West Indies skipper Merrisa Aguilleira has sounded a warning a day before they kick-off their ICC Women’s World Cup campaign against the India.
“We’re ready for India,” the opening batswoman, before adding, ”Both teams have been playing pretty well and we’re not underestimating any side. But we’re raring for tomorrow’s game.”
At this rate, it won’t be easy for India despite home advantage. The fact that the Windies won the bilateral series against India last year may also play on the mind of the hosts.
“Definitely, the tournament in West Indies was a good one and was well fought by both teams. I think the team has been performing very well. They have developed and played a lot of cricket. Now we have to carry that on and stick to the basics,” the 27-year-old said.
The West Indies Women’s team warms up ahead of tomorrow’s opening World Cup game. PTI
She may sound very confident, but is also wary of the threats that India pose: “They are a great team. Mithali and Jhulan Goswami are both very good leaders. India have the ability to win this World Cup, but you can’t underestimate the other teams too.”
West Indies have already played five games under the new ODI rules and even though Aguilleira wouldn’t divulge any team selection information, she said that their main strength was the five spinners in the squad.
“Five spinners have worked very well for us but we want to have an impact team for tomorrow. We know we can play spinners in india but we’ll look at the pitch before we put up team.”
Aguilleira dismissed any suggestions that the format was too long, saying that eliminating just one team from the group stages meant that those who got through could play more cricket, “I like this format and the ICC made a good decision to eliminate just one team from group stages. It means we can play a lot more cricket.”
The men’s team has slowly started to build up consistency, and Aguilleira said that this drove forward the women’s setup too: “Both teams have a fantastic relation. Darren Sammy sent us best wishes for the tournament and we hope to do as well as them.”
When not talking about cricket, Merrisa is a chirpy character and the part-time hairdresser also said that a lot of the team members come to her for suggestions on how to style their locks: “Of course I’ve been asked to give a haircut a lot of times.”
After last year’s World T20 triumph for the men’s team, we saw Chris Gayle break into the Gangnam style dance, but Merrisa said that one should not expect women’s cricket team to do a similar celebration.
Instead, they have their own unique celebration.
“We have a lot of players who can do the Gangnam style, but we have our own celebration!” Aguilleira said on being asked who would be the first person to break into the popular dance style if they won their games.
