BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — Head Coach Vasbert Drakes has dismissed the suggestion West Indies will be under pressure as they bid to add the ICC Women’s World Cup to their Twenty20 World title when the 50-overs tournament bowls off this month in England.

Speaking ahead of their departure for London yesterday, Drakes said his side was well prepared and focused for the June 24 to July 23 campaign, stressing he would take responsibility for ensuring expectations were properly managed.

“I think in international sports … we recognise as a group the importance of playing good cricket,” Drakes told reporters following the conclusion of a camp here.

“Pressure is something you create on yourself. My job certainly is to manage the expectations well and see it as a competition you want to do well in and don’t worry about the peripheral stuff as it relates to pressure.”

He added: “Once you are playing any type of competitive sport, the intention is to win and I don’t think that’s going to change. It’s about managing those expectations, staying in the present and just focusing on the job at hand and taking every day as it comes.”

West Indies were one of the four teams gaining automatic qualification for the tournament after finishing fourth in the ICC Women’s Championship last year.

They are also regarded as one of the favourites after winning the T20 World Cup in India last April and having also reached the final of the last 50-overs World Cup in India four years ago.

Drakes, who took over the helm of the squad two years ago, said the short camp here over the last week had been instrumental in the side’s preparation.

“To date we’re happy with where we are at. This mini camp would have certainly served its purpose,” the former West Indies all-rounder said.

“A lot of learning would have taken place over the last year as it relates to our preparation and expectations as a group and we are quietly looking forward to the challenge at hand.

“The mini camp was based on relationship building, team building and assessment, so we had four days where we pretty much covered our bases in terms of ticking the necessary boxes to get everyone in the right frame of mind and going into England.”

West Indies will arrive three weeks before the start of the World Cup as they seek to properly acclimatise to the unpredictable English weather.

They play practice matches against Pakistan in Leicester on June 20 and against South Africa in Oakham two days later, before opening the tournament with perhaps their toughest assignment of the preliminaries when they take on reigning champions Australia in Taunton on June 26.

Drakes said the early arrival in England would be another boost for the women’s preparation.

“I think the two weeks in England and our pre-camp in the Rose Bowl would give us an opportunity for us to get familiar with the conditions,” he pointed out.

“Like anything else, the ones who haven’t played there [before] they will have to be smart about assessing the conditions as quickly as possible and playing accordingly.”