ST. JOHN’S, Antigua– Experienced wicketkeeper-batsman Natasha McLean and right-arm off-break bowler Sheneta Grimmond have returned to the West Indies Women’s team as part of the 17-member provisional squad announced by Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Monday for the upcoming three-match ODI series against New Zealand, on the back of impressive performances in two recent tournaments.
CWI said selectors considered performances in the Skyexch 6ixty and the Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) tournaments in deciding who would be part of the Hayley Matthews-led squad for the September 16-22 series at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
“With a few senior players unavailable at this time, for different reasons, like the experienced Anisa Mohammed, Kycia Knight, and recently retired Deandra Dottin, the selectors were still able to get a blend of senior and developing players, including Under-19 player Jannillea Glasgow and returning players Natasha McLean and Sheneta Grimmond,” said CWI’s Lead Selector for women’s cricket, Ann Browne-John. “Ultimately, we believe that captain Hayley Matthews, in her first series, will have a promising squad of players to start building with.”
McLean, 27, who made her West Indies debut in 2012, last played for West Indies in September 2020 when the Caribbean women played England Women in a T20I series. Her last ODI match was against India Women a year prior, in November 2019.
The Jamaican was also part of the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) team in the Skyexch 6ixty and the WCPL. West Indies off-spinner and fellow TKR player Mohammed, who recently announced she was taking a six-month leave of absence from international cricket, had said after her franchise’s WCPL victory that she was impressed by both performances of McLean and 24-year-old Grimmond. They made her West Indies debut in 2019.
Meantime, Mandy Mangru and Kaysia Schultz have also joined the players in Antigua for a ten-day training camp led by Head Coach Courtney Walsh.
Browne-John said the New Zealand series in which the teams will play three CG United One Day Internationals (ODIs) is essential.
“….Not only because it starts a new cycle, but also because it is part of the preparation leading towards the T20 World Cup in South Africa,” she explained.
A match-day squad of 13 players will be selected for each CG United ODI.
For the CG United ODI Series, West Indies will be looking to build on the progress after reaching the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year.
The team will then look to the five-match T20 Internationals series from September 25 to October 6 to prepare for the January 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa.
FULL SQUAD: Hayley Matthews (captain), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Afy Fletcher, Cherry Ann Fraser, Shabika Gajnabi, Jannillea Glasgow, Sheneta Grimmond, Chinelle Henry, Kyshona Knight, Natasha McLean, Chedean Nation, Karishma Ramharack, Shakera Selman, Stafanie Taylor, Rashada Williams.
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