POTCHEFSTROOM, South Africa –West Indies Women’s Rising Stars are excited and ready for their opening match against Ireland in the ICC Women’s U19 World Cup at North-West University Oval in Potchefstroom on Sunday 15, January. First ball is 10am (4am Eastern Caribbean/3am Jamaica).
Captain Ashmini Munisar said:
“Being the first official match of the tournament for us, there is excitement and of course there are some nerves involved as we’re on the big stage. I know that the players are going through their mental scenarios to be prepared. We also had a top-up training session to fine-tune our preparations.”
West Indies enter the match in good spirits following their warm-up win against Zimbabwe by six wickets.
Munisar added:
“Everyone is in a cheery mood and we’re all supporting each other and looking forward to the first match. The win against Zimbabwe definitely boosted our confidence. We had a number of people contributing to the win and we are going to use that momentum and execution and work it into our group stage matches, with hopefully the same result.”
She added that the team has adapted very quickly to the time difference and conditions in South Africa.
“We adapted better than we did during our last tour to India. The pitches here have much more bounce and are quicker than what we’re accustomed too. I want to use my skills as one of the main bowlers to put my team in a position to win. We want to perform as best as we can, and our focus is to finish in the top two in our group and then refocus on the knockout stages.”
The 16 participating teams will play in four groups in the preliminary round. West Indies have been drawn in Group C alongside New Zealand, Ireland, and Indonesia.
FULL SQUAD
- Ashmini Munisar (captain)
- Asabi Callender
- Jahzara Claxton
- NaiJanni Cumberbatch
- Earnisha Fontaine
- Jannillea Glasgow
- Realeanna Grimmond
- Trishan Holder
- Zaida James
- Djenaba Joseph
- K D Jazz Mitchell
- Shalini Samaroo
- Shunelle Sawh
- Lena Scott
- Abini St Jean
GROUPS
Group A: Australia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, USA
Group B: England, Pakistan, Rwanda, Zimbabwe
Group C: Indonesia, Ireland, New Zealand, West Indies
Group D: India, Scotland, South Africa, UAE
GROUP C – WEST INDIES MATCH SCHEDULE
Sunday January 15: vs Ireland at NW University, Potchefstroom – 4am Eastern Caribbean/3am Jamaica
Tuesday January 17: vs Indonesia at NW University, Potchefstroom – 7:45am Eastern Caribbean/6:45am Jamaica
Thursday January 19: vs New Zealand, JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom – 7:45am Eastern Caribbean/6:45am Jamaica
Full tournament schedule here
-CWI