West Indies Women begin their campaign hoping to recapture the glory of their 2016 title. Skipper Hayley Matthews remains the heart of the side, with 209 runs in her last five T20Is at a strike rate well above 130. Qiana Joseph can add pressure in the powerplay, Deandra Dottin hit 49 against India in a warm-up, and Stafanie Taylor made 169 in her last five innings against Sri Lanka.
With the ball, Chinelle Henry leads the pace attack, Afy Fletcher’s leg-spin brought 4/23 against India in the warm-up, and Matthews adds off-spin. They do need to tidy their fielding and avoid cheap dismissals in the powerplay if they want to challenge a team of New Zealand’s quality.
New Zealand, the defending champions, beat Bangladesh by 68 runs in a warm-up, with Melie Kerr unbeaten on 51 off 28. Devine, Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer (28 against Bangladesh) and Maddy Green provide a settled batting group. Jess Kerr has 13 wickets in her last ten matches at 6.81, Nensi Patel has conceded 3.83 an over in her last five, and Lea Tahuhu and Rosemary Mair add pace and bounce.
