vinode.mamchan@guardian.co.tt
After all the talk about rain and all the focus off the field, the Windies women will turn their attention to South Africa today, when they meet in their second match of the ICC Women's World Cup T20 at the Darren Sammy International cricket ground in Gros Islet, St Lucia.
The Windies and South Africa have two points each after winning their opening matches. The Windies got home easily against Bangladesh in their first encounter with the bowlers shining. South Africa also took care of Sri Lanka by seven wickets at Gros Islet.
England leads the standings with three points from two matches, as their opening game against the Sri Lankans was rained off. Whoever wins tonight will go to the top of the standings in Group A. With only two teams advancing to the next phase of the tournament, every game is crucial and the Windies will be looking to improve in the batting department in order to post a good score against the South Africans.
Both teams will know a lot about each other, as they recently played an ODI and T20 series in the Caribbean. Both series ended in 2-2 results with one match each being washed out. The Windies Women have been focussing on their batting since arriving in St. Lucia and more than likely they are to tinker with their batting line up again. Natasha McLean who normally opens the batting was used down the order in the first game in Guyana but she is likely to be sent back to her original position for today's contest. She was the most consistent batter in the series against the South Africans and she will be looking to continue in that same way when both teams renew their rivalry.
Windies captain Stephanie Taylor is looking for a better showing with the bat: “We didn’t have the best of time with the bat in Guyana but we are looking to improve on that. This pitch here is better for batting with the ball coming on a lot more and we are hoping to all put in a great effort to get good scores. A win in this game is crucial for us as it would set us up nicely moving further and we are ready for action.”
From all reports, the weather which has been very unkind to the tournament so far, is expected to hold for the better part of the day. By midday, there should be fine weather, so the clash with starts late in the evening, at 8 pm should not be hampered in any way.
The people here have not shown great excitement at a world event in their backyards so far, but with the Windies playing tonight, they are expected to come out in their numbers to cheer on the home team.
In the first match the programme's double-header, Bangladesh will come up against Sri Lanka from 4 pm.
Latest Group A Standings
TEAM*M*W*L*T*P*NRR
1. England-W*2*1*0*0*3*2.799
2. West Indies-W*1*1*0*0*2*3
3. South Africa-W*1*1*0*0*2*0.564
4. Sri Lanka-W*2*0*1*0*1*-0.564
5. Bangladesh-W*2*0*2*0*0*-2.735