Less than two months to go for the 2021 Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier, and West Indies find themselves staring down at the barrel. Only 3 teams out of the 10 competing will make it through to the main event.
While realistically, you’d expect them to make it to the top 3 and qualify, one cannot underestimate what teams like Bangladesh & Thailand could bring to the table.
This year’s 10 ODI games for West Indies revealed a plethora of problems that could cost them games against the stronger opponents. They might as well get away with it in the Qualifier, but facing the big teams in the main event will be a different proposition altogether.
In this piece, I have identified their major problems and backed it up with the relevant data. It also contains the corrective measures that they need to undertake in order to compete with the top brass.
SQUAD
WI-W used a total of 20 players across these 10 games and that’s totally fine considering that they are still searching for the right set of bowlers and batters in certain positions.
CLASSIFICATION OF BOWLERS USED
However, when you look at the classification of the bowlers out of those 20 players used, it paints a pretty questionable picture.
Hayley Matthews, Stafanie Taylor, & Anisa Mohammed will be a regular fixture in any game. This means WI-W will always have 3 RAOs in their side. These are 3 quality RAOs and hence it begs the question – Do they need more in their XI?
Make no mistake, I was very impressed with Sheneta Grimmond & Karishma Ramharack. But, they already have 3 regulars in the side doing the same job, so why not target variety?
Ramharack, in particular, was a very unique bowled in my opinion. Just like Anisa, her bowling was still different than those orthodox RAOs. Despite the stats not favoring her, I can see why she should be the next RAO in the time when the space is empty.
At the moment though, WI-W needs to bring back Afy Fletcher or Shaquana Quintyne to the side for a much-needed variety.
Key takeaway: Target variety in the spin attack. No point having so many RAOs. They won’t get to contribute many overs in the presence of their top 3 spinners.
PERFORMANCE – BOWLING
WI-W were short of an SLAO too. It was only for the RSA series that they included Qiana Joseph, who turned out to be very impressive.
But, I’d like to shed some light on the pacers via the table below. The experienced duo of Shamilia Connell & Shakera Selman found it hard to pick wickets. This led to more new pacers entering the picture frame. Basis – LA games against PAK-A?
When you look at those stats against PAK-A, they weren’t impressive either. But, what choice do WI-W have? It seemed more like a case of picking players who were on the wicket-takers list in those LA games despite the poor returns.
Now, let’s have a look at the Pace vs. Spin stats. Again, the struggle in their pace department is very obvious thus justifying the 8 different pacers they used in a short span.
Also, look at the figures for the spinners. 39 wickets out of which 32 were shared by Matthews, Anisa, Qiana, & Stafanie. They bowled nearly 84% of the overs, so thus making more RAOs in the side completely pointless at this point.
Mind you, one doesn’t need so many finger spinners when playing in New Zealand, which is the host venue for the main event in 2022.
Key takeaway: Pick the right set of pacers & back them.
PP BOWLING
10 games, 100 overs of PP and just 7 wickets! Such have been the woes for the WI-W. Selman was impressive though, but wickets didn’t come. As a pacer, it’s a mighty good effort to bowl 30 overs and concede runs at only 2.9 per over.
Connell struggled, but there’s a solution. She is a fantastic pacer and the quickest in the team. With an express pacer, you always run a risk of conceding runs at a hemorrhaging rate. It’s a risk and reward thing.
With Connell operating in the PP, she’ll leak runs. Instead, she’d be better of bowling after the PP once the field is spread out and she has extra protection. I am confident of this move working & she should be able to take some crucial wickets in the middle overs.
Possible fix: Selman has proved herself to be economical, so she should bowl 5 of those 10 overs.
They have 3 RAOs as mentioned earlier. This allows them to spread out these 3 spinners across phases. Matthews has proven herself to be a very good PP option. So, despite this being a funky move, it’s worth trying out the RAP/RAO option with the new ball. Let Matthews bowl 3 overs & give the other 2 to Anisa.
Anisa is a little different to Matthews & those 2 overs could also prove to be vital from her.
