MUMBAI, India, CMC – West Indies Women will be looking to make history, when their five-match One-day International series against India Women opens today at the Bandra Kurla Complex.
West Indies Women have never beaten India Women in nine attempts in an ODI, including two times at the Women’s World Cup, and so the visitors will be looking to continue their impressive run in the international game by breaking their maiden against the home team.
Coach Sherwin Campbell believes a five-wicket victory in their opening tour match against the BCCI President’s XI was a major boost for his team, and looks forward to another strong performance from Merrissa Aguilleira’s side.
“The first match was a very good result for us,” he said. “It is always good to start a tour with a win.
“We played very well, everyone was acclimatised to the foreign conditions, and the body-language was excellent.”
He added: “It was the first match for most of our players on Indian soil. We played against a good team and we managed to restrict them.
“We were then able to chase down the total and we won with overs to spare. The batters all got a decent hit, and they made wise use of the time at the crease.”
Campbell is well aware of his side’s record against India Women, but he feels that he has prepared his side thoroughly for the series, which he expects will be closely fought.
“We have done a lot of work since we came here, and we are looking forward to taking on the India Women,” he said.
“We have been adapting very well. We had some lengthy training sessions as well, and the pitch on which we will be playing the first match looks to be a very good one. It has some grass, so that’s good to see.”
He said: “The seamers and faster bowlers should get some help, and then our spinners would come into play.
“The outfield is fast and the batters should get good value for their shots. It should be a good match to start the tour.”
India Women will again be led by all-rounder Jhulan Goswami. She has a huge reputation in the women’s game, and is noted for guiding the side to their first-ever Test series win during their 2006-07 tour of England.
Jhulan, an integral part of the team and the 2007 ICC Women’s Player of the year, was given the reigns of India national women’s cricket team on 1 February 2009 for the upcoming Women’s Cricket World Cup, which the Indian women finished with a bronze.
Several of the players were part of the President’s XI selection, so the West Indies Women should be fairly familiar with them.
Squads:
INDIA (from): Jhulan Goswami (captain), Soniya Dabir, Diana David, Anagha Deshpande, Rumeli Dhar, Harmanpreet Kaur, Samantha Lobatto, Reema Malhotra, Snehal Pradhan, Mithali Raj, Poonam Raut, Priyanka Roy, Amita Sharma, Gouhar Sultana, Neha Tanvar
WEST INDIES (from): Merissa Aguilleira (captain), Shemaine Campbelle, Britney Cooper, Shanel Daley, Deandra Dottin, Pearl Etienne, Stacy-Ann King, Anisa Mohammed, Subrina Munroe, Juliana Nero, June Ogle-Thomas, Shakera Selman, Tremayne