Walsh hoping for more consistency from West Indies Women

West Indies Women’s head coach Courtney Walsh -
West Indies Women’s head coach Courtney Walsh -

WEST INDIES Women cricket team coach Courtney Walsh is hoping for more consistency from his squad, as they take on South Africa in eight limited-overs internationals in Antigua, starting on Tuesday.

The T20 Internationals will be contested at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound on Tuesday (2 pm), Thursday (2 pm) and Saturday (6.30 pm).

The first three One Day Internationals will be staged at the Coolidge Cricket Ground, Coolidge on September 7, 10 and 13, with the other two ODIs at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on September 16 and 19.

However, up to press time on Monday, there was no announcement of the West Indies squad for the South Africa series by Cricket West Indies (CWI).

The West Indies entertained Pakistan in June and July, in Antigua, and the hosts swept the three-game T20 series and claimed the ODI series 3-2. South Africa are coming off a pair of victories over hosts India (4-1 in the ODI series and 2-1 in the T20 series) in March.

South Africa are preparing for the ODI World Cup, which will take place in New Zealand in March-April 2022. The West Indies’ immediate focus is the World Cup qualifiers, which will be staged in Harare, Zimbabwe from November 21 to December 5.

Walsh, the legendary WI fast bowler, captain and selector, said in a Zoom media briefing on Monday, “We know we have to be a bit more consistent than we were against Pakistan.

“We’re looking to execute a bit better,” he continued. “It was good to get some cricket in, but I think we have to focus on South Africa. We know they are a really good team.”

During the Pakistan series, the West Indies got consistent scores from Britney Cooper, Chadean Nation and Kyshona Knight.

Walsh was heartened by the fact that the batting is not overly reliant on the experienced trio of captain Stafanie Taylor, Deandra Dottin and Hayley Matthews.

“That’s the only way we’re going to get the team where I think we can compete with the other top teams and give ourselves a chance of winning major competitions,” said the WI coach. “We have to move away from the fact that one or two players consistently will get us out of trouble. It’s good to see some of the players putting their hands up and we want to see more of that.”

South Africa last visited the West Indies in 2018, where they drew the ODI series 1-1 and the T20 series 2-2.

Coach Hilton Moreeng, in a report on Cricinfo, said, “The good indication we had is our last tour, of India - our batters adapted to that and we need to continue on that and then make sure we complement that with our bowlers and fielding overall because we feel that the last time we were (in the Caribbean) we did not bat as well as we could although the bowlers did a really good job and kept us in the game.

“It's now for us as a batting unit to make sure we counter that because we know we have to face a lot of slow bowling and the wickets are not going to get any quicker."

South Africa squad: Dane Van Niekerk (captain), Sune Luus, Ayabonga Khaka, Shabnim Ismail, Laura Wolvaardt, Trisha Chetty, Sinalo Jafta, Tasmin Britz, Marizanne Kapp, Nondu Shangase, Lizelle Lee, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Mignon du Preez, Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Lara Goodall, Tumi Sekhukhune, Masabata Klaas.

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"Walsh hoping for more consistency from West Indies Women"

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