BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC – West Indies Women are hoping home conditions prove handy when they face New Zealand in the first of four One-Day Internationals starting here today at Warner Park.
On their tour of New Zealand earlier this year, the Windies Women suffered a 3-0 drubbing in the one-day series and were also swept 4-0 in the five-match Twenty20 series. They failed to win a single match on the tour.
Skipper Merissa Aguilleira said she was hoping for a turnaround in fortunes especially with the Windies now in their own conditions“We had a tough time against the New Zealand Women in their home conditions. It was a great opportunity to play there, but we are determined to get together and defend our home turf,” Aguilleira said.
“We are looking to use our home advantage and do some damage. Our preparation has been pretty good, and after all of this, we need to bring it altogether and do what we have to do.”
She will lead a strong Windies side that includes the likes of World number three batsman Stafanie Taylor and the number 12 ranked Deandra Dottin.
They are part of a 13-member squad that was trimmed from 18, which were part of a training camp here for the last two weeks.
Aguilleira said the camp had been beneficial as the players keyed in on a number of areas that needed special attention.
“Other than the usual skills, we had a lot of drills to help us with managing game situations. There were some good sessions,” she noted.
“We have lacked in this area in the past and we needed to be sharper, so hopefully now we can go out there and concentrate a little harder, and put what we have learnt into practice.”
The matches are part of the newly-created ICC Women’s Championship which will see the top eight women’s sides battle in a bilateral qualifying competition, culminating in the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup carded for England.
The eight sides play each other in three One-Day Internationals, either at home or away, between 2014 and 2016.
“The ICC Women’s Championship is a very good idea mainly because it allows all the women’s teams to play each other,” said Aguilleira.
“Outside of World Cups, we have not had a chance to play a side like Australia regularly and now we will have that chance. It is a great initiative and hopefully our side can go forward and take advantage of it.”
SQUAD – Merissa Aguilleira (Captain), Stafanie Taylor (Vice Captain), Shemaine Campbelle, Britney Cooper, Shanel Daley, Deandra Dottin, Kycia Knight, Hayley Matthews, Natasha Mclean, Anisa Mohammed, Shaquana Quintyne, Tremayne Smartt, Shakera Selman.