Injuries to three key players have left West Indies Women under-strength for their opening Twenty20 International of the Tri-Series against hosts South Africa Women Saturday.
Leading batsman and former captain Stafanie Taylor, along with all-rounders Chinelle Henry and Aliyah Alleyne, have been ruled out of the contest at Buffalo Park, further exposing an already brittle batting group.
But head coach Courtney Walsh said despite the injuries, team morale remains high ahead of their first taste of action.
“The one little bit of worry for me is that we have a couple injuries, so we don’t have the full 16 to select from but putting that aside I think the girls are getting ready,” Walsh told a media conference Friday. “Everybody is heading into the right direction in terms of making sure we prepare ourselves adequately so I’m pretty happy for that.”
He continued: “One thing I must say is that the morale and mood in the camp is very, very good … we can’t wait to start playing. [It’s important] to get into that rhythm and get that sort of performance that would get our confidence going.”
West Indies Women were poor in their five-match T20 International series against England Women last December, suffering a chastening whitewash in the Caribbean.
Once again, their batting lay at fault, mustering disappointing totals of 82 and 43 in the final two games at Kensington Oval in Barbados.
Walsh conceded the injuries would impact the batting but said there was now opportunity for other players to impress.
“The rest of the team what we have to do [is step it up]. Plans have been made for replacements – so to speak – or persons given that opportunity or chance to go and sort of make a name for themselves,” the pace legend said.
“We’re hoping that can come together nicely and also at the same time we’re hoping and wishing for a very speedy recovery for those three names, that we can have them back and ready for selection.”
He added: “The batting coach has been busy putting things together, having them doing drills and stuff to try to spend time at the crease and also execute.
“In our discussions in team meetings we’ve been setting targets and trying to get everybody to understand what we need to compete at the highest level.”
India Women, the other team in the Tri-Series, beat South Africa Women by 27 runs in Thursday’s opener.
-CMC
