Walsh: W/Cup is what counts

The West Indies women are seeking to put past recent results behind them and focus on the matches that really count as they get ready for the T20 World Cup in South Africa.

West Indies’ preparations for the series have been marked by injuries to key players and a string of 13 consecutive defeats.

However, coach Courtney Walsh claimed his players were not put off by their losing streak.

“They are not low in confidence,” he told a virtual media conference yesterday. “Obviously disappointed with the results, (but) we treat each game as a new game, trying to get the best done… Everybody is focussing on the World Cup. This is where it really counts and matters a lot more.”

Former captain Stafanie Taylor has been a major injury concern and has been out since October.

On Wednesday, Taylor was named in the World Cup squad but faces a final fitness assessment before her place is confirmed.

Yesterday, lead selector Ann Browne-John said Taylor, “has been progressing… She’s almost there. We are just waiting for the final assessment from the medical team but we are all positive.”

Walsh added that Taylor was also upbeat about the tournament and that “if we can get her fit… it will help the morale and the mood because we’ll have probably our strongest team to select from at the start of the World Cup, which is what we are hoping for.”

And despite the team’s losing record, Browne-John did not downplay expectations for the tournament.

Asked what were the realistic expectations for the team she said: “Everybody is going into a World Cup wanting to win. We will be going into the World Cup wanting to win. We have put our best team forward and I always have a view that when match-day comes, it’s my team against your team on the day and who wants to win more.

“Our expectations are that the team would play to the best of their ability. We have a great blend of senior players and now we have some young, budding players to add to it and it’s all left for us to see what happens when the matches come around.”

West Indies’ first match in the campaign is against England next week Saturday.

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