Taylor returns, Cooper recalled to WI squad for tri-series

ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC):

West Indies Women have welcomed the return of former captain Stafanie Taylor and the recall of long-serving batsman Britney Cooper to a 16-member squad to play in a Twenty20 International tri-series against India and hosts South Africa from January 19 to 30 next year in East London.

The Windies Women were let down badly by their batting during a home series against England Women, all three One-day Internationals and five Twenty20 Internationals they contested in Antigua and Barbados.

Taylor, 31, was side-lined with injury for that series, and she was sorely missed. No other player has scored more than 3,121 runs at an average of 35.87 in 111 T20Is, and she needs only two more wickets for 100 with her off-spin.

Cooper, 33, has a far less impressive record, scoring only 608 runs at a paltry average of 11.25 in 73 T20Is, and she has not been part of the Caribbean side’s plans for the past year in either the T20I or One-day International format.

But lead selector Ann Browne-John said the pair could bring some stability back to the batting in the series, which will be their final tune-up for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 South Africa.

“The selection panel has named a squad that we believe has the talent and experience to compete against India and South Africa,” Browne-John said in a Cricket West Indies news release yesterday.

Also returning to the squad after recovering from injury are long-serving pacers Shamilia Connell and Shakera Selman.

The Windies Women will play each of the other two teams twice, and the two leading teams after the preliminary matches will face each other in the final on February 2. All matches in the tri-series will be played at Buffalo Park.

​West Indies Women will also play a warm-up match against the South Africans ahead of the tri-series on January 16 at Beacon Bay.

The eighth edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup starts on February 10, and the Windies Women West Indies have been drawn in Group 2 with England Women, India Women, Pakistan Women, and Ireland Women.

Final squads for the World Cup must be submitted by February 2.

Squad: Hayley Matthews ​(captain), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Chedean Nation, Cherry Ann Fraser, Afy Fletcher, Shabika Gajnabi, Sheneta Grimmond, Chinelle Henry, Karishma Ramharack, Kaysia Schultz, Shakera Selman, Stafanie Taylor, Rashada Williams.

TRI-SERIES MATCH SCHEDULE

(All matches to be played at Buffalo Park in East London, South Africa; start times in brackets – quoted in Jamaica time)

January

19: South Africa Women vs India Women (Noon start)

21: South Africa Women vs West Indies Women (8 a.m.)

23: India vs West Indies Women (Noon)

25: South Africa Women vs West Indies Women (8 a.m.)

28: South Africa Women vs India Women (Noon)

30: West Indies Women vs India Women (8 a.m.)

February 2: ​ Final (8 a.m.)