By Colin Bynoe jr

ERVA Giddings, who began playing cricket in 2007 for the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, was initially named in the West Indies squad for the Pakistan tour in 2008 to play against the Pakistan women’s cricket team. The tour was later cancelled due to security concerns.

Fast forward eight years and she made her One Day International (ODI) debut in 2016 against the mighty England women’s cricket team in a five-match ODI series in which she featured in two games, taking one wicket (1/7).

For reasons unknown, Erva Minerva Giddings has been overlooked for selection in ODIs and T20 internationals for Cricket West Indies Female Teams.

Notwithstanding, Giddings has been a consistent performer for the Guyana female team over the years; she continued to argue the case recently in the Colonial Medical Insurance Women’s Super50 Cup, being the leading quick with a tally of 10 wickets. She also sent a strong message to the selectors in the Women’s T20 Blaze with 10 wickets.

Giddings, who is a quality left-arm seam bowler, showed her worth in the women’s T20 Blaze where she ended the tournament with 10 scalps, one less than the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, Hayley Matthews, who is an off-spinner. Her excellent performance came from five matches with an average of 7.9 and a miserly economy rate of 4.65 runs per over. Also, her efforts were rewarded with three consecutive player-of-the-match honours. Meanwhile, Giddings demonstrated that she can hold her own with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 34 not out against Trinidad in the Colonial Medical Insurance Women’s Super50 Cup.

Giddings recall will add precious value and a tad of variation to the Women’s unit with the likes of Shakera Selman and Shamilia Connell, who would normally share the new ball.
Despite approaching the winter of her career at 33 years old, Giddings is still a major force to reckon with. She takes early wickets and, with suitable conditions, swings the ball. Time will tell if her performance had an impact on the selectors and will stake a claim for her recall.