Hayley Matthews is hopeful a leg injury won't interrupt the form of her life after the West Indies captain claimed an incredible eighth-straight player-of-the-match gong to cap a historic series against Australia.
The opener blasted 79 off 40 balls in a 47-run loss to Australia in Brisbane's series decider on Thursday night, having already mustered an unbeaten 99 off 74 and 132 from 64 on Sunday and Monday.
She became the first player to score more than 300 runs across three women's T20I games as West Indies fell just short of a first series win against the world champions.
"I don't think so," the 25-year-old said when asked if she'd ever been in better form. "Being able to notch up 300 runs in a three-game T20 series is something unbelievable. I set targets coming down here and I can tell you it definitely wasn't getting 300 runs in three T20s."
The sides begin a three-game ODI series in Brisbane on Sunday with Matthews hopeful a quadriceps niggle won't keep her from leading an improving team who, she knows, rely on her deeply.
The captain said she felt some tightness in Monday's second game. She was troubled by it again on Thursday and will have scans to determine the severity of the injury.
"I felt my quad pulling a bit from the last game when we were in the field. I was running for a ball and felt it again so maybe a little strain there but we're going to assess it when I cool down, and have a better picture of what's going on," she said.
"Hopefully it's nothing too serious and I'm all ready to go in the first game for the ODI series," she added.
Matthews was playing for the Barbados senior women's team as a 12-year-old, debuted for her country at 16 and powered the successful chase against Australia to win a T20 World Cup when she was 18.
Matthews' wicket on Thursday at Allan Border Field triggered a collapse of 5 for 7, West Indies falling from 97 without loss to be all out for 143.
"I know that I have a big impact on the way that the game goes," she said.
In 27 T20 innings as captain Matthews averages 40, compared to an average of 18 in 61 innings without the responsibility.
"Sometimes, it can be stressful, but as a leader they're things you have to put on your shoulders," she said. "And in the second game I couldn't win that game without what Stafanie [Taylor] did. How I've been batting here is just trying to play really, really good cricket shots and that's my exact plan going into the 50-over series as well.
"If I get fluent I'll be happy with that, but there's definitely a lot less pressure to score quickly."
West Indies have won once in 15 ODI meetings against Australia, Matthews confident her inexperienced middle order will fare better with less pressure to score quickly in the longer format.
Former Captain Stafanie Taylor says the West Indies Women will need to emphasize spending time in the middle to have any chance of competing with Australia when the pair lock horns in three T20Is and three ODIs beginning on Sunday at North Sydney Oval.
The team is coming off a pair of home series wins against Ireland in July (2-0 in the ODIs and 3-0 in the T20Is) and will look to take that momentum into Australia.
A big reason for those series wins was the team’s batting. The first ODI saw the hosts bat the full 50 overs to post their second highest ODI score ever, 297-6, before successfully defending it.
The third ODI also saw an impressive performance with the bat, losing only four wickets and needing only 41.3 overs to chase down 203.
The T20s were no different with the West Indians securing a pair of eight wicket wins as well as a tense two wicket victory.
From an individual standpoint, after a rough few years due to a persistent back injury, Taylor enjoyed a welcome return to form during the ODI series.
She made scores of 55 and 79* in her two innings and is looking to continue that form against the current World Champions.
“I’ve been feeling really good for some time. The injury would’ve definitely slowed me down a little bit but it’s nice that I’ve been working hard to get my body back up and it’s been really good,” she said in a press conference ahead of Sunday’s series opener.
“For me, it’s trying to get myself back to the top and spending some time at the crease is going to be crucial because I find that once I’m able to do that, I know runs will come. I just have to believe in myself,” she added.
Just like in the Ireland series, the team will be a good mixture of youth and experience with some players who took part in the most recent ICC Under-19 Women’s World Cup as well as the CWI Regional Under-19 Women’s Tournament.
The 32-year-old complimented the youngsters before emphasizing that it is up to veterans like herself to help them achieve their full potential.
“I think we have a good crop of young players coming through. We’ve seen them in the Under-19 World Cup and it’s been really good so far where we have our Under-19 tournament that recently concluded in Trinidad and a lot of those U19s have been integrating with the senior team. You saw that in the recently concluded Ireland series,” Taylor said.
