West Indies Women all-rounder and former captain Stafanie Taylor has thrown her support behind new captain Hayley Matthews in an Instagram post on Saturday.
Matthews was named as the new West Indies Women captain last week, taking over from Taylor who led the team since 2015, winning the Women’s T20 World Cup a year later in India.
“I want to say congratulations to Hayley, an amazing player and person that I have watched grow and improve through the years,” Taylor said in the post.
“I know you will do great in this new role. I have enjoyed playing with you and learning from you over the years and look forward to continued teamwork under your leadership,” she added.
Taylor, who also led the team to semi-final berths in the 2018 World T20 and the 2022 World Cup, reflected on her time as leader.
“I am grateful for the opportunity I have had to lead this incredible team and all that we have accomplished together. It has been seven years of learning and navigating the uncertainties of the game. I’m thankful for the support I have received from my teammates and the management staff through my tenure as captain who have been encouraging and eager to help in carrying out my duties,” she said.
“I’m looking forward to passing the torch and continuing on and doing my best for the team,” Taylor added.
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Ambrose bullish on West Indies’ chances at T20 World Cup
West Indies great and ICC Hall of Famer Curtly Ambrose believes his former team have enough talent to win an unprecedented third ICC Men's T20 World Cup title next month.
While the West Indies are just one of the two sides to have won multiple men’s T20 World Cup titles, the Caribbean team will need to overturn some poor form at recent ICC tournaments, if they are to become the only three-time winner of the event.
The West Indies didn't make it out of the first round of the most recent T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022 and failed to even qualify for last year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in India.
But Ambrose thinks the West Indies' fortunes are turning under skipper Rovman Powell and pointed to T20I series successes over powerhouses South Africa, India, and England in the last 14 months as evidence of this.
These returns have the legendary fast bowler confident of a strong showing from the West Indies in the ninth edition of the T20 World Cup, an event they will co-host with the USA.
"We have a very, very good team. As we speak they (West Indies players) are in Antigua at a camp preparing themselves for the start of the T20 World Cup which is a couple of weeks away," Ambrose said while speaking at the launch of the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York earlier this week.
"I believe once the guys start playing consistent cricket and smart cricket, I believe we can take the trophy. It is not going to be easy, but we are one of only two nations to have won it twice so we are going to try and make it three. And no other nation has ever won it on home soil, so all that is motivation for the guys to do well and I am hoping they can do it,” he added.
The West Indies are drawn in Group C at the T20 World Cup and face the champions of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier Papua New Guinea first up in Guyana on June 2, before their remaining opening round fixtures against Uganda, New Zealand and Afghanistan.
Ambrose expects to see some upsets at this year's edition of the T20 World Cup as he knows every side has plenty of talented players at their disposal.
"I admire a lot of cricketers (at the T20 World Cup) and I am looking forward to them doing well. As a proud Antiguan and being from the West Indies, I want the West Indies to win,” he said.
"It is not going to be easy because in T20 cricket every team has an equal chance of beating any other team and that is just the nature of T20 cricket. It is going to be exciting, but I am going to be rooting for the West Indies,” Ambrose ended.
Pooran stars as LSG condemn Mumbai Indians to last place with 18-run win
Nicholas Pooran starred to help the Lucknow Super Giants close out a disappointing 2024 Indian Premier League season with an 18-run win over the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday.
LSG piled up an imposing 214-6 from their 20 overs after being put in to bat by Mumbai.
Captain KL Rahul scored a 41-ball 55 to cap off an indifferent season with the bat by his standards before Pooran, who has been one of LSG’s standout players this season, scored a brilliant 75 off just 29 balls including five fours and eight sixes.
Marcus Stoinis and Ayush Badoni also had solid contributions of 28 and 22*, respectively.
Nuwan Thushara was the pick of the Mumbai bowlers with 3-28 from his four overs while Piyush Chawla ended with 3-29 from his full quota.
Despite 68 from skipper Rohit Sharma and 62* off just 28 balls from Naman Dhir, Mumbai fell short of their target reaching 196-6 at the end of their 20 overs.
Sharma’s knock at the top of the order lasted 38 balls and included 10 fours and three sixes while Dhir hit four fours and five sixes in his innings.
Ravi Bishnoi and Naveen-ul-Haq took 2-37 and 2-50 in their four over spells.
This win means LSG will end the season sixth with 14 points from as many games while Mumbai, five-time champions, will finish last having recorded only four wins in their 14 games for eight points.
Full scores:
Lucknow Super Giants 214-6 off 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 75, KL Rahul 55, Nuwan Thushara 3-28, Piyush Chawla 3-29)
Mumbai Indians 196-6 off 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 68, Naman Dhir 62*, Ravi Bishnoi 2-37, Naveen-ul-Haq 2-50)
Sri Lanka Women to host West Indies for three ODIs and three T20Is next month
Sri Lanka will host West Indies for three ODIs and three T20Is from June 15-28, Sri Lanka Cricket announced on Thursday.
The tour will primarily serve as preparation for the T20 Asia Cup, which will also take place in Sri Lanka, for the hosts. That tournament starts on July 20.
As for the West Indies, they just concluded a month-long tour of Pakistan where they dominated both ODI and T20I series.
This will be the regional side’s last competitive action before the ICC Women's T20 World Cup set for October 3-20 in Bangladesh.
The last time these two sides squared off in a bilateral series was back in 2017, where West Indies swept Sri Lanka across both T20Is and ODIs.
The West Indians have dominated Sri Lanka in T20Is with a head-to-head record of 18-4 whereas in ODIs, the contest has been much closer with West Indies leading 18-14.
The ODI series will be played from June 15-21 in Galle and is part of the ICC Women's Championship, which serves as a pathway to the 2025 ODI World Cup.
West Indies are currently seventh on the Women's Championship points table and Sri Lanka eighth. Top four teams, apart from hosts India, will get a direct qualification.
The T20Is will be held in Hambantota from June 24-28.
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