NEW YORK, USA (CMC) – West Indies legends Brian Lara and Clive Lloyd are backing the West Indies Women to defend their ICC Women’s World T20 title when the competition bowls off in the Caribbean on November 9.

In the last tournament in 2016, the Windies women defeated Australia by eight wickets to claim their first-ever title.

Speaking at a recent gala to mark part of the ICC Cricket World Cup trophy tour, the two former West Indies captains both said they believed the regional team had the quality of players to repeat as champions.

“This will be a special tournament for the team and for all the people of the West Indies. I’m thrilled that we are hosting another world event in our side of the world – that last one was in 2010 – so it’s great to see the cricket world focusing on the Caribbean again,” Lara said.

“I remember the celebration we had back in 2016 when the Under-19s won the World Cup, the Ladies won the World T20 and the Men won the T20 as well. We had a great run on all levels of the game and I believe they can pull it off again.”

Lloyd said it would be extremely special if the Windies could lift the trophy in front of their home crowd.

“This will be a wonderful tournament and we hope to see the best players in the women’s game show what they are capable of. I was there back in 2016 when we won both events (women’s and men’s) and it was a really great occasion.

“The West Indies have paid very close attention to their preparation again, this time around, with camps focusing on specific areas where they need in order to win again. I can see them doing very well. I want to wish Stafanie Taylor and her team all the best. It’s always great to win for the first time, but it would be superb to defend the title on home soil,” Lloyd maintained.

The event will be the sixth edition of the ICC Women’s World T20 and the second time it is being hosted in the Caribbean. The tournament will feature the best 10 teams in the world. Defending champions Windies Women are in Group A along with Bangladesh, England, South Africa and Sri Lanka, while Australia, India, Ireland, New Zealand and Pakistan form Group B.