“Having them in the system, it’s for us to try an impart that knowledge that we have onto them and this series is going to be crucial for them but also it’s a learning experience and you don’t want to burden them too much,” she added.
As the most experienced member of the team, Taylor also provided insight relating to conversations she has had with the younger players in the team or players who haven’t yet played in Australia.
“Well I haven’t played here in a long time to be fair but, from what I’ve known is that Australian wickets tend to be a bit bouncy. It might be worth playing a bit late especially with the pace of the fast bowlers. I’ve played a few times at North Sydney and it’s a good wicket. I think the wickets here are going to be really good for batting. Spending time at the crease will be crucial if we want to score runs,” Taylor said.
This series will also be the first opportunity for new head coach Shane Deitz to take charge of the regional side.
In his own introductory press conference a few weeks ago, Deitz proclaimed that he wanted to bring a new attacking brand of cricket to the West Indies Women.
Taylor says that discussion hasn’t taken place quite yet.
“We’ve only had one practice session so far. We haven’t really had a meeting to discuss how we’re going to play or what it’s going to look like for this series. The first game is Sunday and we just had a meeting to welcome everyone and had a light practice session just to have a feel of things,” she said.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) today confirmed the start times for the first ever Christmas Series played between West Indies and England in December 2023. The series will feature eight matches – three CG United One-Day Internationals (ODI) and five T20 Internationals (T20I) from 3 to 21 December as fans get the opportunity to rally at home and celebrate with the West Indies ahead of the Christmas holidays.
England arrive in Antigua to start the tour with two CG United ODIs at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on 3 and 6 December. The 1st CG United ODI is a day game starting at 9:30am with the 2nd CG United ODI starting at 1:30pm as a day/night game. The 3rd and final CG United ODI to be played at Kensington Oval, Barbados on 9 December will also be a day/night game starting at 1:30pm.
The five-match T20I starts in Barbados with the first match played at Kensington Oval under lights starting at 6pm. The Spice Isle of Grenada then welcomes both teams for the 2nd and 3rd T20Is on 14 and 16 December with both matches starting at 1:30pm.
The tour concludes in the week before Christmas with the 4th and 5th T20Is on December 19 and 21. The Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad will be hosting a West Indies vs England men’s fixture for the first time with day/night matches starting at 4pm.
Fans can purchase tickets in advance from the Windies Tickets service presented by Mastercard at Tickets.Windiescricket.com . Fans who purchase online and in advance can choose their preferred seats and benefit from a discount compared to tickets purchased at the venue box office.
FULL MATCH SCHEDULE (with start times)
3 December: 1st CG United ODI at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua – 9:30am
6 December: 2nd CG United ODI at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua – 1:30pm
9 December: 3rd CG United at Kensington Oval, Barbados – 1:30pm
12 December: 1st T20I at Kensington Oval, Barbados – 6pm
14 December: 2nd T20I at Grenada National Stadium, Grenada – 1:30pm
16 December: 3rd T20I at Grenada National Stadium, Grenada – 1:30pm
19 December: 4th T20I at Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad – 4pm
21 December: 5th T20I at Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad – 4pm
“Calypso cricket” is what head coach of the West Indies Women’s team, Shane Deitz, wants his team to play going forward.
The Australian 47-year-old, who was appointed in July this year, believes that the West Indies will have to play a more attacking brand of cricket to compete with the best teams in the world.
“The brand of cricket I want us to play is definitely the traditional West Indian ‘calypso’ brand of attacking, taking it to the opposition and getting on the front foot. It’s the way I’ve always coached cricket around the world and that’s not going to change here,” Deitz said in a press conference on Tuesday.
“It’s a style of play that I think is effective so the players will definitely be getting the message that we’re here to win and we’re going to win by playing attacking, free-flowing cricket,” he added.
The former Vanuatu and Netherlands Women head coach believes the implementation of this new philosophy will take time, but will be worth it in the end.
“It may take a little bit of time to really adjust to or a few skillset upgrades in players but we’ll work towards that so they’ve got the ability to play that style of cricket and I think that’s the most successful brand of cricket around the world,” he said.
