Walsh grateful for Campbelle’s return to the squad

…expects Grimmond to perform to the best of her abilities

The West Indies Women are set to tour Pakistan for three (3) ODIs from 8 to 14 November. The ODIs are scheduled to be played at the National Stadium in Karachi.
The Windies Women last toured Pakistan in 2019, when they won their T20 series 2-1, and Deandra Dottin was the standout with the bat, scoring 158 runs at an average of 79.
In a media engagement, Head Coach Courtney Walsh has said he is particularly happy with the presence of Shemaine Campbelle in the line-up, as he welcomed her back into the fold. Walsh relayed that he is confident in the women in maroon as they aim to book their spot and secure one of three qualifying places for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand in February 2022.

Further, he reiterated that the team is not going to take anything for granted, but once they play the type of cricket they know they can play, their players will perform.
In terms of the preparation leading up into the series, and the role Sheneta Grimmond will play in the team, Walsh said, “It’s early to say. We have roles for everyone. We would like to play everyone and give everyone a chance to play as much as possible. As you know, we will be involved with the qualifiers, so we don’t go to the qualifiers with everyone short of match practice if ever called upon.
“She did well in the last game. That would have given her a lot of confidence, and we are expecting her to build from that and perform to the best of her abilities, once selected to play.”

In terms of preparation, Walsh feels that the team has had good preparation, and once the team has good practice, they will be in good stead. He also added that going to play in Pakistan is two-fold, and it is very important from a cricketing point of view, and it will give the ladies much added practice.
With Staphanie Taylor back in the fray, Walsh is confident there will be changes in the batting lineup, and he said he would be looking for the best combination that would win, because the more games they win, the easier it would become for them to get through to the qualifiers, that being the main objective.

“We will be looking at the bowling, and doing somethings in Pakistan to fine-tune it. Once we get to Zimbabwe, the bowling selection we will have to look at will be best selected for the suited condition. I cannot say what the changes will be, but I can say that there will be changes in both the batting and bowling. We have not started well in the first ten overs, so it is something we are going to be looking at to try and get better starts in that aspect of the game. At the beginning, we don’t get the starts we want to dominate or control the game, and because of that, we don’t close the game as we want to.”
Heading into the qualifiers, Walsh believes the Windies Women’s last chance at rolling the dice will be when they take on Pakistan, as it is a series they don’t want to lose. Nevertheless, he was mindful of the fact that it gives them the opportunity to look at the bowling and the batting as best as they can, and to win the series.
The West Indies Women arrived in Pakistan on 1 November, and will travel directly to Zimbabwe after the ODI Series for the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2021, to be played from 21 November to 5 December. Along with Pakistan, they will be one of ten teams aiming to secure one of three qualifying places for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand in February 2022.