West Indies Women Announce Squad Changes for White-Ball Series Against Bangladesh Starting January 19

West Indies Women have called up fast bowling allrounder Cherry Fraser and fast bowler Jannillea Glasgow for their upcoming white ball series against Bangladesh which begins on January 19.

Fast bowler Shamilia Connell and middle-order batter Rashada Williams are the two players to be dropped from West Indies’ squad which toured India while the hosts will also be without former captain Stafanie Taylor who is still recovering from a knee injury.

The tour schedule contains three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and three T20 Internationals (T20Is), all of which will be played at Warner Park in Basseterre and will be Bangladesh’s women first in the Caribbean.

Head Coach Shane Deitz underscored the importance of this series as the Women in Maroon target a series victory to bolster their qualification campaign for this year’s ODI World Cup. He believes this series will be a good indicator for their readiness for what awaits them.

“Bangladesh’s visit comes at an ideal time in our preparation cycle. They’re a skilled unit that has shown impressive growth, and this series gives us an excellent opportunity to examine our squad depth and continue to implement our aggressive, flamboyant brand of West Indian cricket,” Deitz said.

He also emphasised the opportunity to test the team’s progress under challenging conditions.

“We have been focusing on specific areas of improvement in our training and touring, and these matches will help us gauge our progress. The conditions at Warner Park will challenge both teams and make for compelling cricket. I’m looking forward to seeing how some of our younger and less-experienced players respond to the test,” he added.

After losing last month’s ODI series in India, the Women in Maroon sit ninth in the ten team ICC Women’s Championship, having played 21 matches and lost 13 matches. That means that they have advanced to the World Cup Qualifier stage for teams placed from 7 to 10.

West Indies Women will be joined by Pakistan Women who are eighth, Ireland Women who are ninth as well as Scotland Women and Thailand Women. Upcoming opponents Bangladesh can qualify for the World Cup outright if they win this series as it would lift them from seventh to sixth. However a series loss for the visitors against West Indies could see them drop into the qualifiers as well.

The two sides last faced each other on 10 October 2024 during the group stage of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, where the West Indies Women secured a convincing eight-wicket victory at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Their most recent ODI encounter was on 18 March 2022 in New Zealand, with the West Indies narrowly prevailing by four runs.