GROS ISLET, St Lucia, CMC – Newly appointed head coach Robert Samuels has warned West Indies Women against taking Ireland Women lightly, in the six-match white-ball series bowling off here today.
The hosts are ranked above their opponents in both white-ball formats, lying sixth in both One-Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals while Ireland are 11th in ODIs and 10th in T20Is.
“Ireland [are] ranked below us and although they’re ranked below us, they’re a team that are very much improved [and] very much improving,” Samuels said.
“We played against them in the World Cup and they gave us a run for our money, so the ladies understand that they can’t take anything for granted.”
In the T20 World Cup in South Africa earlier this year, West Indies barely got the better of Ireland by six wickets in Cape Town, chasing down 138 with only a ball to spare.
Without an ODI series win in nearly two years, the Ireland series presents the ideal opportunity for West Indies to boost their confidence but Samuels said even more important was creating a lasting winning formula.
“Ultimately as a coach and players you want to win but what I’m trying to do is build up a system of how to win,” said the former West Indies batsman.
“So we’ve been working on the fielding, we’ve been working on the batting – the technical part.
“We’ve been working on the mental aspect, we’ve been working on all these things just to get the complete player out on the park, focussed and ready for the games at hand.”
Key to Samuels’s squad will be a young cohort comprising the likes of 19-year-old ight-arm off-spinner Ashmini Munisar and 18-year-old wicketkeeper-batter Shunelle Sawh who have been named in the Hayley Matthews-led ODI side for the first time.
They will join fellow teenagers Zaida James and Djenaba Joseph, bringing a youthful element to the squad.
“They are here, they are young, they went to the World Cup, they are learning their craft, honing their craft,” said Sanuels.
“They’re still a little way off but I think the programme is headed in the right direction where you have young players coming through and young players in the setup, so they can learn from the older players, and bring to the table what they have as well as the experience they gather.
“I am happy they’re here and I’m sure they will feature in matches moving forward.”
The first ODI bowls off at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground.
SQUADS:
WEST INDIES WOMEN – Hayley Matthews (captain), Shemaine Campbelle (vice-captain), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Chinelle Henry, Afy Fletcher, Cherry Ann Fraser, Shabika Gajnabi, Zaida James, Djenaba Joseph, Qiana Joseph, Ashmini Munisar, Karishma Ramharack, Shunelle Sawh, Stafanie Taylor, Rashada Williams
IRELAND WOMEN – Laura Delany (captain), Ava Canning, Georgina Dempsey, Amy Hunter, Arlene Kelly, Gaby Lewis, Louise Little, Sophie MacMahon, Aimee Maguire, Cara Murray, Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast, Eimear Richardson, Rebecca Stokell, Mary Waldron.
