West Indies WOMEN CRICKETERS – Dream to sit at the Summit

Jamaican Stafanie Taylor has been the catalyst for West Indies women’s cricket for the last three years. In 2011 and 2012, she copped the International Cricket Council (ICC) ‘Women’s Cricketer of the Year’ award; however, in 2013, the hat-trick couldn’t be completed. That year, the award was split, with ‘ODI Cricketer of the Year’ going to New Zealand’s Suzie Bates, and the Twenty20 (T20) equivalent going to England’s Sarah Taylor.

The Jamaican was expected to notch at least one of the trophies when, in 2013, the ICC ranked her as #2 women’s ODI batsman; she was also ranked as #1 women’s ODI bowler, all-rounder and T20 batsman. To complement her accomplishments, she ranked as #6 women’s T20 bowler, and cemented her spot as #1 women’s T20 all-rounder in the game.

You win some and you lose some. I’ll just keep playing at the top of my game to try to ensure West Indies Women’s cricket moves forward.

Despite these accolades, Taylor brushed off the trophy-losses and vowed to move on. “You win some and you lose some. I’ll just keep playing at the top of my game to try to ensure West Indies Women’s cricket moves forward.” After hosting England and New Zealand in the Caribbean last year, the West Indies couldn’t dissolve the bitter aftertaste of February 2013, when Taylor and company fell in the World Cup finals to Australia by 114 runs. “We’re looking to put the past behind and move on. 2014 will be a bigger year for the West Indies Women. We’ve shown in the past that we have got what it takes to be at the top,” Taylor added.

Fellow Jamaican, Shanel Daley, and Bajan-born, Deandra Dottin, were also nominated in the T20 category, but like Taylor, went home empty-handed. Daley finished the year #3 in T20 bowling and as the #3 T20 all-rounder in the world. She ended the ODI rankings #4 in bowling and #5 in batting so the statistics show that she boasts a formidable record – one which assures her many rivals for silverware in 2014. Dottin ended as the #2 ODI all-rounder in the rankings but will be unavailable this year as Taylor looks to propel the team forward. “We’re almost there. It’s time West Indies took over as the top team in Women’s cricket,” Daley said. She backed Taylor and echoed her countryman’s sentiments vehemently. As long as these players continue in this vein, that dream to sit at the summit seems set in stone to be a reality.

About the author

RENALDO MATADEEN is a 28 year-old sportswriter for ESPN Cricinfo and a social media manager with ESPN Caribbean. He has worked as a chemical engineer by practice, and also as a journalist for local newspapers. He is a lead writer at ESPN PR, music journalist at Punknews, as well as a writer at Comic Book Resources. With advertising agency experience in digital, social media, brand strategy and copy-writing, Renaldo is currently tailoring creative and business endeavors to publish graphic novels, films and socio-political documentaries to highlight the gem that is the region.