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Outperformed across departments, West Indies looking to get one over England

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Women's CricZone Staff
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Stafanie Taylor calls for "feeder system" in West Indies to bridge gap between domestic and international cricket

Stafanie Taylor plays a forceful shot off the back foot. © Getty Images

Since the start of 2018, West Indies have won only two T20I series - against Pakistan and Ireland. The ongoing series against England is the fifth consecutive series defeat for them. 

Before this series, West Indies assistant coach Corey Collymore had said that the focus is on building a team for the future more than the results. “Yes, we want to win, but for me, it’s more about the development. I think we want to develop a team for the future," he had said.

With the series lost already, West Indies might want to blood in a couple of younger players who have been waiting for opportunities. They have not made significant changes to their bowling department. In fact, bowling has been one of their strengths in this series. The Caribbean bowlers have outperformed the batters consistently in the last three games. Nevertheless, there are a few issues that they might want to address.

Death bowling has been an issue for them, especially in the previous two matches where they conceded more than 50 runs in the last five overs. In the third T20I, Shamilia Connell did not complete her quota of overs despite bowling well. England bowlers scored ten runs off Shakera Selman's first in the powerplay. She never bowled again. The West Indies camp might have to regroup and think about their strategies. 

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Collymore also spoke highly of Shabika Gajnabi in the buildup to the series. “I think Gajnabi is actually a good all-rounder and not just a batter," he had said. They could bring in her and Karishma Ramharack into the playing eleven and see how they perform under pressure.

As far as the batting is concerned, Deandra Dottin's performance has been the only silver lining in this series. She is the leading run-scorer in the series with 170 runs in three matches. No other West Indies batter has scored more than 50 runs. Though they have acknowledged the lack of resources in the batting, the likes of Stafanie Taylor and Hayley Matthews have to step up and set an example for the youngsters in the squad. 

The difference between the two teams so far is that whenever England was in trouble with the bat, there was someone who took the responsibility and made sure that they got the momentum back in the game. In the first match when they lost early wickets, it was Tammy Beaumont who turned it around. Sarah Glenn's all-round show did it for them in the next match.

Sciver, who had a disappointing start to the series, took it upon herself to play deep into the innings when things were not going England's way in the third game. She hit three consecutive boundaries including a massive six over mid-wicket off Taylor in the penultimate over. Off the last 19 balls she faced, Sciver made 31 runs and took the team past 150.

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The hosts would be happy with the series win. Yet, their skipper Heather Knight might want to see a comprehensive performance from her batters. Though she has been consistently performing all three matches, Knight has not been able to finish the innings for the team. Likewise, Danielle Wyatt, too, has not converted the starts so far.

Their bowlers, however, have been at their best throughout. They have played an unchanged bowling attack so far in the series. Katherine Brunt had an off day in the third T20I in comparison with her performances in the previous two matches. She has been the most economical bowler so far in this series giving away just 4.09 runs per over. 

With the series done and dusted, England might make some changes their bowling attack so that the reserve players get some opportunity. West Indies, on the other hand, would want their players to express themselves without any pressure and taste some success before getting back home.

Squads:

England: Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Freya Davies, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Katie George, Sarah Glenn, Heather Knight (c), Amy Jones, Nat Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Mady Villiers, Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield, Danielle Wyatt

West Indies: Stafanie Taylor (c), Afy Fletcher, Hayley Matthews, Aaliyah Alleyne, Cherry Ann Fraser, Natasha McClean, Shemaine Campbelle, Shabika Gajnabi, Chedean Nation, Britney Cooper, Sheneta Grimmond, Karishma Ramharack, Shamilia Connell, Chinelle Henry, Kaysia Schultz, Deandra Dottin, Lee Ann Kirby, Shakera Selman
Stafanie Taylor Heather Knight Deandra Dottin Katherine Brunt Sarah Glenn West Indies tour of England, 2020 England v West Indies
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