BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – West Indies captain Merissa Aguilleira said she and her team-mates are delighted that the upcoming Women’s T20 Tri-Series will be broadcast live on television across the region.
The Windies skipper was speaking at the official series launch where she lauded the West Indies Cricket Board for its foresight in bringing ball-by-ball televised coverage of women’s cricket for the first time.
The Series will be played at Kensington Oval from Monday, October 14 to Saturday October 26 and features three of the best teams in the world – West Indies, England and New Zealand.
"Women’s cricket has been developing rapidly and I think the more matches we get on television the better for us. I think this is a good opportunity for people to see us showcase our talents," said Aguilleira.
The WICB announced that it will produce and make available for broadcast via terrestrial broadcasters in collaboration with the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC). Games will be played under lights from – first ball is 7 pm (6pm Jamaica Time).
Aguilleira is one of the leading ambassadors for women’s cricket and is one of the most respected female sportswomen in the Caribbean. She took over the captaincy in 2009 and led the West Indies to Number 2 in the 50-over rankings and joint third in the T20 rankings.
"It is always good for us to play T20 cricket. The girls really love T20 and playing against two of the best teams in the world it will be a great test and challenge for us as individuals and as a team," Aguilleira said.
"In order to be the best you have to beat the best and these girls are the best so we know what we have to do to stay focused. There is a lot of room for improvement especially in our consistency and our batting, we have to pick up the slack in certain areas."
She added: "There is work to be done – especially in our batting – we need to be more consistent and look to build bigger totals. We have to remain fully focussed on what we are doing and what we are looking to achieve as a team. There is more mental preparation to be done. We have been training a lot and working hard so we know the skills are there."