Portugal faced Norway in a three-match T20I series earlier this week at the Santarem Cricket Ground in Albergaria. Portugal Women won the series 2-1, but Joanna Child made headlines for making her T20I debut at the age of 64.
Portugal’s Joanna Child created history recently, making her T20I debut at the age of 64 during the three-match series against Norway. She became the second oldest debutant in T20Is, going past Falkland Islands’ Andrew Brownlee (62 years, 145 days) and Cayman’s Mally Moore (62 years, 25 days) on the all-time list. Gibraltar’s Sally Barton is still the oldest debutant in T20I cricket history, having played her first game in the format at the age of 66 years and 334 days.
However, Joanna didn’t have much to do throughout the series. She scored two runs in the first T20I and didn’t get to bat in the remaining two matches. Moreover, she got to bowl only once, in the second match, where Joanna bowled four deliveries, conceding 11 runs without picking up a wicket.
Joanna has no other recorded competitive appearances but her spirit to play at this age has impressed many. Moreover, her team’s captain, Sarah Foo-Rylan,d who is 44 years old, called her an inspiration to many cricketers in the country. Interestingly, the same Portugal team also had players aged 15 and 16 in the squad.
15-year-old Ishreet Cheema, 16-year-old Mariam Waseem, and 16-year-old Afsheen Ahmed also featured for Portugal in the series, creating a unique blend of youth and experience. As for the series, it was a pretty competitive on between Portugal and Norway. Portugal won the opening game by 16 runs, defending the modest total of 109.
Norway hit back in the second game to level the series. They chased down the target of 137 runs with eight balls and five wickets in hand. However, Portugal Women had the last laugh in the series as they chased the 125-run target with nine wickets in hand.
