Sports
Jonathan Ramnanansingh
FORMER West Indies women’s cricketer Stephanie Power believes the current regional crop of players has what it takes to go all the way at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup which bowls off in New Zealand next Thursday.
West Indies begin their campaign with an uphill climb as they face the hosts in the opening 50 over match. The Caribbean team has never won the World Cup but reached the final at the 2013 edition, where they lost to eventual winner Australia. England are defending champions.
Power is confident the regional squad has the wealth of experience and youth to execute stern performances against the globe’s top cricketing nations. However, she called on the youngsters to bravely take on big roles.
“This is the world stage. And on every stage, there are roles to be performed. Each of them has to know their role. We have the main role players like Stafanie (Taylor), Deandra (Dottin), Hayley (Matthews) and Anisa (Mohammed). And then we have a supporting cast.
“So if the lead role players don’t come out on a day, the others have to step up and be the best supporting roles. They have to fill that gap and become the main players. They are physically fit but also have to be mentally ready. We have a good chance at the World Cup,” Power said.
The former WI women’s wicketkeeper, who also played for TT, also threw her support behind compatriot and veteran women’s cricketer Anisa Mohammed, who remains on the hunt for a milestone of 300 international wickets.
Mohammed, 33, snagged two wickets at the recently concluded tour of South Africa, which propelled her to 298 international wickets. She is now just two wickets away from becoming the fourth woman cricketer to reach this prolific, following India’s Jhulan Goswami, Australia’s Ellyse Perry and England’s Katherine Brunt. This is Mohammed’s fifth World Cup.
Power added, “What a time this would be for Anisa to get her 300th wicket. She has been there (women’s set up) since 16 years old, working hard and is a lovely person. I would want nothing else for her than her to get her 300th wicket at the World Cup.
“But generally, I think that we have a chance as much as anybody else. Cricket West Indies believes in them and knows what they are capable of. After all the work is done, they are now going on the stage to play their role. The coach and trainers have done what they have to do.”
While she expressed pleasure with head coach Courtney Walsh, Power credited the likes of Gus Logie, Sherwin Campbell, Vasbert Drakes, Theo Cuffy, Henderson Springer and Clement Hercules, who also served in similar positions prior, and also played integral roles in building the team into what it is today.
“I have to put a plugin for the past coaches. It’s not today this team is around. They were trained by past coaches to reach here as well. The past coaches put WI women on the map,” she said.
Meanwhile, Walsh believes his team is the “complete package” and “the best balanced 18 players” for the World Cup. He also expressed confidence with his bunch of players.
The former West Indian pacer said, “It was good seeing some of the girls play really competitive cricket. The confidence that the ladies would have gotten from some of their performances is vital coming into a World Cup, so it was very pleasing to me as a coach.
“Also, we had a chance to have a closer look at players, how they performed under pressure and in various roles that we assigned them.”
While Mohammed will feature in her fifth World Cup, captain Stafanie Taylor will be in her fourth. The two players along with veterans Shemaine Campbelle and Deandra Dottin make up the experienced core of the team.
The inclusion of two uncapped players in the reserves, Kaysia Schultz and Jannellia Glasgow is an indication that with one eye on capitalising on the current experienced players to win titles, Walsh and the selection panel has the other eye on succession planning for the future of the West Indies women’s team.
