ST JOHN’S, Antigua — The selection panel of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has announced a 15-member squad for the tour of South Africa from February 12 to March 10, and the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Tournament from March 15 to April 3 in India.

wicb_logo.jpg “The team has worked hard over the last year and the Selection Panel is very happy with the combination and the hard work that the players and management has put in,” said WICB selector Courtney Browne.

“They have made good progress and this squad has a lot of variety with a number of quality all-rounders that should serve the team well throughout the period they will be travelling.”

Browne said: “To highlight a few players – Stafanie Taylor has taken up the captaincy and has maintained her high performance standards and we are very happy to see this.

“Former captain Merissa Aguilleira made good progress during the past series against Pakistan Women and has added value to the team with her batting, and Hayley Matthews is a young, exciting prospect as an all-rounder, so we are quite satisfied with how the team has progressed over the last year.”

The 15-member squad, plus five reserve players, will be part of a training camp from January 28 to February 8 at the West Indies High Performance Centre in Barbados.

The five reserve players are: Leeann Kirby, Natasha McLean, Chedean Nation, Karishma Ramharack and Vanessa Watts.

In addition to the on-field training programme, the players will also undergo mental skills and media training before the touring party departs for South Africa on February 9 and 10.

On arrival in South Africa, they will continue their preparation from February 12 to 19 in Port Elizabeth with a one-week training camp that also includes a practice match against Eastern Province Women before playing the home team in three ICC Women’s Championship One-day and Twenty20 Internationals.

Following the trip to South Africa, the team flies directly to the ICC Women’s World Twenty20, where they have been drawn in Group “B”.

They will face Pakistan Women, Bangladesh Women, England Women and hosts India Women in the group stage, looking to reach the semi-finals which are carded on Wednesday, March 30, at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi and Thursday, March 31, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The Final is on Sunday, April 3 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

SQUAD

Stafanie Taylor (Captain)
Shakera Selman (Vice Captain)
Merissa Aguilleira
Shemaine Campbelle
Shamilia Connell
Britney Cooper
Deandra Dottin
Afy Fletcher
Stacy-Ann King
Kycia Knight
Kyshona Knight
Hayley Matthews
Anisa Mohammed
Shaquana Quintyne
Tremayne Smartt

Team Management Unit

Vasbert Drakes (Head Coach)
Ann Browne-John (Team Operations Manager)
Ezra Moseley (Assistant Coach)
Oba Gulston (Physiotherapist)
Hector Martinez-Charles (Fitness Trainer)
Trent Sargeant (Data Analyst)

MATCH SCHEDULES

Tour of South Africa

February
Mon 22: Eastern Province Women vs West Indian Women – University of Fort Hare, Alice
Wed 24: 1st ICC Women’s Championship One-day International – Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium, East London
Sat 27: 2nd ICC Women’s Championship One-day International – Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium, East London
Mon 29: 3rd ICC Women’s Championship One-day International – Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium, East London

March
Fri 4: 1st Twenty20 International – Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, Durban
Sun 6: 2nd Twenty20 International – Bidvest Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Wed 9: 3rd Twenty20 International – PPC Newlands, Cape Town

ICC Women’s World Twenty20

Group “B” Matches

Wed 16: West Indies Women vs Pakistan Women – Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Sun 20: West Indies Women vs Bangladesh Women – Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Thu 24: England Women vs West Indies Women – HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala
Sun 27: West Indies Women vs India Women – PCA Stadium, Mohali