Paulo Vitor Campos article – Sport Poços

Last Saturday, the cricket field located in the ecological park of the south zone hosted the first game of the Brazilian women’s cricket team after the start of the pandemic. The girls were led by coach Liam Cook, who stays in Brazil until December, playing games and training with the national team that will compete in important competitions in 2021.

The Brazilian team faced a selection of Poços de Caldas in the first of a series of matches until the beginning of next season. These are games that aim to make the team well prepared for international disputes. Brazil will play championships and face strong teams like Argentina and the powerful Canada and the United States.

Ranking

The Brazilian cricket celebrates a great rise in the world ranking. In the last list, Brazil appears in twenty-seventh place. It was the first time that the national team occupies this position and the goal is to be among the top 20 in the world as soon as possible.

“We are happy with this growth in Brazilian cricket. We were used to always appearing among the 40, 38 in the world and now we are 27. We want more, but the moment is a lot of celebration ”, said Matt Featherstone.

The rise in the ranking was thanks to the great performance of the Brazilian team last season. Matt believes that if the team maintains the standard of play, the goal of being in the top 20 will be achieved naturally. Last year, Brazil was undefeated South American champion and this result was fundamental for the new ranking.

“This growth of our cricket serves to give more morale to our girls, to encourage even more our work that has been done with a lot of dedication. We are proud because it is a work that has been attracting worldwide attention, but, as I said, we want more. Satisfaction will not give way to accommodation and we want to go further and be among the first. Being in the top 20 will give us more championships to compete, more work to do and more results to achieve, but this is what we want, ”continued Matt Featherstone.

Liam Cook

Coach Liam Cook is an important part of the Brazilian cricket’s growth project. He is one of the main coaches in the world and bought the idea of ​​working with girls from Brazil.

“I am very happy to be in Poços de Caldas, walking the streets of this wonderful city that looks like a small piece of England. Furthermore, still having the chance to work with such a talented group is a great satisfaction. The project carried out in Poços de Caldas by Matt Featherstone is wonderful, serious and very professional. It is not for nothing that the results appear and the Brazilian cricket is gaining more space every day ”, said Cook.

The coach believes that when the national team starts playing with the bigger teams they will be able to show their real strength.

“We have talent, but we need stronger games, so it is important to be among the top 20 in the world. I believe that this goal will be reached in 18 months and when that happens, no one holds these girls up, ”concluded Cook.