MUMBAI, India, CMC- Experienced fast bowler Shakera Selman is reporting confidence in the Windies Women camp as they prepare to begin their campaign in the ICC cricket world cup in India.
West Indies women will size-up what could be their biggest ever accomplishment in the sport starting with a clash against host India at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai tomorrow.
Selman, who represented the Windies in her second 50 overs world cup after the 2009 edition in Australia, says her team mates strongly believe they can cop the coveted title this year.
“The girls are more experienced than we were four years ago when we went to Australia, and there is real belief in the camp that we can win the tournament,” said Selman, who has played 43 One-Dayers and 34 Twenty20s.
“We are far from home, but the pitches are similar to some of those back home so that could work in our favour”.
The Windies women, playing without the world’s leading cricketer, all rounder Stafanie Taylor, lost to Australia by 135 runs in a warm-up fixture on Monday following a weekend of full training including net sessions.
A second scheduled warm-up match against a Mumbai Combined X1 was cancelled yesterday because of concerns that minor injuries among several players could worsen.
“This is my second World Cup (50 overs). I played my first World Cup in Australia in 2009 and you can feel the vibes for this tournament. It feels much bigger than the tournament back then,” said Selman a final year student at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies and a WICB-certified coach.
“We came a bit earlier than the other teams, we have been able to shake off the jetlag and we feel ready to play”.
