Veteran all-rounder Stafanie Taylor has delivered a frank assessment of West Indies Women’s faltering batting displays, conceding that the unit has not measured up in the ongoing One-Day International series against Sri Lanka Women’s national cricket team.
The tourists have already secured the series with two tense victories, taking an unassailable 2-0 advantage into Wednesday’s final contest at the National Stadium.
Narrow margins, familiar problems
Both defeats followed a similar script, competitive chases undermined by an inability to convert starts into match-winning innings.
In the opener, West Indies were dismissed for 230 while pursuing Sri Lanka’s 240 for six. The second encounter proved equally frustrating: a modest target of 209 remained out of reach as the hosts were held to 194.
Speaking after Tuesday’s final training session, Taylor, one of the side’s few consistent performers alongside emerging batter Jannillea Glasgow, acknowledged that the top order has not delivered when it mattered most.
“We had starts from batters but just never really got to finish the game. I know coach always says that once you get a start, especially the top five batters, that if you do get a start, you should try and finish the game.
“I feel like in the first game I should have stayed there until the end, however, I did try but it was just an unfortunate and misjudged run out. In the second game I wanted to actually stay there and bat because it wasn’t many runs, just 200 runs,” Taylor said.
Middle order fight, but too late
Early wickets compounded the challenge in the second match, forcing the middle order into a rescue mission that ultimately fell short.
Taylor detailed the situation candidly:
“We lost the two openers quite early, so in the middle we knew that [Shemaine] Campbelle, myself, and Chin [Chinelle Henry] had to take the team as deep as possible. I thought [Jannillea] Glasgow did really well to try and get us over the line, but she just ran out of partners.
“I think as a batting group we really need to regroup and come strong for tomorrow’s game,” she added.
Playing for pride
Despite the series being beyond reach, Taylor emphasized that motivation within the camp remains high ahead of the closing fixture.
A team meeting, she revealed, would focus on identifying shortcomings and restoring cohesion across all departments.
“We have a meeting tonight and as a group we’re going to discuss where we went wrong, where we need to improve and for tomorrow’s game we just have to come out and give it our all.
“I thought in the second game the bowlers did really well to restrict them to that low total and the effort is going to be needed from all three aspects: bowling, fielding and batting, so it’s just about putting all three together and hoping that we come out on top,” Taylor said.
One last opportunity
For West Indies Women, Wednesday’s finale now represents more than a dead rubber, it is an opportunity to restore confidence, reward the bowlers’ discipline, and deliver the complete performance that has eluded them throughout the series.
If Taylor’s words resonate in the dressing room, the hosts may yet close the campaign with the statement victory their efforts have so narrowly missed.
