West Indies Women’s Under-19 Rising Stars are on a learning curve on their ongoing T20 tour of India. After competing in a quadrangular tournament against India A, India B and Sri Lanka, the Women’s Under-19 squad stay on in India to play New Zealand Under-19s. They are experiencing Indian conditions for the first time and the challenges that come from playing on the Indian subcontinent. According to Head Coach, Steve Liburd, they are in the process of developing and enhancing their skills and gaining vital knowledge and experience of the game.
The team participated in last week’s quadrangular tournament at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy International Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. The Women’s Under-19 Rising Stars lost all three of their matches as they had their first experience of playing in India. The final was won by a very strong India A team on Saturday, November 19.
Full series details can be found here:
“This tour is a vital part of our preparation as we build towards the ICC Women’s U19 T20 World Cup, so we looked at combinations to give different players opportunities. We want to make sure we’re really clear of what is our best XI by the time we get to the World Cup in South Africa,” Liburd said.
“Despite the results, the team has been upbeat, and the players are very keen to learn and get better. They adapted well to the conditions, considering they are playing in this part of the world for the first time, and we believe they are heading in the right direction. The biggest challenge has been the batting, especially in the middle overs, but we have seen improvement in rotating the strike back against spinners and picking up singles. One of the things we need to continue to develop is getting the players to look at their ‘boundary options’ once they get going.”
Following the end of the four-team series, West Indies Women’s Under-19 Rising Stars travelled to Mumbai where they faced New Zealand Women U19 at the D.Y. Patil Stadium. The first of two matches went down to the wire with New Zealand narrowly emerging victorious by one wicket.
Full match details here
Liburd added: “The tournament was really well organized and gave the players from all four teams a great opportunity to play at an international stadium and to see how things operate on the international stage. Once we get more opportunities, we will be more comfortable with the environment. We have the two-match series against New Zealand, and they are in our group in the World Cup so this will be a chance to see what they have and to develop our plans. I also want to urge the people of the Caribbean to continue to support the girls on their journey. Under-19 women’s cricket is something new to the region and we will continue to build and get better as we get ready for the World Cup.”
The inaugural ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 will be played from 14 to 29 January in South Africa. The global event will feature 41 matches with the official warm-up matches played from 9 to 11 January. The 16 participating teams will play in four groups in the preliminary round. West Indies have been drawn in Group C alongside New Zealand, Ireland and Indonesia. Teams will play in the Super 6s, followed by the semifinals and final.
FULL SQUAD: Ashmini Munisar (captain), Trishan Holder (vice-captain), Asabi Callendar, Kenika Cassar, Jahzara Claxton, Naijanni Cumberbatch, Jannillea Glasgow, Realeanna Grimmond, Zaida James, Djenaba Joseph, KD Jazz Mitchell, Shalini Samaroo
Shunelle Sawh, Lena Scott, Kate Wilmott
Match Schedule
Tuesday, 22 November – vs New Zealand at Mumbai (1 pm local time)- New Zealand won by 1 wicket
Thursday, 24 November – vs New Zealand at Mumbai (1 pm)