There was disappointment at the ICC Women's World T20, but there were also a couple of positives and great stories. Firstly, Javeria Khan, who had scored 136 runs, was named in the ICC Team of the Tournament, while Sana's delivery to Ireland's Laura Delany was voted as the Play of the ICC Women's World T20 2018. Sana Mir, who is regarded as an icon of women's cricket in Pakistan, expressed her gratitude at the end of an incredibly rewarding year.
"It has been quite an eventful year for sure; I started the year with a knee injury and underwent my rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. The stay there helped me regain my fitness. The doctors, physiotherapists and trainers at the academy worked really hard on me and I want to thank them for their effort. "Becoming number one has been an exciting journey. I have worked very hard in 12 years of international cricket to stay in the top 20 and considering the fitness struggles at the start of the year, the achievement is a huge privilege and honour.
Sana Mir, who is regarded as an icon of women's cricket in Pakistan expressed her gratitude at the end of an incredibly rewarding year. "I feel very humbled that God gave me the opportunity to earn a name for myself and most importantly my country," she said.
Pakistan women's coach Mark Coles felt that the team was heading in the right direction and should make further progress in 2019.
Mark Coles said, "We started the year with a real high against Sri Lanka but finishing third in the Asia Cup was unsatisfactory. However, a 3-0 T20 series win against Asia Cup champions Bangladesh in October was very satisfying. The team lost both the ODI and T20 series against top-rankers Australia in November but played competitive cricket."
Mark added, "In the ICC Women's World T20 2018, we were in the group of death with Australia, New Zealand, India and Ireland. We had a very close match against India and a win against Ireland meant we qualified directly for the 2020 event, which will take place in Australia."
Coles feels that the core of the team has gained invaluable experience in 2018, which augurs well for the challenges ahead.
According to the year in numbers, Javeria Khan was the most outstanding batter in both ODIs and T20Is. She scored 227 runs in seven ODIs, while her contribution in 18 T20Is was 454 runs.
Nahida Khan scored 208 runs in six ODIs and 273 runs in 17 T20Is, while Bismah Maroof was the other leading batter in the shortest format with 323 runs in 14 T20Is.
Amongst the bowlers, Sana Mir took a total of 33 wickets - 19 in ODIs and 14 in T20Is, while Nashra Sandhu bagged six ODI wickets and 15 T20I wickets. Nida Dar was, however, Pakistan's leading wicket-taker in T20Is with 22 wickets in 18 matches.