With the Women’s ICC T20 bowling off today with three matches at the National Stadium, Providence, Captain of the West Indies, Stafanie Taylor admits that the pressure to do well and the expectations for the side are high.
The captain, at a press conference yesterday at the Marriott Hotel, stated that these expectations are there not only since they are the defending champions, but also because they will be playing in front of a home crowd.
Taylor said how the team deals with the pressure of the International Cricket Council (ICC) event is what will matter at the end of the day.
The Jamaican all-rounder noted that like always, the West Indies team, both men and women, have a target on their backs, saying “anywhere we go, the West Indies is always one team everyone wants to beat because of our style of cricket.”
Having benefited from a successful warm-up match on Wednesday night at the venue, Taylor believes that the side is pretty happy with the preparation and while West Indies may not have at their disposal the money to invest like England and Australia, the team is in a good place.
Experience is a critical part of the composition of the side with a lot of the players having appeared in the World Cup before. Taylor singled out the impact of the likes of Anisa Mohammed, who has been in the game at this level for 15 years, as one of those that she will be depending on and Hayley Matthews who recently scored a century and a blistering half century in the warm-up matches.
According to the captain, the West Indies players understand their roles and with their great variety the team can be one to go the distance.
Taylor was wary of the conditions, noting that dew becomes a factor playing late in the night but was confident that the home advantage would help them.
The warm-up match on Wednesday was the first time West Indies women played at the venue since 2011 but Taylor said that Providence has a reputation that precedes it and while it is fairly new they know what to expect from the ground.
With the home advantage in mind, the 27-year-old believes that the support is going to be very good since Guyana and other countries will be providing transportation services for people desirous of witnessing the action.
According to the authorities here, shuttles will be provided for fans from Unity, Mahaica, Corriverton, Albion, Rosignol, Soesdyke, Linden, Timehri and Parika.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s captain, Amy Satterthwaite stated that the team needs to adjust quickly to the wicket and play consistently good cricket if they are to push forward in the tournament.
Satterthwaite pointed out that despite not having the best warm-up, the team is still confident, saying they are not far off from where they want to be.
Similarly, Australia’s captain, Meg Lanning was happy with the side so far and was pleased at having played in Malaysia which she said has similar conditions to the Caribbean.
The Australian coach, Mathew Mott stated that the side also has a wide variety and with the senior players giving the younger ones the freedom to play their natural game, the senior players have adapted to a more structured role in the side. He described the squad as “an all seasons team.” At Providence, New Zealand take on India at 11 am followed by a concert featuring Jamaican artist Shenseea. Australia will then battle Pakistan from 2 pm followed by West Indies going head to head with Bangladesh from 8 pm.
