UAE scooped the Associate Member Women’s Performance of the Year at the ICC Development Awards after emerging victorious at the 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier, winning all six matches in the tournament and beating Thailand in the final.
They missed out on a place in Bangladesh following a defeat to Sri Lanka in the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 Global Qualifier which followed but Egodage, whose performances with bat and ball were key to getting them there, is proud their progress has been recognised.
“It’s an amazing feeling to win this award and be recognised by the ICC,” she said.
“Success is not an overnight thing, it has involved years of hard work, patience, determination and passion.
“Over the years, we’ve come close to beating Thailand so it was very special to finally beat them and it felt like all those years of hard work completely paid off.
“We put a dominant foot forward as underdogs in the final. And we’ve beaten Thailand after that too, so we’ve proved it wasn’t a fluke.
“We are here to be a dominant team and to be a dominant side of the Asia region.”
Egodage, who was named Player of the Match in the win over Thailand after taking 3/7 in her side’s defence of 70, hopes the team’s success will give the players the recognition they deserve on the global stage.
“Everyone performs in different games,” she added. “Someone will put in a stellar performance, but everyone chips in and gives their support.
“It’s a really good team combo, with everyone backing each other and putting their best foot forward. We are having the time of our lives and enjoying it.
“As Associate nations, we don’t get much limelight compared to full members, so it’s all about the team and winning so we can all make our teammates shine and hopefully in the future, franchises will look to us.”
The ICC Development Awards are a longstanding initiative to reward outstanding efforts to grow and strengthen the game among the ICC Associate members, and women’s cricket has been steadily growing in the UAE. There have been up to 28 teams competing in the seven provinces, with participation gathering momentum every year.
The women’s U19 domestic championship, which has a participation of 300 girls, and the U19 T20 championship have been success stories and Egodage knows there is more to come.
“We want to get to the World Cup,” she added. “Thailand already did it, so it’s our turn now.
“We were so close to getting there and we are definitely ready to perform on the main stage.
“I’m sure reaching the semi-finals will have opened quite a few eyes to everyone that UAE are here to play because it was such a close game.
“To lose by 15 runs (against Sri Lanka) was heartbreaking but we have to take the positives. We want to be on that stage and show everyone what we can do.”In January 2019, Egodage became the youngest woman to score a T20I half-century, aged 15 years and 267 days, and these performances are helping to inspire a new generation of girls across the UAE.
The UAE embark on the Asia Cup later this month, and Egodage is excited about facing nations including India and Pakistan in her home country.
“It’s not every day I get to play in Sri Lanka in front of my family so it’s something I’m sure I will cherish for the rest of my life,” she said.
“It shows that as a team, we have come so far. From just playing Gulf countries to playing ICC countries in tournaments.
“There is a lot of talent coming through across the country and a lot of girls taking interest in the sport.
“We want to keep inspiring girls to take up cricket and show that there is a future for us in the game.”