Key takeaway: PP (10) – Selman (5) + Matthews (3) + Anisa (2) | Connell (Post-PP)
THE SLOW & STEADY DOES NOT WIN THE RACE
Now, their biggest issue! Their approach with the bat has been gobsmacking. It seems the plan has been to just bat out the 50 overs and get to a score of 200.
Does it work? No. Will it work against good opponents? No. Look at their scores at the 20-over mark in each game barring those ones where they were chasing a low total.
Or, look at the score at the 20-over mark when they batted first. All they have managed are scores ranging from 53-74 & that’s ridiculously low. This can be validated by the fact that they were bundled out on each occasion for a low score.
The onus on Matthews has been immense to keep the scoring rate up, but even she was suckered into playing a defensive game eventually in what looked like a premeditated team plan.
TO BEAT THE BEST, YOU’VE GOT TO PLAY LIKE THE BEST! The current plan will not reap dividend against top sides and the losses will keep coming.
Key takeaway: West Indies-W are the T20 champions! They are known to be aggressive and lethal with the bat & ball. The players they have possess the capability of playing the brand of cricket that they have played. What stops them?
THE SLOW AGGRESSORS
When you have a set plan which forces the aggressive batters play defensively, it’s bound to go wrong.
Look at the SR of Matthews & Dottin. They’ve taken a hit! Two batters who are immensely capable of winning it single-handedly have SR in the 60s with a high dot ball%.
I wouldn’t bother about a high dot ball%. For example: If a player had a dot ball% of 70, but an SR of 85, I’d happily take it in women’s cricket. It means she is capable of hitting the boundaries or rotating the strike often. Stafanie Taylor is the only batter who comes close to his criteria & it shows why she’s a legend.
Rashada Williams has grabbed the opportunities really well. This pretty much means that Chedean Nation has to be left out now. Even if Rashada wouldn’t have delivered, I’d have still had the same opinion of Chedean. The returns of 171 runs | Avg. – 11.3 | SR – 46 | DB% – 71 will not help you to remain a part in any team.
Key takeaway: Let the aggressive batters play their natural game.
MY SQUAD FOR THE WWC QUALIFIER
- Stafanie Taylor
- Hayley Matthews
- Deandra Dottin
- Shakera Selman
- Anisa Mohammed
- Britney Cooper: Long levers, classy striking.
- Kyshona Knight
- Kycia Knight
- Rashada Williams
- Shaquana Quintyne: Got to call her back. Too good to be left out!
- Shamilia Connell: X-factor
- Qiana Joseph: SLAO variety
- Shemaine Campbelle: You have to be joking if you leave out a talented 28-year old who has done reasonably well. She made her debut in 2009 and WI are in a need for experience.
- Natasha McLean: Here is my player who will ensure that WI do not bat slowly. A proper dasher like Britney Cooper & Deandra Dottin. She’s the one who will find you the boundaries.
- Erva Giddings (LAP)/Zaida James (SLAO): Pick an LAP, please! They have an option of a 35-year old medium pacer who gets the bowl to absolutely hoop like no one else. She did represent WI a few years back and never found her in the side again despite bowling 10 overs for just 22 runs in the two games with the wicket of Lauren Winfield-Hill. Or, they can go for a young SLAO option in Zaida James.
The reason why I only have 4 RAPs is because Dottin is also a regular feature in the side. She will give you 5-6 overs too. The squad above covers all varieties and provides a fine balance.
Caneisha Isaac – Bowls good lengths & can be quick & accurate
Afy Fletcher – Proven player
Steffie Soogrim – Backup to Qiana. She was the leading wicket-taker in the Courts T20, a competition in which Matthews was the leading run-scorer. Young & worth the investment.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I only covered the major issues and there is a lot more I can point out. In terms of the in-game tactics, several things can be done differently in order to succeed.
This team is no hogwash. They are capable players & are the T20 champions. They have the ability to strike the ball cleanly.
They just need to plan better and play their natural game. Use the data if need be, or just change the tactics which are not working. But, they have to do it quickly as the time is not on their side with the qualifier being just 2 months away and the main event being next year.
Cricket Strategist 