KINGSTON, Jamaica, (CMC) – Stafanie Taylor said Jamaica were undaunted by the challenge of being hosts and seeking to win the inaugural Regional Women’s Twenty20 Tournament, which opens today here. The Jamaica captain said there was little or no pressure on her side and she was looking forward to the home support, helping them to excel.
Jamaica, last year’s Regional Women’s Super50 champions, face St. Lucia in the first round at Kensington Park in the island’s capital, after favourites Trinidad & Tobago meet St. Vincent & the Grenadines a few hours earlier at the same venue.
Guyana play Grenada in the morning fixture at Chedwin Park just outside the capital, where Barbados tackle St. Lucia in the second match.
“I think we will have plenty support and the girls support me 100 per cent, so I think this will be good for us and we are looking forward to the tournament,” she said.
“We start our preparations late, but I think the girls look really good, even though we did not have plenty of time leading into the tournament.”
Taylor added: “I think Shanel (Daley), knowing that she is the vice captain and she has been doing exceptionally well for West Indies Women, will be looking to continue her good performance.
Vanessa Watts and Carla Cohen are two other players that we can depend on, and our young wicketkeeper Natasha McLean is someone that I think the eyes of the World will soon be upon, so there are a lot of players that we can depend upon.”
Taylor conceded that T&T, the team her side beat last year to win the Super50, was the main threat to Jamaica in the tournament.
“T&T are the side that have the most West Indies Women’s players and knowing that Deandra Dottin, Merissa Aguilleira and Anisa Mohammed are in their side, so our match against them will be a very important game when it comes,” she said.
Jamaica is hosting a major women’s cricket event for the first time and many of the players are looking forward to this new experience – and Taylor has urged her compatriots to come support the tournament.
“They know what we are capable of doing,” she said. “They have been hearing about it, but they have not been seeing it, so now they have a chance to come out and see what we women can do.”
With the tournament falling about a month before the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka, Taylor said she will be using the tournament to fine tune her preparations and will also be looking to enhance reputation as the No.1 player in the World.
“There is a lot of support for me in the team and this is what I need so that I can go out there and play my own game,” she said.
“There are also a lot of people that want to see me play, so I want to perform not only for the team, but for the fans who will come out and support us.”
The RWT20 will comprise seven rounds of preliminary matches, leading into a full slate of playoffs for positions from Champions to eighth place.