WI Women determined to beat Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CMC):

Captain Merissa Aguilleira says West Indies women cricketers are rearing to go against Sri Lanka when the two sides meet in round three of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women's Championship, which starts in Colombo tomorrow.

The Windies women, without some of their experienced players, have just completed a training camp in the Sri Lankan capital and are brimming with confidence ahead of the series.

The series includes four ODIs, but only the final three matches scheduled for May 15, 18, and 20 will count towards the eight-team ICC Women's Championship.

"We are determined to do well here because coming out of our series loss in Australia, it is very important for us to gain points in this series to continue to compete for a top spot in the ICC Women's Championship rankings," said Aguilleira.

"The team arrived in Sri Lanka a few days ago and had a successful training camp ahead of the start of the series, which gave us an opportunity to get acclimatised to the Sri Lankan conditions."

The West Indies will once again be pinning their hopes on Stafanie Taylor, the ICC Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year in 2012.

The 23-year-old Jamaican will be the highest-ranked batter, bowler, and all-rounder from either side in the series.

Taylor is ranked sixth in the Reliance ICC Women's ODI player rankings for batters, while she tops the Reliance ICC Women's ODI player rankings for bowlers as well as Reliance ICC Women's ODI player rankings for all-rounders.

'ready to go'

"It is more humid than we are accustomed to, but we have adjusted very quickly. The girls are coming off the domestic season in the West Indies and are ready and raring to go," said the Windies women's captain.

"Although we have some of our experienced players absent due to injury, the players who have replaced them have all been in the team before and have fit very easily into the set-up."

The West Indies are currently sitting fifth on the table, while Sri Lanka are seventh. A 3-0 series victory for the visitors would see them join early pacesetters Australia at the top of the table.

Sri Lanka, in contrast, would create daylight between themselves and India at the bottom end of the table if they win the series.

"We are excited to play West Indies in our home town, and the team is looking forward to the start of the series," said Sri Lanka captain Chamari Atapaththu.

"The ICC Women's Cham-

pionship is already proving to be a good initiative for the women's game, and the structure will see each team compete against each other in a home-and-away series, which is very important to all teams and will guarantee at least 21 ODI games for each team."

The top four sides from this tournament will qualify automatically for the ICC Women's World Cup 2017, while the bottom four sides will play in the ICC Women's World Cup Qualifier.

West Indies (from): Merissa Aguilleira (captain/wk), Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Chinelle Henry, Stacy-Ann King, Kycia Knight, Hayley Matthews, Anisa Mohammed, Subrina Munroe, Tremayne Smartt, and Stafanie Taylor.