“Australia play it at the moment in women’s cricket and are consistently getting over 300 in ODIs and 160 to 180 in T20Is so we’re definitely going to follow that method and play that style of cricket and play the Caribbean way,” added Deitz.
Deitz will get his first opportunity to see the team in a competitive outing when they embark on a tour of Australia for three ODIs and three T20Is from September 30-October 14.
He says this will be a great opportunity to see some of the players first-hand against some world-class opposition.
“I’ve only been here for the WCPL to see them live so I think this tour to Australia will be a great opportunity for me to see the players first-hand against the world’s best and a team that has dominated women’s cricket around the world,” he said.
“This is a great test for us and a way for me to see the reality of where we’re at, what we need to work on and what areas we need to improve so we can formulate a long-term plan to work on players to get them up to that world class, elite level and challenge Australia, England and India who have been challenging for World Cups,” Deitz added.
As for the nucleus of his team going forward, Deitz pointed to current skipper Hayley Matthews, former captain Stafanie Taylor and all-rounder, Chinelle Henry.
“Obviously we’ve got a few players who are near the top of the world rankings with Hayley (Matthews) and Stafanie (Taylor). (Chinelle) Henry is also showing signs of being an elite level cricketer,” he said.
India completed a 2-1 ODI series win over the West Indies with a mammoth 200-run win in the third ODI at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on Tuesday.
India made 351-5 off their 50 overs, their highest ODI total in the West Indies, after being put in to bat by the hosts.
Openers Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill once again shared in a prolific opening partnership, this time putting on 143 for the first wicket.
Gill top-scored with 85 off 92 balls including 11 fours while Kishan made 77 off 64 balls, his third half-century in the series, hitting eight fours and three sixes in the process.
India also got half-centuries from Captain Hardik Pandya and Sanju Samson.
Pandya hit an unbeaten 52-ball 70 including four fours and five sixes while Samson made 51 off 41 balls including a pair of fours and four sixes. Suryakumar Yadav also contributed 35.
Romario Shepherd took 2-73 from his 10 overs for the Windies.
Then, similar to their batting effort in first ODI where they were dismissed for 114 batting first, early wickets meant the West Indian chase was over before it could really begin.
They lost their first six wickets for just 50 in 14 overs before, eventually, being bowled out for 151 in 35 overs.
Gudakesh Motie provided some late entertainment for the crowd with 39* off 34 balls including four fours and three sixes.
Alick Athanaze had earlier made 32 while Alzarri Joseph made 26.
Shardul Thakur led the way with the ball for India with 4-37 off 6.3 overs while Mukesh Kumar took 3-30 off seven overs and Kuldeep Yadav took 2-25 from eight overs.
The West Indies rebounded from an embarrassing defeat in the opening ODI against India on Thursday with a comfortable six-wicket win in the second ODI on Saturday at the Kensington Oval to tie the three-match series 1-1.
Despite things looking ominous with Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill putting on 90 for the first wicket, the hosts produced an excellent bowling display to restrict them to 181 all out in 40.5 overs after winning the toss and electing to field.
Kishan followed up his fifty in the first match with a run-a-ball 55 to top score while Shubman Gill (34) and Suryakumar Yadav (24) were the only other batsmen to make any meaningful contributions to the Indian total.
Romario Shepherd and Gudakesh Motie were the stars with the ball for the hosts. Shepherd took a career-best 3-37 off his eight overs while Motie bowled 9.5 overs for his 3-36. Alzarri Joseph chipped in with 2-35 off seven overs.
The Windies then needed just 36.4 overs to reach 182-4.
The successful chase was led by Captain, Shai Hope, who made an unbeaten 80-ball 63 including two fours and as many sixes. Keacy Carty provided good support for his skipper with 48* off 65 balls including four fours.
Shardul Thakur took 3-42 off eight overs for India.
The series decider is set for Tuesday at the Brian Lara Academy.
The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Senior Men’s Selection Panel today announced the squad for the three match CG United One Day International (ODI) Series powered by YES BANK against India which starts on Thursday 27 July at Kensington Oval.
