Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Tuesday announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming white-ball tour of England, which is scheduled for May 21 to June 8. The tour includes three T20 Internationals and three One-Day Internationals to be played at several venues across the country.
The squad will be led by Captain Hayley Matthews and includes a strong mix of experienced players and emerging talent eager to represent the region well and move on from the disappointment of their failed ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifying campaign in Pakistan last month.
There are two changes to the squad that contested the Qualifiers, with 20-year-old Guyanese all-rounder Realeanna Grimmond and Kittitian fast bowler Jahzara Claxton getting the nod over Jamaicans Rashada Williams and all-rounder Chinelle Henry.
Miles Bascombe, CWI Director of Cricket, expressed confidence in the squad.
“This upcoming tour of England offers our women an important opportunity to reassert themselves on the international stage. It’s a chance to demonstrate the talent, grit, and character that are synonymous with West Indies cricket.
“The ongoing T20 Blaze competition has come at an opportune time, giving many of our senior and emerging players the chance to stay match-ready and sharpen their skills in a competitive environment. We remain committed to strengthening our women’s programme and believe this tour is a vital step forward in our collective journey,” Bascombe said.
Head Coach Shane Deitz also shared his enthusiasm for the upcoming series.
“Going to England is a fantastic opportunity to play one of the best teams in the world for a long time and to really test our skills and put in practice what we’ve talked about off the pitch. The talk is cheap off the pitch; we’re going to put that talk into action and go out against England and play some good cricket. We’ve got the T20Is first, and that’s where we’ve played our better cricket in the past 12 to 18 months, so we’re looking forward to getting the tour off to a good start and play some good attacking cricket the West Indian way,” Deitz declared.
“We brought a good team to England, and we’re looking forward to putting on a good performance for the crowd over there and all our supporters watching back in the Caribbean. It’s going to be an excellent tour for us to reestablish ourselves as a world-class team with world-class players. The girls have been working hard since the Pakistan qualification and playing some cricket at the T20 Blaze in the Caribbean. It’s now time to switch up to international cricket, put on a good display, and give our supporters something to cheer about back in the Caribbean,” he added.
The team is scheduled to depart for England on Tuesday, with the first T20I scheduled for May 21.
West Indies Women’s Squad: Hayley Matthews (captain), Shemaine Campbelle (vice-captain), Aaliyah Alleyne, Jahzara Claxton, Afy Fletcher, Cherry Ann Fraser, Shabika Gajnabi, Jannillea Glasgow, Realeanna Grimmond, Zaida James, Qiana Joseph, Mandy Mangru, Ashmini Munisar, Karishma Ramharack, Stafanie Taylor. (www.sportsmax.tv)
TOUR SCHEDULE
T20I Series
1st T20I – Wednesday, 21 May – The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury
2nd T20I – Friday, 23 May – The 1st Central County Ground, Hove
3rd T20I – Monday, 26 May – Ambassador Cruise Line Ground, Chelmsford
ODI Series
1st ODI – Friday, 30 May – County Ground, Derby
2nd ODI – Wednesday, 4 June – Uptonsteel County Ground, Leicester
3rd ODI – Saturday, 7 June – The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton
