Boochatham bamboozles in awesome August
BY THE NUMBERSThree T20Is
10 wickets at 5.60. Best figures of 4/16
44 runs at 14.66, strike rate 112.82. Highest score 24.
Zimbabwe adventure to remember
Coming from behind to claim the T20I series 2-1 away from home, Thailand opened the batting and bowling with Boochatham in all three matches – a testament to the qualities she brings to the national set-up.
Almost pulling her side out of the fire with a spell of 3/18 in the first match as they fell agonisingly short of defending a meagre 104, Boochatham and her teammates stepped up to overrun the hosts after learning valuable lessons from the first match-up. On top of her knocks at the top of the order to jump-start Thailand’s batting exploits, Boochatham was her brilliant best with the ball, and was the unanimous Player of the Series choice after being Player of the Match in both her team’s victories.
Scoring 24 off just 16 balls in Thailand's 154/3 in match two, Boochatham closed the door on any Zimbabwe challenge with figures of 4/16 in 3.3 overs, finishing things off with the wicket of Nomvelo Sibanda in a 53-run victory. The decider played out in similar fashion, with Boochatham starting the innings with a knock of 19 (17), before claiming 3/22 from her allotment. Stifling Zimbabwe's middle order, Zimbabwe faded from 84/3 to 107/7, well short of Thailand's 134.
Boochatham finished with 10 wickets across the three matches, double that of the next best bowlers in the series, compatriot Onnicha Kamchomphu and Loreen Tshuma. Attacking the stumps with her canny off-spin, Boochatham claimed nine of her scalps either bowled or lbw, restricting her opponents with an economy of 4.86.
Peaking at the right time
In a bold move to prepare for World Cup campaigns across both white-ball formats, Thailand landed in Zimbabwe back in mid-August, playing the hosts in unofficial one-day matches before the three T20Is. Acclimatising to conditions before the Cricket World Cup Qualifier there in November, Thailand had the upper hand in spite of the foreign conditions, with Boochatham in the thick of the action.
Moving to South Africa to play an Emerging XI, Boochatham and her teammates look to be continuing on their rise in the international game, showing consistent quality and exuding confidence after their solid T20 World Cup debut in Australia back in 2020.
If Boochatham can translate her T20I form to the longer format, it will go a long way to boosting Thailand's chances of booking a ticket to their first Women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand next year via the Qualifier. It also bodes well for their pursuit of a T20 World Cup qualifying berth for the 2023 tournament in South Africa.
A record-breaker in striking distance to the top 10
Positioned in 11th with her highest rating on the MRF ICC Women’s T20I All-Rounder Rankings (256) and 17th on the bowling rankings (614), Boochatham is continuing in the same vein to her incredible effort across 2019, where she claimed 40 wickets at 6.17, at an economy of 3.23. It stands as the most Women's T20I wickets ever taken in a calendar year.
For bowlers who have bowled a minimum of 500 balls in the T20I format, Boochatham also has the best strike rate of all-time (13.4), and is also the only player to boast a bowling average of under 10 (8.77).
The 34-year-old shows no sign of slowing down, and threatens to crack the top ten when given the next opportunity.