KINGSTON, Jamaica (CMC):
West Indies Women’s captain Stafanie Taylor says her side lacked intent during the recently concluded five-match one-day series against England Women and called on more players to contribute towards the team success.
The Caribbean side went down by five wickets in the final game at Sabina Park on Wednesday to concede the series 3-2.
“I don’t think we fought the fight we would’ve actually wanted. We knew these points [in the ICC Women’s Championship] were actually crucial and I don’t think we had the intention,” Taylor said in a frank assessment of her side’s performance.
“England performed like they are the ones playing at home, so I didn’t think we made our presence felt, and we kind of fell down there.”
She added: “As players, we need to take a lot more responsibility for our actions and not leave it up to one or two people.”
West Indies Women twice came back, after trailing in the series, to level at 2-2, heading into the final game. They suffered a narrow five-run defeat in the opener in Trelawny, but won the second game at the same venue when they clinched a dramatic 38-run victory.
When the series moved to Sabina Park for the three all-important ICC Women’s Championship games, England Women drew first blood with a convincing 112-run win before West Indies squared the series with a 42-run verdict in the fourth ODI.
BATTING BRITTLE
While Taylor shone with three half-centuries, the home side’s batting proved brittle throughout, and the 25-year-old Jamaican said this was an area that required attention.
“I definitely think our batting is one of the weakest points. If you look back at Trelawny, we fell down a few times down there, and even coming here, we batted first and just one time got over 200 runs,” she pointed out.
“So when you look at it, I think it’s kind of poor, seeing that you are playing at home. You actually want to dominate when you’re at home, and I don’t think we do so.”
Other than Taylor, no other player managed to pass 50. Leading players like Deandra Dottin finished with 102 runs from her five outings, while the seasoned former captain Merissa Aguilleira could only muster 43 runs from her four trips to the crease.
Twenty20 World Cup star teenager Hayley Matthews also failed to get among the runs, with 76 from five innings.
“From the World Cup, the expectations for Matthews were quite high. I know that she believes she’s not giving [what is] expected, but I think she’s still young and has a lot to learn,” Taylor said.
“I do think, for Merissa, you need more consistency. She’s one of those players that has been doing well for us.”
Wednesday’s final game highlighted the Windies Women’s batting problems. Opting to take first knock, they were dismissed for 155 in the 48th over, leaving England Women with an uncomplicated target.
Taylor said the defeat had been a failure of application.
“I do think if we had aimed for 190-plus, we could have changed the game,” she noted.
“I don’t think the intention was actually there, but I don’t think the surface made much of a difference. I think it was quite similar [to the others], a good batting pitch. It was just for us to apply ourselves.”
