Gajnabi earns call-up in Windies Women squad

Anisa Mohammed has been included in the 13-member West Indies Women’s squad selected by Cricket West Indies’ (CWI’s) Interim Selection Panel to play the three-match Colonial Medical Insurance One Day International (ODI) Series against Australia, starting on September 5 in Antigua.

Anisa last played international cricket for the West Indies in the away tour against Pakistan in February. She is the fifth highest ODI wicket-taker in women’s cricket with 146 wickets, and brings a wealth of experience to the Stafanie Taylor-led team.
Currently ranked seventh in the ICC Women’s ODI Championship, the team will rely on its experienced players to fill the void left by Shakera Selman, Chedean Nation and Shemaine Campbelle, who have all been ruled out due to injury.
Kyshona Knight, also included in the squad, adds to that experience, having been a part of the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup-winning squad of 2016.
Nineteen-year-old Guyanese medium-pacer Shabika Gajnabi has, for the first time, been included in the West Indies Women’s Squad. As three-time captain of the Guyana Under-19 Girls team, Shabika brings a patient composure and strong arm to the squad. With a top score of 77 in the CWI Women’s Championship earlier this year and a handy economy rate, she gives Stafanie a bonus in both the batting and bowling lineups.
CWI’s Interim Chairman of Selectors, Robert Haynes, has offered his comments on the team’s selection. “The panel selected the best available players from the camp in Antigua over the last month. As a result of most of our senior players being unavailable due to injury, we have included Anisa Mohammed and Kyshona Knight, who have a lot of experience between them, which is required when playing against Australia, the top-ranked women’s team.”
Haynes added.
“As a result of the injuries to our senior players, it gave us the opportunity to select two of our younger players in Shabika Gajnabi and Karishma Ramharack, to give the captain more options in the bowling department.”
The West Indies Women will bowl off their home series against Australia in a day-night ODI at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua. The remaining two matches will be played at the Sir Vivian Richard Stadium before the tour moves to the Kensington Oval in Barbados for the three T20 Internationals. Tickets are priced at just US$4/EC$10.00 EC in Antigua or US$5/BD$10 for Barbados, to make it affordable for fans to come out and rally behind the West Indies Women. Tickets are available to buy online from Saturday 24 August via the Buy Tickets button on www.windiescricket.com.
Local box offices at the stadia will be open from September 3 in Antigua and in Barbados from September 12.
FULL SQUAD: Stafanie Taylor (Captain), Hayley Matthews (Vice-Captain), Reniece Boyce, Afy Fletcher, Chinelle Henry, Shamilia Connell, Stacy Ann King, Natasha McLean, Kycia Knight, Kyshona Knight, Anisa Mohammed, Karishma Ramharack and Shabika Gajnabi. (Excerpted from CWI)