The 15-member squad was named following a four-day camp at Kensington Oval held to prepare the white-ball players for the upcoming CG United ODI Series, as well as the five-match T20I Series that follows. The selectors have recalled left-handed batsman Shimron Hetmyer and fast bowler Oshane Thomas. Fast bowler Jayden Seales and leg-spinner Yannic Cariah have been included following their rehabilitation from surgery while left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie is also included, having recovered from injury.
Lead Selector, The Most Hon. Dr Desmond Haynes said: “We welcome Oshane and Shimron back into the group. Both have played at the international level before, with some success, and we believe they will fit well into the set-up. Oshane brings pace and is a potential wicket-taker with the new ball. Shimron’s style of batting will offer a lot especially in the middle stage of the innings and he is also a potential ‘finisher’.”
Keemo Paul is out injured while Jason Holder and Nicholas Pooran were unavailable for selection.
Kensington Oval hosts the first two matches in the three-match CG United ODI Series on Thursday 27 July and Saturday 29 July. The teams then move to Trinidad for the third and final CG United ODI at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on Tuesday 1 August. All three matches start at 9:30am local time (8:30am Jamaica time).
Tickets for the matches are available from box offices at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, as well as Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, and the National Cricket Centre in Couva, Trinidad from Monday 24 July. Additionally, tickets are available online in advance from the Windies Tickets service, presented by Mastercard, at tickets.windiescricket.com .
Fans who purchase online will benefit from a 20% discount compared to the box office prices, with tickets ranging from the most premium seats with the best and shaded views in each stadium through to affordable standard seats or mounds/grounds entry.
FULL SQUAD
Shai Hope (Captain)
Rovman Powell (Vice Captain)
Alick Athanaze
Yannic Cariah
Keacy Carty
Dominic Drakes
Shimron Hetmyer
Alzarri Joseph
Brandon King
Kyle Mayers
Gudakesh Motie
Jayden Seales
Romario Shepherd
Kevin Sinclair
Oshane Thomas
West Indies v India Tour Match Schedule
CG United ODI Series powered by YES BANK
27 July: 1st CG United ODI, Kensington Oval, Barbados
29 July: 2nd CG United ODI, Kensington Oval, Barbados
1 August: 3rd CG United ODI, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad
T20 Internationals
3 August: 1st T20I, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad
6 August: 2nd T20I, Guyana National Stadium, Guyana
8 August: 3rd T20I, Guyana National Stadium, Guyana
12 August: 4th T20I, Broward County Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida
13 August: 5th T20I, Broward County Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida
Rain forced a no-result in the second One-Day International between West Indies Women and Ireland Women at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia, on Wednesday.
During the short period of action that was possible in the match reduce to 20 overs per side, West Indies bowlers, were spot on with fast bowlers Shamilia Connell and Aaliyah Alleyne, both grabbing four wickets in quick succession, leaving the Irish reeling at 36 for five after eight overs, before the weather interrupted.
Alleyne had 2-4 off two overs, while Connell bagged 2-14, off her two.
West Indies lead the three-match series 1-0 after winning the first game by 56 runs.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) Women’s Selection Panel on Saturday announced the West Indies Women's provisional squad for the first and second CG United One Day Internationals (ODIs) against Ireland Women, to be played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground on 26 and 28 June.
The provisional squad includes some exciting new talent, with right-arm off-spinner Ashmini Munisar and wicketkeeper-batter Shunelle Sawh being named for the first time. Both players have shown their potential with the West Indies Rising Stars Under 19s team and have now been called up to the senior West Indies Women’s squad. They will be joining their Rising Stars teammates Zaida James and Djenaba Joseph, who have already gained valuable experience representing the senior team in the Tri-Series against India and South Africa and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup earlier this year.
The squad is boosted by Chinelle Henry, the experienced allrounder, who is selected having fully recovered from the injury which kept her out of the recent CG United Super50 Cup and CWI T20 Blaze tournaments. The squad is led by captain Hayley Matthews and vice-captain Shemaine Campbelle. The official squad of thirteen players will be named ahead of each match.
CWI’s Lead Selector for Women’s Cricket, Ann Browne-John, said: “The CG United ODI series against Ireland gives a good opportunity for batters to focus and to stay longer at the crease and build an innings. A number of the younger players would be transitioning from the shorter format to the fifty over format. They definitely have the potential, and it is important that the policy of identifying young players and developing the talent pool is continued.”
