Women's camp winding up, selection matches beckon

The second phase of coaching for the 37 probables for the CricInfo Women's Cricket World Cup to be held in New Zealand from November 23 to December 18 is currently in progress at the DAV Senior Secondary School ground in Chandigarh.

The first phase of the camp was also held here two months back and a 14-member team will be selected after the third camp, which is to be held in Delhi later this week. The camp for the selected squad is tentatively scheduled to be held in Chennai.

After the Chandigarh camp ends on September 22, the scene will shift to Delhi. The camp there will include trial matches from September 24 to 29 at the Jamia Milliah ground .

The current 15-day coaching camp under the watchful eyes of Sudha Shah will conclude on September 22. Sports Authority of India (SAI) coach Sukhwinder Bawa has also been helping the probables at the camp. Bawa has recently been in the news as his ward Yuvraj Singh has been selected in the probables list for the Indian team to play in the International Cricket Council Knock Out Trophy. Mr. Sudhakar and RP Singh, have also helped run things in a smooth fashion at the camp.

According to Bawa, the current camp had been divided into four phases. Two shifts are held daily in the morning from 6 am to 8 am for physical conditioning of the players. After a short break, another two hour session of fielding is carried out. In the evening session, probables are given bowling and batting practice for three hours.

Chanderakantha, who had led the Indian team in the last World Cup was full of praise for the preparations in current camp. She said that the idea of holding the camp in three phases and in three different climates helped the probables at lot.