West Indies Women upbeat as they start ICC Women’s World Cup against hosts
The ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup is here! Starting on Friday (Thursday night Caribbean Time) West Indies women will kickstart the marquee event against the hosts New Zealand in a day/night encounter at Bay Oval in Tauranga. West indies will be under the leadership of Stafanie Taylor, the outstanding allrounder, as they go in search of their first global 50-over title.
“To be competitive we have to score over 200 runs and in the two games we played we didn’t do so. It’s something we’ve had a look at and moving forward it’s something we need to work on. Anything we do tomorrow, we just know we have to do it well, you have to play to the best of your ability. New Zealand is in good form, but it's all about the day and who’ll perform,” Taylor said.
She added: “We don’t focus if they (New Zealand are under pressure, that’s for them to deal with. We are focused on us and what we need to do to perform well and win. We had our practice session and we worked on what we needed to prepare ourselves for the game.”
Anisa Mohammed could be in the spotlight during the match. The experienced off-spinner played her first Women’s World Cup back in 2005 in South Africa. She is on 299 international wickets – 174 in ODIs and 125 in T20Is and with one more wicket would become the first West Indian woman to take 300 wickets in international cricket.
Taylor is also on the verge of a bowling milestone in her illustrious career. She has 246 international wickets – 148 in ODIs and 98 in T20Is – therefore four wickets away from the 250 at the international level.
First ball is at 2pm local time (9pm Eastern Caribbean time/ 8pm Jamaica Time). Fans in the Caribbean can catch all the action live on television via ESPN and on the ESPN App.
ICC pre-match interview with Stafanie Taylor here
FULL SQUAD
- Stafanie Taylor (Captain)
- Anisa Mohammed (Vice Captain)
- Aaliyah Alleyne
- Shemaine Campbelle
- Shamilia Connell
- Deandra Dottin
- Afy Fletcher
- Cherry Ann Fraser
- Chinelle Henry
- Kycia Knight
- Hayley Matthews
- Chedean Nation
- Karishma Ramharack
- Shakera Selman
- Rashada Williams
Travelling Reserves
- Kaysia Schultz
- Mandy Mangru
- Jannillea Glasgow
West Indies Women ICC Cricket World Cup Match Schedule
** Date and time in brackets, indicate match times for Caribbean fans due to 17-hour time difference between New Zealand and Caribbean
- February 27: Warm-up Match 1 vs Australia at Lincoln Green, Lincoln, 11:00am (February 26, 6:00pm Eastern Caribbean Time/5pm Jamaica Time)
- March 1: Warm-up Match 2 vs India at Rangiora Oval, Rangiora, 11:00am (February 28, 6:00pm Eastern Caribbean Time/5pm Jamaica Time)
- March 4: vs New Zealand at Bay Oval, Tauranga, 2:00pm (March 3, 9:00pm Eastern Caribbean Time/ 8:00pm Jamaica Time)
- March 9: vs England at University Oval, Dunedin, 11:00am (March 8, 6:00pm Eastern Caribbean Time/5pm Jamaica Time)
- March 12: vs India at Seddon Park, Hamilton, 2:00pm (March 11, 9:00pm Eastern Caribbean Time/ 8:00pm Jamaica Time)
- March 15: vs Australia at Basin Reserve, Wellington, 11:00am (March 14, 6:00pm Eastern Caribbean Time/5pm Jamaica Time)
- March 18; vs Bangladesh at Bay Oval, Tauranga, 11:00am (March 17, 6:00pm Eastern Caribbean Time/5pm Jamaica Time)
- March 21: vs Pakistan at Seddon Park, Hamilton, 2:00pm (March 20, 9:00pm Eastern Caribbean Time/ 8:00pm Jamaica Time)
- March 24: vs South Africa at Basin Reserve, Wellington, 11:00am (March 23, 6:00pm Eastern Caribbean Time/5pm Jamaica Time)
- March 30: Semi-final 1 at Basin Reserve, Wellington
- March 31: Semi-final 2 at Hagley Oval, Christchurch
- April 3: Final at Hagley Oval, Christchurch