Browne-John added: “The squad shows a great balance of batting coupled with a variety of bowling styles, which is something that has been lacking in the recent past. Victory here will provide valuable points as the team attempts to move up in the rankings and qualify for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.”
The matches are West Indies Women’s only home fixture in 2023. The three CG United ODIs comprise West Indies’ third fixture in the ICC Women’s Championship where they are pushing to win points to achieve a top five position to qualify automatically for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2025.
Match tickets are available online from the Windies Tickets service, presented by Mastercard - Tickets.windiescricket.com - at a discounted price of US$6/EC$16 (USS3/EC$7.50 children and seniors) with tickets available on the day at the box office at a price of US$7.50/EC$20 (US$3.75/EC$10 for children and seniors).
For fans unable to get to the games in St. Lucia, the CG United ODI Series will be exclusively live on Flow Sports in the Caribbean and on BT Sport in the UK & Ireland. The matches will also be shown around the world on FanCode (India), ESPN+ (USA), Sky NZ (NZ), SuperSport (sub-Saharan Africa) and in all other countries on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel.
PROVISIONAL SQUAD for 1st and 2nd CG United ODIs
Match Schedule
(All matches played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St. Lucia.
CG United ODI Series:
Monday 26 June: 1st CG United ODI – 10am (9am Jamaica Time)
Wednesday 28 June: 2nd CG United ODI – 10am (9am Jamaica Time)
Saturday 1 July: 3rd CG United ODI – 3pm (2pm Jamaica Time)
T20 International Series:
Tuesday 4 July: 1st T20I
Thursday 6 July: 2nd T20I
Saturday 8 July: 3rd T20I
All matches start at 5pm Eastern Caribbean Time (4pm Jamaica Time)
BCCI on Friday announced India's Test and ODI squads for their upcoming tour of the West Indies.
The selection committee's patience with veterans Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav finally ran out as the duo were dropped from the Test side after a disappointing WTC final.
Pujara's dwindling returns ever since his return to the Test side a year ago were always a concern while Umesh Yadav's lackluster show against Australia in the WTC final put the writing on the wall.
Young top-order batter Yashasvi Jaiswal and pacer Mukesh Kumar earned their maiden Test call-ups while Navdeep Saini returned to the scheme of things after a long gap.
Jaiswal was always on the selector's radar after his fantastic show in IPL 2023, where he scored 625 runs at a strike rate of 163. What also went in the left-hander's favor was his staggering record in first-class cricket. The Mumbai cricketer has an average of 80.21 in 15 matches with 9 centuries and a highest score of 265.
Mohammed Shami was given a break from both Tests and ODIs. Jaydev Unadkat, Shardul Thakur and Ajinkya Rahane held on to their places in the Test squad and so did spin-bowling all-rounder Axar Patel.
Interestingly, Rahane, who was nowhere in the scheme of things for about 15 months, was named as the vice-captain of the Test side following a successful WTC final where he ended up as India's top run-getter riding on the back of a gritty 89-run knock in the first innings.
As far as the ODI squad is concerned, Sanju Samson was named as wicketkeeper-batter along with Ishan Kishan. In the absence of Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant, the selectors quite understandably decided to back Suryakumar Yadav at No.4, who has had a forgetful run in the 50-over format so far.
Mohammed Siraj will lead the pace battery. He will have Shardul Thakur and Jaydev Unadkat for support. Umran Malik made his comeback into the side while Mukesh Kumar was named in ODIs too.
For the spin department, there were no surprises as Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja picked themselves.
The three-match ODI series will begin on July 27 in Barbados.
India’s Test squad for West Indies series: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini.
India’s ODI squad for West Indies series: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Shardul Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced the match schedule and venues for the highly anticipated West Indies versus India Men’s Series in July and August.
The Series starts with two Test matches as part of the 2023-2025 ICC World Test Championship. Windsor Park in Dominica will host the first Test match from 12-16 July. The second Test match, to be played from 20-24 July at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad, will be historic marking the 100th Test match played between the two teams.
