"Support us just like you support the Men's cricket team"

Pakistan is playing four matches in the T20 Women’s Cricket World Cup. The green shirts will be playing West Indies, England, South Africa and Thailand in the group stage. The team has asked the local community to show support in the tournament.

The Pakistani Women’s cricket team will kick start their tour with their first match of the tournament in Canberra against the West Indies. The second match will also be the bush capital.

Speaking to SBS Urdu, Pakistani all-rounder Aliya Riaz says she is really hopeful the Pakistani community down under will come out in droves to help them win big in their group matches.

“My message to the Pakistani community in Australia is to support the women’s cricket team just like they support men’s cricket team.

“I would like to request all the people who have ties to Pakistan and are currently in Australia to come and watch the matches. We need their support.”

The more they will support us; the more we will be motivated to perform on the ground.

Pakistan celebrate a wicket during the ICC Women's T20 Cricket World Cup match Source: Jono Searle/Getty Images

27-year-old Aliya Riaz is one of the senior players in the Pakistan squad and will be playing her second T20 World Cup.

She is Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in the World Cup and has represented her country in 38 matches.

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Pakistan prepares for World Cup glory in Australia

Talking to SBS Urdu Aliya Riaz says the team has done special training and practices to help them beat the top teams in the tournament.

“Our aim is to qualify for the semi-final and then move on from there.

“The Australian pitches have more bounce the tracks are fast. We recently played a series with West Indies and have practised both indoors and outdoors to understand and learn the conditions here.

“We have worked on power-hitting in batting while in bowling we are trying different variations.

“The team is in much better shape for the World Cup and we are quite hopeful that we will qualify for the next round.”

Players of the Pakistan national women's team pose for photos with young fans during the ICC Women's T20 Cricket World Cup Cricket Source: Albert Perez/ICC via Getty Images

Group matches:

Pakistan vs West Indies

Wed 26 February 19:00 (local time) 

Manuka Oval, Canberra

 

Pakistan vs England

Fri 28 February 19:00 (local time) 

Manuka Oval, Canberra

 

South Africa vs Pakistan

Sun 01 March 15:00 (local time) 

Sydney Showground, Sydney

 

Pakistan vs Thailand

Tue 03 March 15:00 (local time) 

Sydney Showground, Sydney

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