Windies women confident ahead of first T20 match tomorrow
DPI, Guyana, Thursday, November 8, 2018
Defending champions of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s World T20, the West Indies, will be playing their first match tomorrow in a quest to be crowned world champions once again.
During a press conference held today at the Marriot Hotel, Captain Stefanie Taylor said the team is confident heading into their first match tomorrow against Bangladesh.
This confidence comes on the heels of a stunning overall performance by the team after defeating New Zealand in a warm-up match yesterday at the Providence Stadium. New Zealand made 122-9 in the 20 overs which was chased down in 18.1 overs by the Windies women who made 123-4.
Taylor said “I believe as the West Indies, we do have other teams coming after us because they view the West Indies as one of the teams to beat. So, take away the fact that we are at the World Cup, you take us anywhere, the West Indies is the team to beat.”
While she acknowledged that playing at home gives them gives them an advantage in the tournament, Taylor is cognisant of the fact that no team should be taken for granted. The Windies captain noted that the key to winning is proper management of the team and sticking to their “game plan”.
“There is some amount of pressure and expectations but I think it’s how we manage that within the group and think about our game and how we go out there and play our style of cricket” Taylor stated.
The 10-team tournament, features Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and defending champions the West Indies. Guyana will host a total of 11 games, including three on the opening day of the tournament. At 11:00hrs (on Nov. 9) at the National Stadium, Providence, New Zealand takes on India followed by Australia versus Pakistan at 16:00hrs and West Indies battling Bangladesh at 20:00hrs for the final match of the day.
Isaiah Braithwaite.
Images by Keno George and Kawise Wishart.