ST JOHN’S, Antigua —The members of the victorious West Indies Women’s team have been lauded for their rapid growth and development, continued improvement, and recent success on the field of play.
Over the last two weeks, the West Indies Women demonstrated their strength with comprehensive victories over Sri Lanka Women to take the three-match One-Day International Series and five-match T20 International Series. The Windies won the One-Dayers 2-1 and took the T20 Series 3-1 with the final match ending in a no-result due to rain, earlier today.
In a message of congratulations to the team, President of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Dr Julian Hunte said it was heartening to see the way the players have developed as individuals and as a team since the women’s game was restructured and reorganised less than five years ago.
"The West Indies Women continue to demonstrate significant improvement and what we are seeing here is a reward on the investment made in the players. The WICB sees the development of players at all levels as integral to the present and future success of the game in the Caribbean," Dr Hunte said.
"We are delighted with the performances of the West Indies Women’s team over the past few years as they continue to grow and mature. We have seen players blossom to reach the top of the world rankings. As a team, the West Indies have made significant strides up the ladder, and we expect that rise to continue."
Dr Hunte added: "The team has really come a long way in a short space of time. Again, against Sri Lanka, they demonstrated their individual brilliance as well as team unity to overcome the challenges and bring joy to their supporters around the region. We believe we have a team that can become Number 1 in the world. We urge the girls to let this be their goal."
Under the guidance of Head Coach Sherwin Campbell and the astute leadership Merissa Aguilleira; the West Indies have developed a team good enough to win their last four series.
They beat Pakistan at home last September; played unbeaten to win the International Cricket Council’s World Cup 2013 qualification tournament in Bangladesh last November; outplayed the higher ranked Indians at home earlier this year and have now stamped their authority against the Sri Lankans.
The West Indies boast the world’s best player in allrounder Stafanie Taylor. The 20-year-old Jamaica won the prestigious ICC Women’s Cricketer-of-the-Year award in 2011 and is the ranked Number 1 among batters and allrounders in the world.
Dr Hunte added: "Just a few short years ago we did not have a structured West Indies Women’s team. We at the WICB were aware that we had a number of talented young women in the Caribbean who deserved the opportunity to showcase their skills at the highest level and we made sure we put the systems in place to develop the game for the present and the future."