Veteran all-rounder Staffani Taylor has been called up to the 16-man West Indies squad for the T20I Tri Series in South Africa. The series, which also features India, serves as a prequel to his T20 World Cup, which starts on February 10th.
Taylor, 31, was injured in his ODI against New Zealand at North His Sound in September. She then missed the entire home series against England, which swept the visitors, partly due to a series of poor performances with the West Indies racket. To strengthen her seemingly weak arm, the West Indies also signed intermediate bat Britney Cooper, who made her last West Indies appearance in September 2021.
“Our batting in the most recent series was less than par against a very good England bowling attack. We believe that with the return of some experienced batters, they will be able to support captain Hayley Matthews at the top of the order,” lead selector Ann Browne-John said.
“The team had commendable performances [during the four ODIs] in South Africa in early 2022, and we know that the entire team will be drawing on that experience as they take on the home team and India in this tri-Series and then potentially again at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup also in South Africa.”
West Indies will also welcome back experience in the fast bowling department with Shamilia Connell and Shakera Selman having shrugged off minor injuries to make the squad. The tri-series will run from January 19 to February 2.
West Indies, who are drawn in Group 2 alongside England, India, Pakistan and Ireland for the T20 World Cup, will begin their quest for a second title on February 11 against England in Paarl.