WEST INDIES Women’s vice-captain Anisa Mohammed is intent on achieving a milestone of 300 international wickets at the forthcoming four-match One-Day International series against South Africa.
The maroon begins their quest on Friday against the hosts in Johannesburg and Mohammed, 34, is optimistic she can accomplish the historic feat.
The off-spinner has captured 296 international scalps and is just four wickets away from becoming the fourth woman cricketer to reach the 300-wicket mark, following India’s Jhulan Goswami, Australia's Ellyse Perry, and England’s Katherine Brunt.
“This would be a huge milestone for me. I would really like to get it (300 wickets) in this series and not have to wait for the Women’s ODI World Cup (which begins on February 4 in New Zealand).
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CMC) — Head Coach Courtney Walsh believes consistent, competitive totals will be critical to any success for West Indies Women during the upcoming ICC 50-overs World Cup in New Zealand.
While acknowledging the Caribbean side's batting had been unpredictable at times, Walsh said they hoped to use the four-match One-Day International series against hosts starting here next Friday to sharpen that area of their game.
The legendary former seamer said West Indies Women would be targeting totals around 250 but also stressed the need for the careful assessment of conditions and the opposition.
“We have to assess the conditions we're playing [in]. Under normal conditions, you want to score at a certain amount of runs per over so you're looking at an average score of 240, 250,” Walsh explained.
West Indies T20 vice-captain, Nicholas Pooran, has hailed the mammoth effort put in by lower-order batsmen Akeal Hosein and Romario Shepherd albeit coming in a losing effort against England on Sunday.
The English levelled the series after a narrow 1-run win, at the Kensington Oval, but early on in the West Indies run chase, after the visitors had scored 171, the result seemed a mere formality.
Shepherd blasted 44 from 28, a tally which included 5 sixes, while Hosein put in 44 from 16, including a flurry of boundaries to close out the match.
“Akeal and Shepherd have been working really hard on their batting. We have a long list of hitters in our team and tonight we saw something special from Akeal and Shepherd, kudos go to them, they didn’t give up at all,” Pooran said.
Not unlike the first T20I on Saturday afternoon, Kieron Pollard won the toss and chose to field. Yet, it was a quieter start to proceedings, as the visitors got through the first five overs before losing their first wicket, when Tom Banton provided Fabian Allen a caught and bowled opportunity in the 6th over.
The over would eventually produce two wickets, contributing to England’s stutter-filled first 10 overs, creeping up to 64/2.
Then all hell broke loose after the drinks break. First, with Jason Roy taking Allen’s final over for 24 runs. Then, West Indies’ fielders fighting a losing battle with the Kensington wind to gift Moeen Ali two lives. Not to mention the fielding side’s contest with the glare of the setting sun, allowing England more runs than admittedly their shots deserved.
West Indies fast-bowling legend, Sir Andy Roberts says West Indies’ loss to Ireland last weekend did not come as a surprise to him.
“If you’re looking back [at] the last two to three years, these results aren’t surprising. Not to me, at least,” he said.
“[But] I think there should be something wavering over [Phil Simmons’] head, because he’s been coach (of the West Indies) on two separate occasions, and I don’t believe that he has shown us that he has what it takes to get over this problem.”
