West Indies women have named a fit-again Hayley Matthews and left-arm pace-bowling allrounder Stacy-Ann King in the 14-member squad that will tour Ireland and England in May-June.
Offspinner Anisa Mohammed, who was part of the squads that toured Pakistan and the UAE for the limited-overs series against the former, has been dropped alongside wicketkeeper-batsman Merissa Aguilleira, who had led the T20I side in Karachi in designated captain Stafanie Taylor’s absence.
Matthews returns to the national fold after missing both series against Pakistan with an injured medial collateral ligament that she had sustained while playing for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Women’s Big Bash League last December. She has been named deputy to captain Taylor. King, meanwhile, last played for West Indies in 2016 at the World T20 final against Australia in Kolkata.
Interim chairman of selectors Robert Haynes said: “Stacy Ann King’s return to the West Indies Women’s team to tour Ireland and England is no real surprise after her performance during the recently concluded Colonial Medical Insurance Women’s Super50 Cup and CWI’s T20 Blaze tournaments. Her experience is very vital in this very crucial series against England, a series that we must win, so her ability to bowl good left arm swing will be an added dimension to our bowling attack.
“Anisa Mohammed and Merissa Aguilleira’s performances in the recent women’s championships weren’t what we expected or how we wanted them to perform, so unfortunately they were not picked on this touring squad. There are other ladies who are vying for these coveted spots, we have three other wicketkeepers who have all been scoring consistently thereby outperforming Merissa.”
The fourteen-member squad along with six reserve players will assemble in Antigua from May 6 to 20 for a training camp, before the touring party’s departure to Ireland on May 21. They will play in three T20Is, on May 26, 28 and 29 there before taking on England in three ODIs as part of the ICC Women’s Championships, on June 6, 9 and 13. West Indies will round out the tour with three T20Is against England, to be played on June 18, 21 and 25.
West Indies are currently ranked sixth and fourth on the ICC ODI and T20I team rankings, and occupy the seventh spot on the eight-team ICC Women’s Championship table. In their most recent international outings, they had won the T20I series 2-1 against Pakistan, in Karachi, but lost the subsequent ODIs 1-2.
Squad: Stafanie Taylor (capt), Hayley Matthews (vice-capt), Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Karishma Ramharack, Chedean Nation, Chinelle Henry, Kycia Knight, Kyshona Knight, Shakera Selman, Shamilia Connell, Shemaine Campbell, Natasha McLean, Stacy Ann King
Reserves: Shabika Gajnabi, Sheneta Grimmond, Reniece Boyce, Britney Cooper, Shanika Bruce, Shawnisha Hector