West Indies Women captain Anisa Mohammed has declared that the team needs to score more runs and improve in all areas if they are to keep the series alive against an India Women team who are aiming to seal the series with their third win in the third T20 International at the National Stadium, Providence tonight.
Mohammed, in an interview with this publication, spoke extensively of the need to have their batters coming to the party, pointing to their 101 and 103 scores in the previous matches.
“We definitely need to score more runs. We can’t expect bowlers to come and defend 100 runs in T20 cricket. Cricketers evolve and a lot of teams have gone past 100 runs and for us to win, we need more runs,” Mohammed said.
Mohammed accepted their sub-par performance in the two matches but stressed the importance of boosting their confidence with a series win.
“We didn’t do too well in the first two so we are looking forward to the last three games because we know how important it is to end the year with a series win,” the captain stated.
The veteran off-spinner indicated that it is an added advantage playing in Guyana where they have played extensively.
“We have played a lot of cricket in Guyana; regional, the World Cup and the warm-ups. We went back, looked at our videos and see where we went wrong,” she said.
The skipper confessed that the absence of Stafanie Taylor is a big blow but said that there is an opportunity for the young players to step up.
“Definitely we miss Stafanie with bat, ball and in the field as well as a leader but having said that, I have worked with the girls over a number of years so in terms of working with the team…captaining them, it is something I am used to but not having her is a big blow for us,” she stated.
Despite the absence of Taylor, Mohammed believed there is still balance in the side and the team is capable of beating India.
“I think we have a well-balanced team. We have a lot of all-rounders in the side who can be utilised in every area but it is just a matter of our players executing well and believing in themselves,” Mohammed explained.
Meanwhile, India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur posited that the team still needs to play hard and in spite of their World Cup run in Guyana, they will, on this occasion, play under the lights.
Kaur, like her opposite number, believes in her side’s ability to come through but warranted the team’s execution in order to come out on top.
The Indian captain was still wary of the West Indies as a unit in light of the absence of a few key players.
Kaur credited her openers for their stride but advised that the conditions in Guyana are different from where they played the first two matches and they will need to assess the conditions on the given day. The first ball is expected to bowl off from 18:00 hours with tickets available at the Guyana Cricket Board for $1,000.
