Expectations high as West Indies Women begin World Cup qualifying | Sports

Lennox Aldred/Gleaner Writer

IT’S ALL systems go for Stafanie Taylor and the West Indies women’s team, who will be looking to get one of the three qualifying spots up for grabs as they open their ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup qualifying campaign today against Ireland Women at the Old Hararians Ground in Harare.

Based on past results, the encounter is expected to favour the regional women, who have dominated their opponents, winning four of the last five matches they have played against each other.

The last time the West Indies played Ireland in a qualifying event was 10 years ago and back then Stafanie Taylor and Juliana Nero scored centuries to lead their side to victory.

For Taylor, they will not be taking their opponents for granted and only a professional workman-like effort will be accepted when the first ball bowls off at 2:30 a.m. Jamaica time.

“We had a good series against Pakistan and I would love to see better performances, not just for tomorrow’s game, but throughout the competition. We’ve been playing some good cricket and getting some really good scores and I want to see us continue from where we left off in Pakistan,” said Taylor.

Taylor emphasised that the morale in the camp is high following that Pakistan tour, with good performances in the recent series coming from veteran players Deandra Dottin and Hayley Matthews and Taylor herself.

With a potent bowling attack consisting of pacers Shamelia Connell, Shakera Selman and spinner Anisa Mohammed, Taylor is hoping that all the rudiments of the game can click on the day.

“I believe the all-around ability of our team is our strength, our batting is peaking at a good time heading into the qualifiers, which was exemplified with two centuries in the recent series against Pakistan” said Taylor. “Our bowlers are showing that they can defend the scores posted by the batters. So we are looking forward to a competitive, but enjoyable tournament.”

Following the Ireland encounter, the West Indies will then play Sri Lanka on November 27, followed two days later by the contest against The Netherlands.

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