ST GEORGE’S, Grenada (CMC):
West Indies Women’s captain Hayley Matthews is viewing their three-match T2oI collection in opposition to Sri Lanka Women as important preparation for the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup.
The regional group will look to rebound from their 2-1 collection loss within the simply concluded One Day International Series once they tackle the guests within the opener at present on the National Cricket Stadium.
It will probably be Matthews’ first time main the group in over a yr, having final performed a T20 worldwide on January 29, 2025, once they took on Bangladesh Women in St Kitts.
And with the Women’s World Cup scheduled to be held from June 12 to July 5 in England and Wales, Matthews stated the collection would be the excellent warm-up forward of the marquee occasion.
“It’s just about getting in a frame of mind obviously now to play some T20 cricket. Obviously, we’re going to go out there and look to be a bit more aggressive on the field.
“But yeah, it’s certainly a format that we figure we’re a lot more suited for as well, so I’m looking forward to the competition,” Matthews stated.
“I think the biggest strength we have is probably the power within the team. With players like Chinelle Henry, Deandra Dottin, who are big powerhouses and can launch a ball quite far, seeing them at their best is going to be super important leading up to the World Cup.”
Matthews stated whereas she anticipated Sri Lanka to alter their cautious method from the ODI collection, she stated the West Indies had been ready for the problem.
She admitted that whereas there have been nonetheless some enhancements that wanted to be made, she was impressed with the group’s development over the previous few months.
“They definitely had a ‘take your time’ approach in the ODI series, but obviously coming into the T20 stuff now they are less overs to bat, so they will certainly be coming at things a lot harder. But at the same time, us as a bowling unit, we’ll just have to adjust and keep things tighter and hopefully bring more wickets into play as well.
“Bowling wise our spinners have been doing pretty well and if we can just improve in the pace department and hopefully take some more wickets there, it will turn us into a good all-around team,” Matthews stated.
“I think T20 cricket is a game that’s played on the day, and we certainly have match winners within the team and that’s what’s super important. It’s just about showing up and executing really well when the day does come around and I think if we’re able to do that at our best, we are capable of beating any team.”
