West Indies Women Squad for Tour to Australia Includes 'Rising Stars' Players

Four of the ‘Rising Stars’ will be included in the West Indies Women squad for the tour to Australia in October.

Ashmini Munisar, Djenaba Joseph, Zaida James, and Jannillea Glasgow will be amongst the squad that will face world champions Australia in three T20 Internationals and three One Day Internationals (ODI). The squad is unchanged from the one which beat Ireland Women 5-0 across three CG United ODI matches and two T20Is this summer.

Head Coach Shane Deitz who arrived in the West Indies at the end of August is the only new addition to the touring party. Prior to his public appointment on July 8th, Deitz was head coach of the Netherlands Women from March 2021 and under him, Netherlands Women regained One Day status. He replaces West Indies legend and cricketing icon Courtney Walsh whose contract was not renewed after a review of the team’s performance.

Lead Selector for Women’s cricket Ann Browne-John said “The selection panel has chosen to maintain most of the players who were victorious in the home series against Ireland. Jannillea Glasgow after having an outstanding Rising Stars Women’s Under 19 tournament has been included in the 15 member squad.”

She added “This team is one we believe will continue to build and develop as our game evolves in the rapidly growing landscape and high performance setting of women’s cricket. We have continued to place confidence in some of the developing players. This is a team we believe can produce competitive cricket against a top team like Australia, under the guidance of the new Head Coach and led by the captain Hayley Matthews who is enjoying a very productive 2023 thus far.”

The full squad is as follows: Hayley Matthews (captain), Shemaine Campbelle (vice-captain), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Afy Fletcher, Cherry Ann Fraser, Shabika Gajnabi,Jannillea Glasgow, Chinelle Henry, Zaida James, Djenaba Joseph, Ashmini Munisar, Karishma Ramharack, Stafanie Taylor, Rashada Williams.

The ODI series against Australia is West Indies’ fourth fixture in the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-2025 after New Zealand, England and Ireland. These three matches provide 9th place West Indies the opportunity to win valuable points to climb the Championship table which consists of ten teams.

After this series, the WI Women will have four three match ODI series to play over the next two years. At the end of the cycle, the top five teams in the ICC Women’s Championship table will book a place in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2025 as well as its hosts India. The others will have to go through the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

Full Match Schedule:

1st October: 1st T20I at North Sydney Oval, Sydney

2nd October: 2nd T20I at North Sydney Oval, Sydney (night)

5th October: 3rd T20I at Allan Border Field, Brisbane (night)

8th October: 1st ODI at Allan Border Field, Brisbane

12th October: 2nd ODI at Junction Oval, Melbourne