The Test Series is followed by three CG United One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and five T20 Internationals (T20Is). The CG United ODI Series will start at Kensington Oval in Barbados with the first and second matches on 27 and 29 July. The CG United ODI Series concludes on 1 August at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad which will be hosting a West Indies Men’s ODI for the first time.
The T20Is also bowl off at Brian Lara Cricket Academy on 3 August. Guyana hosts the second and third T20Is at the Guyana National Stadium on 6 and 8 August. The T20I Series concludes in Lauderhill, Florida with a blockbuster weekend of back-to-back matches on Saturday 12 August and Sunday 13 August at Broward County Cricket Stadium.
Johnny Grave, CEO of CWI, said: “We are delighted to be able to confirm the schedule and venues for the highly anticipated visit by India. One of the highlights will be the 100th Test at the Queen’s Park Oval and this promises to be a fantastic occasion as we celebrate this historic event between these two proud cricketing nations.”
Grave added: “We also look forward to hosting India in the white ball fixtures and welcoming fans to attend the matches across the region, as well as in the United States. It will be 18 days of entertainment for cricket lovers to enjoy and savour.”
Official West Indies Tour Operator packages, including match tickets will be announced first. The Windies Tickets service, presented by Mastercard, available through the Windiescricket.com website, will launch ticket sales by Tuesday 20 June. Fans can sign up to receive the first news of tickets going on sale at https://www.windiescricket.com/updates.
MATCH SCHEDULE
India tour of West Indies 2023
Test Matches
12-16 July: 1st Test Match, Windsor Park, Dominica
20-24 July: 2nd Test Match, Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad
* Local start time: 10h00 (09h00 Jamaica time)
CG United ODIs
27 July: 1st CG United ODI, Kensington Oval, Barbados
29 July: 2nd CG United ODI, Kensington Oval, Barbados
1 August: 3rd CG United ODI, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad
* Local start time: 09h30 (08h30 Jamaica time)
T20 Internationals
3 August: 1st T20I, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad
6 August: 2nd T20I, National Stadium, Guyana
8 August: 3rd T20I, National Stadium Guyana
12 August: 4th T20I, Broward County Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida
13 August: 5th T20I, Broward County Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida
* Local start time: 10h30 (09h30 Jamaica time)
The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Women’s Selection Panel today announced the preliminary squad of players who will participate in a training camp in preparation for the upcoming six-match Series against Ireland Women.
The training camp will be held at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in St. Lucia from 14 to 21 June, where the players will have training and fitness sessions as well as strategic preparations for the three-match CG United One Day International (ODI) Series. The CG United ODI Series will be played from 26 June to 1 July and is the West Indies Women’s third series in the ICC Women’s Championship, where the top five teams in the ten-team league qualify automatically for the 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.
The preliminary squad includes a mix of experienced players and promising young talents. Cherry-Ann Fraser returns to add depth and experience to the team’s bowling attack after missing the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup due to injury. Left-handed allrounder Qiana Joseph, who last played international cricket in 2021, also returns to the training camp squad. She was among the leading players in the recent Women’s CG United Super50 Cup and the T20 Blaze played in St Kitts.
Several West Indies Rising Stars Under-19 players have been included in the preliminary squad. Zaida James, Jannillea Glasgow, Djenaba Joseph, Shunelle Sawh, and Under-19s captain Ashmini Munisar have all earned their place in the squad. Their inclusion reflects CWI’s commitment to developing younger talent and expanding the Women’s talent pool by providing opportunities for younger players to showcase their skills at the international level.
CWI’s Lead Selector for Women’s cricket Ann Browne-John said: “The series against Ireland is an important one for the West Indies Women as the team seeks to build points to qualify directly for the 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup. It also serves as a perfect opportunity to continue to expose younger players to international cricket. This was a policy that the CWI embarked upon which resulted in Under 19 players being selected to the team for the England Series in December and the ICC T20 World Cup in February.”
Browne-John added: “This is now being taken one step further and there are five players who participated in the ICC Women’s Under 19 T20 World Cup in January, now in the squad preparing for the series against Ireland. This means that there are some senior players who are not able to get a place in the squad at this time. The Selection Panel however believes that this squad has a good mix of youth and experience as we continue to build the West Indies team of the future.”
