Taylor relieved after Thailand blip

PERTH, Australia (CMC):

Skipper Stafanie Taylor admitted that there was some worry in the Windies camp when her side lost three early wickets in pursuit of a modest 79 against Thailand in their opening Group B match of the ICC Women’s Twenty20 World Cup on Saturday.

The Caribbean side lost Lee-Ann Kirby (three), Hayley Matthew (16), and Deandra Dottin (two) to slip to 27 for two in the seventh over but recovered courtesy of an unbroken 53-run third wicket stand between Taylor (26 not out) and Shemaine Campbelle (25 not out) to reach their target comfortably in the end.

“It was a bit of a nervous moment,” a relieved Taylor told reporters after the contest at the WACA Ground here.

“I think they’re (Thailand) really good bowlers. I reckon in a few years’ time, they’ll definitely give teams challenges … and I’m really pleased that we get to go over that hurdle today.

“It wasn’t great being at the non-striker’s end and seeing wickets falling, so I’m really happy. I can smile now.”

She added: “I think the way they’re playing, their bowling attack could definitely cause some trouble. I think they play consistently, bowl consistently. I think they might cause an upset or give teams a scare or scares.”

The Windies are seeking their second T20 World Cup title following their success in India four years ago when they upset multiple-times champions Australia in the final.

POOR FORM

However, they enter this tournament on the back of poor form, winning only five of their last 17 T20 Internationals and suffering embarrassing whitewashes to Australia and India in their last two bilateral series.

Taylor acknowledged the need to improve going forward in the tournament, especially in the batting department.

“We do have the batting there, no doubt about that. I think [this game] is definitely tricky,” she explained.

“We played against Thailand. We have never played them before, so it’s more like you have to spend time at the crease and get used to their bowlers, which I don’t think we did that properly.

“But yeah, it’s something that we go back to the drawing board and look at going forward.”

The Windies take on Pakistan in their second game on Wednesday in Canberra.