Windies Women, England to support BLM

West Indies Women’s captain Stafanie Taylor says her team along with the England players will be taking the knee before all the games in the upcoming T20 series in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Taylor announced the news via a Zoom media conference yesterday, where the West Indies captain added that the team will also be wearing the BLM logo on their team shirt in support of the initiative.

The Jamaican Taylor told reporters that she had discussions with England captain Heather Knight, who agreed to support whatever decision the West Indies team made.

“Taking a knee for us means so much more than the physical gesture. By doing this as a team, it will help to keep the focus alive and the conversations going to bring about the change, we strongly believe we need in society,” Taylor said.

“As everyone now appreciates, sport is the single unifying factor regardless of nationality, race or religion. So, therefore, we as athletes and cricketers must use our platform to help bring about that dialogue and change,” she added.

Taylor and the rest of the West Indies squad are getting ready for the start of their five-match T20 series against their England counterparts starting tomorrow and ending nine days later, with all five games set to be played in Derby.

COMFORTABLE TEAM

The West Indies team held two inter-squad matches as part of their preparation for the series, and Taylor highlighted that the team is very much comfortable with all the work that has gone on since they arrived in England.

“We have been here quite a while now and it feels like home. Normally, when you go on tour, it’s like we are the away team, but this time it feels like we are the home team. The girls are in great spirits and everything is going well,” said Taylor.

The right-handed Taylor says a decision on the composition of the team will be made late following today’s practice session. However, she is not concerned about some of the low scores that were recorded in the practice games.

“It’s not a concern at all. We played against ourselves and if you split the team, you have to try and balance it. When you look at the scorecard, you basically see that most of the batters who are getting runs are the batters, which are good,” she said.

England and West Indies last played each other during the T20 World Cup, with England claiming a convincing 46-run win thanks to a half-century from Nat Sciver and 3 wickets for 7 runs from Sophie Ecclestone, who have both been named in England’s 16-player squad.