The Women’s Selection Panel will announce the official West Indies Women’s squad ahead of the three-match CG United ODI Series, with the T20I squad announced later.
WI WOMEN TRAINING SQUAD
Full match schedule:
All matches at Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, Gros Islet, St. Lucia
Monday 26 June: 1st CG United ODI – 10am (9am Jamaica Time)
Wednesday 28 June: 2nd CG United ODI – 10am (9am Jamaica Time)
Saturday 1 July: 3rd CG United ODI – 3pm (2pm Jamaica Time)
Tuesday 4 July: 1st T20I – 5pm (4pm Jamaica Time)
Thursday 6 July: 2nd T20I – 5pm (4pm Jamaica Time)
Saturday 8 July: 3rd T20I – 5pm (4pm Jamaica Time)
Alick Athanaze and Kevin Sinclair played starring roles to help the West Indies beat the UAE by four wickets in the third ODI at Sharjah on Friday.
The hosts, after winning the toss and choosing to bat, got off to an excellent start, reaching 142-2 inside 23 overs before the West Indies took control of proceedings.
The UAE lost their final eight wickets for 42 runs to eventually be dismissed for 184 in just 36.1 overs. The bulk of the scoring was done by Vriitya Aravind who got a 75-ball 70 including eight fours and one six. Captain Muhammad Waseem also contributed 43.
Kevin Sinclair was excellent in his 7.1 overs, taking a career-best 4-24 while Yannic Cariah took 2-34 from eight overs.
The West Indies then lost six wickets on their way to 185 in 35.1 overs.
The successful chase was led by debutant, Alick Athanaze, and Shamarh Brooks.
Athanaze hit nine fours and three sixes on his way to a rapid 45-ball 65 at the top of the innings while Brooks made a composed 58-ball 39.
The Dominican's fifty came off just 26 balls, tying the record for fastest ODI fifty by a debutant, equaling India's Krunal Pandya against England in 2021.
Things got a bit tricky for the tourists when Karthik Meiyappan dismissed Keacy Carty (20) and Kavem Hodge (0) off consecutive balls in the 26th over to leave them 145-5.
Stand-in captain, Roston Chase, who ended 27*, as well as Raymon Reifer (15) and Keemo Paul (2*) ensured the Windies avoided a historic collapse.
Aayan Khan, Muhammad Jawadullah and Karthik Meiyappan all took a pair of wickets, each.
Brandon King and Johnson Charles both struck fifties as the West Indies took an unassailable 2-0 lead over the UAE with a 78-run win in the second ODI at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
The day started brilliantly for the West Indies as the opening pair of King and Charles put on 129 for the first wicket after West Indian captain Shai Hope won the toss and chose to bat first.
In the process, Charles brought up his fifth ODI half-century before being dismissed for a rapid 47-ball 63. The St. Lucian hit eight fours and three sixes in his knock.
King, who brought up a maiden ODI hundred on the way to a man of the match performance in the first encounter, continued his good form with 64 off 70 balls including four fours and as many sixes.
The tourists then got solid contributions from Odean Smith (37), Keacy Carty (32), Kavem Hodge (26) as they were eventually bowled out for 306 with one ball to spare.
Zahoor Khan led the way with the ball for the UAE with 3-44 from 9.5 overs while Aayan Khan (2-45), Ali Naseer (2-69) and Sanchit Sharma (2-69) also provided good contributions.
The UAE reply looked to be coming to an end quickly at 95-5 in the 24th over before a fighting 80-run partnership between Basil Hameed and Ali Naseer brought some respectability to proceedings.
Hameed batted valiantly, facing 84 balls before he fell for 49. He hit a boundary and three sixes in his knock.
Meanwhile, Naseer, who struck a fifty in the series opener, got his second straight half-century with a 53-ball 57 including six fours and three sixes.
Vriitya Aravind also contributed 36 and Aayan Khan 23* as the UAE eventually made 227-7 off their 50 overs.
Kavem Hodge (2-46 from 8) and Roston Chase (2-49 from 10) were the day’s best bowlers for the West Indies while debutant, Akeem Jordan, Odean Smith and Yannic Cariah were the other wicket-takers.
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