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September 9, 2008

Posted by Nadine Geroge at 7:22 AM in Women's World Cup, 2009

From no cricket to World Cup

West Indies' inexperience showed up against England © Getty Images

The first West Indies women’s team tour in over three years was very rigorous and compact. We started the tour of Ireland, Netherlands and England with a training camp in Barbados where the players were made aware of the hard work ahead that will be required to be a member of the team.

Being the captain of a very young and inexperienced team had its challenges. Despite knowing and seeing the ladies perform at the regional level, I was not sure how they would have handled or coped with the international arena. With two whitewash series wins against Ireland and Netherland respectively I could not have asked for more. We had a disappointing loss against England where the inexperience of the team showed greatly.

The ladies proved they had the capability to adapt and take on the challenges and gain international experience. With such a young and inexperienced team I could not ask for anything more than the best of all members. The team showed depth in their game and made my job as captain that much easier. Bowlers and batsmen understood what their individual task was on the team. The team performed admirably throughout the tour. During the European tour our management team was able to assess the team and record areas of weaknesses to rectify before World Cup 2009.

With personal mixed performances the team on a whole performed beyond expectation. We now focus on the goal of achieving the momentous task of competing at the highest level at the 2009 World Cup. The new caps performed admirably and with more international matches and training I am sure the West Indies women will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. Recap players showed a level of experience and assisted in areas that their services were needed. Kudos for the technical team and their hard work and dedication to ensuring the tour was a success.

Qualifying for the World Cup was the main focus of the team. The team had not played any form of international cricket for over three years. Hopes of many players were shattered when the first tour (Sri Lanka) had fallen through. The team felt their hard work was in vain.

I received calls from team-mates asking about our standing for the World Cup 2009. With the West Indies Cricket Board coming onboard we were able to get the requisite matches to qualify.

Thank God for the new board’s commitment to women’s cricket. I wondered what would have happened if it had not come on board. We were struggling and the likelihood of not participating in the World Cup was imminent.

Having fears of not being able to compete would surely put a damper on dreams of players aspiring to playing at the highest level. The hard work of the 2005 team awarded them the fifth overall place and gave them a qualifying place for WC 2009. The idea that the team would not qualify because we did not play the required matches could not be fathomed.

To win the World Cup is a hard task for the team. We are definitely trying to catch up with the other teams who have qualified for the World Cup.

All those teams are competing on a regular basis and getting the necessary exposure and matches to facilitate their development.

The West Indies team is trying desperately to reach a certain standard. We are preparing for a tour to Asia (Pakistan and Sri Lanka) which would help in our preparation.

I am extremely happy we are getting tremendous assistance from the board and the team is looking forward to competing at the World Cup in Australia.

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The Contributors

Mithali Raj

Mithali Raj, India's former captain, has been on the international circuit for a decade. In August 2006, she led India to their first-ever Test and series win in England and capped off the year by winning the Asia Cup - the second time in 12 months - without dropping a game. India, under her captaincy, also reached the World Cup final in 2005. Now, as one of the senior members of the side, and the premier batsman, a lot will be riding on her for the two World Cups - 50-over and Twenty20 - that India will play in 2009.

Urooj Mumtaz

Urooj Mumtaz managed to juggle a course in dentistry along with captaining Pakistan. Their most recent triumph was qualifying for the World Cup next year and the 22-year old Urooj will lead a young team to Australia in hope of creating a favourable impression of the Pakistan women's team among the other sides as well as back home. A legspinner, she has a hat-trick against Zimbabwe.

Cri-zelda Brits

Cri-zelda Brits became South Africa’s captain at the age of 23, standing in for Shandre Fritze in the home series against Pakistan in 2007. She followed this by captaining the side to a 3-0 series whitewash against the Netherlands as well as winning the first-ever Test between the two sides by 159 runs. In 2008 she scored her maiden ODI hundred and led South Africa to a spot in the World Cup after beating Pakistan in the Qualifiers final in Stellenbosch. She also coaches the Northwest women's team, based in Potchefstroom, and runs her own academy.

Shelley Nitschke

Shelley Nitschke combines playing for Australia and her state with working in cricket, as a school officer. A useful spinner, her batting is also worth talking about – she has developed into a handy allrounder. Her major achievements to date are winning the 2005 World Cup, taking 7 for 24 against England in Kidderminster in 2005 and being nominated for the ICC Women's Player of the Year in 2006-07. Although she has played netball, softball and basketball, cricket has always been her stand-out sport.

Ebony Rainford-Brent

Ebony Rainford-Brent made history as one of eight England players to be handed a Chance to Shine coaching contract, allowing her flexibility around training. A top-order batsman, she fought back from what doctors thought was a career-killing back injury and could one day bowl again – calling her determined is an understatement. She is on the Surrey Academy and her Super 4s side is Diamonds. Proficient in basketball and athletics, she settled for playing cricket … and the drums.

Haidee Tiffen

Haidee Tiffen has played for New Zealand for more than ten years and is now their captain, having begun her career with Otago Under-21s before heading to Canterbury. She has played representational hockey, basketball and rugby – but cricket is her passion and won out over New Zealand junior hockey. She is particularly proud of winning the World Cup in 2000, reaching the 100-ODI milestone and being skipper. Her experience also includes playing for Sussex for two winters and she was also part of the first female academy in Lincoln. Somehow she also finds time to teach Health and PE at Hillmorton High School.

Isobel Joyce

Isobel Joyce,a class bat with a steely mentality, comes from a family full of cricketers - twin sister Cecilia plays alongside her for Ireland and brother Dom for the men’s national team, while another brother, Ed, plays for England and Middlesex. Her first half-century came against a strong New Zealand attack in Dublin in 2004 and her figures of 4 for 20 helped her side beat Scotland by six wickets in the European Championship in 2001, where Ireland won all their three matches. Her 46 against Netherlands in the summer of 2007 helped to maintain her place in the World Cup qualifiers in South Africa. She was in outstanding form with both and ball during the tournament, scoring 148 runs at 37 and taking 10 wickets at an average of 7. She ran out five Pakistani players in Ireland's first match, before earning two successive Player-of-the-Match awards against Scotland and then Zimbabwe, against whom she scored 70 and took 4 for 10. She was named captain for their next series, against West Indies, after Heather Whelan pulled out because she was expecting.

Nadine George

Nadine George has been a regular for West Indies since her debut in 1999. She first led the side on their tour of Europe in June-July 2008, when West Indies thrashed Ireland and Netherlands while putting up a respectable performance against England. Nadine combines playing for West Indies and her national team, St.Lucia, with her day job as a Sergeant in the Police Marine Unit of the Royal St.Lucia Police Force. A left-hand batsman and wicketkeeper, Nadine says the highlights of her career are receiving an MBE at Buckingham Palace in 2005, being the first West Indies woman cricketer to score a century in a Test (in Pakistan in 2004), playing in the World Cup in South Africa (2005), and playing club cricket in Australia in 2006. Nadine also plays netball and volleyball and loves the marine environment and is passionate about diving. She is a qualified open water diver and during her working hours captains a 65 and 82 ft vessel. Her motto in life is "with hard work and dedication one can achieve".

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