wonder if the view will be as spectacular as that from the window of my hotel.