Windies women have momentum
The cricket world is eagerly awaiting the next showdown between the world’s best women’s teams --- the 2018 ICC Women’s World T20. The finest players have congregated in the West Indies for what promises to be a great platform.
Think back to the summer of 2017 and the ICC Women’s World Cup in England. I was there to witness Anya Shrubsole’s burst of wickets to break Indian hearts in the final at Lord’s. I also saw England beat Australia in Bristol; a wonderful game going down to the very last ball. More centuries, more sixes, more TV coverage and many more fans engaging with a wonderful world cricket competition.
Whilst the Windies did not feature in the latter stages of the 50-over competition, they are current champions in the shorter format, lifting the ICC Women’s World T20 trophy in Eden Gardens in April 2016. They beat a strongly fancied Australian side who had posted a competitive 148 for five after winning the toss. Hayley Mathews and Stafanie Taylor put on 120 for the first wicket and the Windies women won comfortably, starting the Caribbean party with their male counterparts winning the men’s competition later that day.
These tournaments have showcased the very best of women’s cricket; whilst Australia, England, India and New Zealand have dominated in the past, the likes of Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Ireland now have their chance to shine.
England, having enjoyed success in the longer format, will be hoping to prove their mettle in the shorter game. Australia, trophyless for the first time in a long time, are always in the hunt in these competitions; South Africa and India will be hoping to put the nearly of last year’s 50-over tournament behind them and the likes of Sri Lanka with the hardhitting Chamari Athapaththu could cause upsets.
The Windies have match winners in Stafanie, Deandra Dottin and Hayley who will be looking to prove that their win in 2016 wasn’t a one-off. They and their Board have done much to grow the women’s game in the region and this competition will provide further impetus to their efforts.
This tournament is different from previous competitions. The 2016 tournament in India featured a significant amount of travelling around the country and a wide variety of pitches, from fast paced to slow, low turners. This time, each team will play their group matches at one venue, in either Guyana or St Lucia, before the semi-finals and finally move to Antigua.
Women’s cricket has changed significantly since I played in the first ICC Women’s World T20 in 2009. The majority of international players are now professional, travelling around the world to play in domestic T20 competitions, working on their game 24x7 with high-quality coaches bringing in learnings from the men’s game and beyond.