West Indies Women confident ahead of World Cup qualifiers

Head coach Shane Deitz says the West Indies Women are in good spirits and well prepared as they head into the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers in Pakistan, following a productive warm-up stage.

With just two spots up for grabs for the 2025 World Cup in India, the regional side is aiming to hit the ground running when they begin their campaign against Scotland tomorrow at the LCCA Stadium in Lahore.

Reflecting on the recent warm-up matches in Pakistan, the 49 year old Australian said the focus was not only on results but also on managing player workloads in challenging conditions.

“Results were important,” began Deitz, “but I think also what was really important about this prep, we had three games in six days, effectively, in what is extreme heat. So managing workloads, giving everyone an opportunity, that was probably the number one goal.”

He added that the squad has benefitted from valuable game time and has emerged unscathed from the camp.

“Everyone’s had some good time in the middle with bat and ball. No major injury concerns or anything like that. So, as far as access, the prep’s been good.”

The team registered a series of convincing wins and gained insight into their upcoming opponents, having already faced Scotland, Ireland, and Thailand during the practice matches.

On Saturday, half-centuries from captain Hayley Matthews and Stafanie Taylor helped West Indies Women score 252-5 to beat Ireland Women by five wickets with 58 balls remaining after the Irish were restricted to 248-8 in their allotted 50 overs.

The Women in Maroon followed that up with a five-wicket loss to Pakistan Women on Tuesday. The Women in Maroon, who were without Mattews with the bat, made 188-8 with Shakibi Gajanbi top-scoring with 68 not out. The hosts, led by Muneeba Ali’s unbeaten 87, finished on 192-5 with 23 balls remaining.

“We’ve played real good cricket. We got used to the conditions a bit, which is really important. But, yeah, it’s always good to win,” Deitz assessed. “We’ve had a couple of really good wins, convincing wins. We want to learn about the conditions and obviously, the opposition, what they’re going to bring.”

With the tournament adopting a round-robin format, West Indies will also face hosts Pakistan and Bangladesh, with all 15 matches to be played in Lahore from April 9 to 19  at either the Gaddafi Stadium or the LCCA Ground. “We don’t play those teams a lot in our schedule so it’s good to see them. There’s a few new faces in each team,” Deitz noted. “We’re going to devise according plans and tactics against those players. And, you know, hopefully we can execute them on the day.”

He concluded: “I’m really confident if we do that, you know, we’ll have a lot of success at this tournament.”

They will be without experienced Barbadian all-rounder Deandra Dottin as the 33-year-old has been ruled out through injury. (JC)

West Indies Women’s Squad:
Hayley Matthews (captain), Shemaine Campbelle (vice-captain), Aaliyah Alleyne, Afy Fletcher, Cherry Ann Fraser, Shabika Gajnabi, Jannillea Glasgow, Chinelle Henry, Zaida James, Qiana Joseph, Mandy Mangru, Ashmini Munisar, Karishma Ramharack, Stafanie Taylor, Rashada Williams