HARARE, Zimbabwe – The West Indies Women open their ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup qualifying campaign today against Ireland Women at the Old Hararians Ground in Harare.

The West Indies have a very experienced team with a number of players who have done well at the international level, and are being considered one of the favourites to capture one of the three qualifying spots available.

According to Captain Stafanie Taylor, they won’t be taking their opponents lightly, and will be going all-out to win every match. The West Indies Women are confident coming off a 3-0 One-Day International (ODI) series victory against Pakistan Women in Karachi and captain Taylor is hoping to carry that momentum on.

Taylor said: “We had a good series against Pakistan and I would love to see more good performances, not just for tomorrow’s game but throughout the competition. We’ve been playing some good cricket and getting some really good scores and I want to see us continue from where we left off in Pakistan.

“The expectations are pretty high for us to finish number one or at least in the top three and be one of the eight teams in New Zealand next year. With that being said, we’re not taking any team for granted. We’re going to go out there and play our best cricket.”

Taylor added: “I believe the all-round ability of our team is our strength, our batting is peaking at a good time heading into the qualifiers, which was exemplified with two centuries in the recent series against Pakistan. Our bowlers are showing that they can defend the scores posted by the batters. So, we are looking forward to a competitive but enjoyable tournament.”

There have been four centuries in a calendar year from the top three batters on the team, a first for West Indies Women in ODI cricket. Taylor scored for two of them while Deandra Dottin and Hayley Matthews made for the other two. The team also sees the return of wicketkeeper/batter Shemaine Campbelle, who was very reliable with the bat and the glove on the recent trip to Pakistan.

Full squad: Stafanie Taylor (captain), Anisa Mohammed (vice-captain), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Deandra Dottin, Sheneta Grimmond, Chinelle Henry, Qiana Joseph, Kycia Knight, Kyshona Knight, Hayley Matthews, Chedean Nation, Shakera Selman, Rashada Williams.

Travelling reserves: Cherry Ann Fraser, Shabika Gajnabi, Karishma Ramharack.

ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2021 Schedule

All matches start at 9:30 am local time (3:30 am Eastern Caribbean/2:30 am Jamaica)

Group A: West Indies, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands

Group B: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Zimbabwe, USA

November 23 – West Indies vs Ireland, Old Hararians

November 27 – West Indies vs Sri Lanka, Old Hararians

November 29 – West Indies vs Netherlands, Sunrise Cricket Club

Super6 Fixtures

December 1:

Super 6 Match 21 – Old Hararians

Super 6 Match 22 – Harare Sports Club

Super 6 Match 23 – Sunrise Cricket Club

December 3:

Super 6 Match 24 – Old Hararians

Super 6 Match 25 – Harare Sports Club

Super 6 Match 26 – Sunrise Cricket Club

December 5:

Super 6 Match 27 – Old Hararians

Super 6 Match 28 – Harare Sports Club

Super 6 Match 29 – Sunrise Cricket Club