West Indies Women hunt glory Down Under

Wed, Feb 19, '20

by KRISSANIA YOUNG

The 7th edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup will bowl off at the Showground Stadium in Sydney, on Friday the 21st of February. The tournament is being hosted, for the first time, by four-time winners and defending Champions, Australia, who will kick-start the proceedings against fellow heavyweights India, at 4 am Eastern Caribbean Time. The ladies of the Caribbean will bowl off their tournament the following day, when they come up against Thailand at the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) Stadium, in Perth.

While Jamaican all-rounder Stafanie Taylor, will lead the West Indies to an ICC T20 World Cup for the third time, the team has been boosted by the inclusion of the returning Barbadian trio of Deandra Dottin, Shamilia Connell & Shakera Selman—who were all recently on the injured list.

The seventeen-day-long tournament will also see the return of veteran batter, Lee-Ann Kirby—after more than a decade (11 years & 7 months) away from the international scene—along with the inclusion of young faster-bowler, Cherry-Ann Fraser. The involvement of both Kirby and Fraser coincides with the surprising omissions of the hard-hitting, Natasha McLean, and the promising medium-pacer, Shabika Gajnabi, from the final 15-woman squad.

The full squad reads; Stafanie Taylor (Captain), Anisa Mohammed (Vice-Captain), Deandra Dottin, Hayley Matthews, Chedean Nation, Lee-Ann Kirby, Britney Cooper, Shemaine Campbelle (wk), Chinelle Henry, Afy Fletcher, Shamilia Connell, Shakera Selman, Sheneta Grimmond, Cherry-Ann Fraser, Aaliyah Alleyne.

The format of the tournament sees teams being placed into two groups, with the West Indies being drawn in Group B, alongside England, Pakistan, South Africa and Thailand. Group A being filled by India, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The top two teams from each group will advance to contest semi-finals and a subsequent finale.

Openers' roulette with Hayley Matthews 

While Hayley Matthews has been a mainstay at the top of the innings, it has been a case where the West Indies have failed in providing the 21-year-old with a steady opening partner. And the question remains as to who that partner will be, heading into the World Cup. Not that the ladies in maroon are lacking in options—the likes of Cooper and Kirby being the obvious ones. Yet, with Dottin having undertaken the role at the 2018 tournament in the Caribbean and Captain Taylor averaging 41 (with scores of 40, 40, 35, 47, 25 & 59) alongside Matthews in the successful 2016 campaign, it is anyone’s guess as to what WINDIES’ opening partnership will be on any given day.

A pool of fast-bowlers

While a new-ball partnership of Connell and Selman is assumed by many, consider this—Chinelle Henry is a very realistic option to open the bowling for the West Indies. Henry, who was handed new-ball responsibilities against the Aussies, in the absence of Selman (in the Caribbean last year), did indeed make hay while the sun shined, leaving WINDIES with the best form of a dilemma—an abundance of quality. Measuring up to Connell, who is renowned for her nagging lines and lengths along with bounce, Henry has the ability to move the ball away from right-handers, while further boosting her CV with variations that are invaluable in this format.

In addition to Selman, Connell and Henry, the West Indies have, within their ranks, yet another Barbadian seamer—all-rounder Aaliyah Alleyne, who has proven useful with the ball. The seam bowling department is completed by the world-class act, that is Deandra Dottin, and young fast-bowler, Cherry-Ann Fraser (who the West Indies have said to have had their eye on since age-group cricket).

 Two drops of spinners

The headaches the West Indies are having in the bowling department, are ones which many teams would endure. As, in addition to the Selman-Connell-Henry triangle, WINDIES are fortunate to have both Anisa Mohammed (highest T20I wicket-taker of all time, whether male or female) and Afy Fletcher (number ten ranked T20I bowler) in their spin attack. A quandary only ensues, of course, if WINDIES decides that they will persist with one specialist spinner.

The disadvantage for Mohammed, (who only featured in WINDIES’ tournament-opener in the last edition of the T20 World Cup) however, is that with the likes of Taylor, Matthews and Dottin all being competent with ball in hand, the West Indies can afford a long batting line-up. More so? Fletcher is the sole leg-spinner in the squad. And not only do the West Indies have other off-spin options, but Matthews’ and Taylor’s off-spin is enough to rank them among the top-ten all-rounders in this format of the game, at 4th and 7th, respectively. A factor that might lure the Caribbean side into fielding Fletcher and Mohammed on an either/or basis.

Tapestry

The West Indies seem to have covered their bases in the selection of this squad. And on paper, there is the impression that they have the correct mix of ladies. Yet, there is cause for concern. It is no secret that Deandra Dottin has not played international cricket for a year. Neither is the fact that Stafanie Taylor was ruled out of WINDIES’ last competitive series against India with an injury.

And while they both participated in the Courts Women’s T20 Gram Slam; for Dottin more so than for Taylor, we can all agree that international cricket is on another level. And so, we must temper the expectations we have of a player that will be making her international comeback in a World Cup atmosphere.

In addition to Taylor and Dottin, both Shakera Selman and Shamilia Connell have just recently gotten off the injured list. All without mentioning the fact that Lee-Ann Kirby has not faced up to a delivery, at this level, in the last two decades—not since 2008. Because of the balance of this squad—and it truly is a well-rounded selection of skill sets—we would hope these factors are of none effect to the team's performances.

WINDIES tournament schedule:

Saturday 22nd February, West Indies Women v Thailand Women, 3 am ECT / 2 am Jamaica, WACA Ground.

Wednesday 26th February, West Indies Women v Pakistan Women, 4 am ECT / 3 am Jamaica, Manuka Oval.

Sunday 1st March, West Indies Women v England Women, 4 am ECT / 3 am Jamaica, Spotless Stadium.

Tuesday 3rd March, West Indies Women v South Africa Women, 4 am ECT / 3 am Jamaica, Spotless Stadium.