BRISTOL, England, CMC – West Indies Women are focussed on signing off their disappointing ICC Women’s World Cup with an upset of hosts England Women, when the two teams meet at Gloucestershire County Ground here today.
A campaign which started with so much promise went badly awry when the Caribbean side lost their first four games to see their hopes of reaching the semi-finals dashed.
They subsequently won their next two games – against Sri Lanka Women and Pakistan Women respectively – and believe a straight straight victory would be the ideal way to cap off the tournament.
“It’s going to be really important seeing that we won the last two. There’s only one more game to go and we would love to go off on a high,” captain Stafanie Taylor said.
“It’s going to be some hard cricket. All of their (England) players are pretty much in form. They would know this pitch seeing they’ve been playing here for a couple games so I think it will be tough game tomorrow but also a good one.”
Expectations were high when the side left the Caribbean. They had dominated to win the Twenty20 World Cup in India last year and had played well enough to reach the final of the last 50-over World Cup four years ago.
But the challenge of the tournament proved too much for the side comprising four debutants and the warning signs were there when they lost all five of their warm-up matches.
But Taylor, just one of six current players who featured in the 2013 World Cup final, said her side would use the experience as a learning curve.
“We’re a young team and it’s been a learning experience for everyone, especially being a captain at my first 50-over World Cup,” she noted.
“Sometimes you don’t get things the way you want them but we just have to take the positives that we can and go back home and work really hard.”
She added: I enjoy working with these girls, they’re a really good bunch. Some of them are still learning their game and I do believe we’ll get bettter.”
West Indies will be boosted by their performance in the last game against Pakistan when they piled up 285 for four off their 50 overs with Deandra Dottin stroking her maiden One-Day International hundred.
While England sit on top of the standings on 10 points, the Windies are sixth on four points and can end no higher with fifth placed New Zealand already on seven points.
SQUAD:
ENGLAND – Heather Knight (captain), Tamsin Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Georgia Elwiss, Jenny Gunn, Alex Hartley, Danielle Hazell, Beth Langston, Laura Marsh, Natalie Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Sarah Taylor, Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield, Danielle Wyatt.
WEST INDIES – Stafanie Taylor (captain), Merissa Aguilleira, Reniece Boyce, Shamilia Connell, Shanel Daley, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Qiana Joseph, Kyshona Knight, Hayley Matthews, Anisa Mohammed, Chedean Nation, Akeira Peters, Shakera Selman, Felicia Walters, Kycia Knight, Subrina Munroe.