By Rajiv Bisnauth

THE West Indies Women’s team beat favourites Australia by eight wickets with three balls to spare in the ICC World T20 final in Kolkata, India, last Sunday.A bold team fought against all the odds to end a dominant Australian streak in the T20s. It is the West Indies Women’s maiden T20 title and first time beating Australia in the game’s shortest format.
Two Guyanese, Tremayne Smartt and Shemaine Campbelle, were a part of that historic achievement.
However, during separate interviews yesterday at an Appreciation Ceremony at the 704 Lounge, both players agreed that the win will definitely create some lasting memories.
“It’s a great feeling, words cannot explain, Smartt acknowledged.
She added: “Definitely it was a learning experience. Over the years we have just gone to the semi-finals, so we had to get that extra step. But having said that, we worked together as a team and we had a motto ‘Moving in Faith’, and that’s what helped us through”.
Campbelle pointed out that while the experience was a learning one, winning the World Cup makes it even more special.
“It’s a great feeling to be a part of history. Words cannot express the way I feel at this point in time, not just because we won the trophy but the support behind the entire team,” explained an elated Campbelle.
The West Indies are having a run of success this year which began with the U-19 team winning their World Cup tournament in February.
The men’s senior team are now the only team to win the ICC Twenty20 World Cup twice – having won the competition previously in 2012 – while the women’s team won the tournament for the first time – making West Indies the only team to have won both the men’s and women’s versions of the tournament simultaneously.