PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad – THE region’s best Under-19 women’s cricketers will assemble in Trinidad for the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Women’s U19s Rising Stars T20 Championship, with matches being played from today to July 13 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA) and the Diego Martin Sporting Complex (DMSC).

The six regional franchise teams will be participating, as well as the United States of America Women’s U19 team.

At the end of the tournament, a West Indies Women’s U19 Rising Stars squad will be selected for a proposed international U19 series against the United States in Lauderhill, Florida in early August. Additionally, players will be looking to put in strong performances in order to be considered for selection for the inaugural ICC Women’s U19 World Cup in South Africa, scheduled for January 2023.

Several of the franchise squads feature players who have had experience at the senior regional or international level. Trishan Holder and Naijanni Cumberbatch recently competed for Barbados in the T20 Blaze and CG United Super50 Cup, as well as Ashmini Munisar for Guyana and Djenaba Joseph for Trinidad & Tobago.

The Windward Islands are in a unique position as two of their players have been part of the West Indies Women’s Senior team and A teams in the past year. Jannellia Glasgow was a travelling reserve with the team to South Africa and the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, while skipper Zaida James was a member of the West Indies Women’s A Team that hosted Pakistan Women’s A team in 2021.

CWI’s Lead Selector for Women’s Cricket, Ann Browne-John said:
”The inaugural ICC U19 Women’s World Cup in South Africa 2023 is a significant global event in the continued pathway development of women’s cricket. This event will provide an opportunity for girls to develop and showcase their skills.

This year’s U19s Rising Stars tournament is an important step towards this goal. It will not only provide an opportunity for players to be part of West Indies Women’s history as we prepare for the World Cup, but also present a wider pool of Rising Stars to be developed to ensure a bright future for the senior West Indies Women’s team.”

Tournament Director and former West Indies Women’s captain Merissa Aguilleira said:
“This tournament is very important knowing that we have the first ever ICC Women’s U19 World Cup next year in South Africa to look forward to. Exposing this pool of players to the international level will feed into the senior players’ pool, which is currently small, ultimately leading to an improvement of competitiveness for spots on the West Indies Women’s team. The players are excited to start competition; they’ve been very enthusiastic about the tournament. The addition of Team USA will add healthy competition for the regional teams. I am happy to see USA cricket making this investment in women’s cricket and must commend CWI for inviting them as part of their continued wider long-term strategic partnership.”

USA Cricket Board Member and Women and Girls Committee Chair, Nadia Gruny said:
“We’re very excited that our U19s are a part of the U19 Rising Stars T20 Championship as part of our preparation for the first ever U19 Women’s World Cup in South Africa, which is only 6 months away now. We’re happy to continue building on our strong relationship with Cricket West Indies. Our USA men have enjoyed participation in CWI’s regional competitions in the past and we’re pleased that, for the very first time, we’re able to provide this opportunity to our young women at this time.”

The CWI Women’s U19s Rising Stars tournament is part of CWI’s “Summer of Cricket” featuring matches at all levels from June to September.

The event will see three matches per venue each day, at the Diego Martin Sporting Complex starting at 9:30am (8:30am Jamaica Time) and at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy starting at 10am (9am Jamaica Time) and 2:30pm (1:30pm Jamaica Time).

LIVE ball-by-ball scoring of each game will be available through the www.windiescricket.com match centre. CWI will be live streaming two featured matches per day via the Windies Cricket YouTube channel. (CWI)

FIXTURES.
Rising Stars T20 Championship fixtures

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, (CMC) – Following are the fixtures for the inaugural Cricket West Indies Women Under-19s Rising Stars T20 Championship:

FIXTURES
July 5
Guyana vs Barbados at Diego Martin Sporting Complex – 9:30am
Jamaica vs USA at Brian Lara Cricket Academy – 10am
Leeward Islands vs Trinidad & Tobago at Brian Lara Cricket Academy – 2:30pm

July 6
Windward Islands vs USA at Diego Martin Sporting Complex – 9:30am
Leeward Islands vs Guyana at Brian Lara Cricket Academy – 10am
Trinidad & Tobago vs Barbados at Brian Lara Cricket Academy – 2:30pm

July 8
Leeward Islands vs Windward Islands at Diego Martin Sporting Complex – 9:30am
Barbados vs USA at Brian Lara Cricket Academy – 10am
Jamaica vs Guyana at Brian Lara Cricket Academy – 2:30pm

July 9
Jamaica vs Trinidad & Tobago at Diego Martin Sporting Complex – 9:30am
Leeward Islands vs USA at Brian Lara Cricket Academy – 10am
Windward Islands vs Barbados at Brian Lara Cricket Academy – 2:30pm

July 10
Leeward Islands vs Jamaica at Diego Martin Sporting Complex – 9:30am

July 11
Leeward Islands vs Barbados at Diego Martin Sporting Complex – 9:30am
Windward Islands vs Jamaica at Brian Lara Cricket Academy – 10am
Guyana vs Trinidad & Tobago at Brian Lara Cricket Academy – 2:30pm

July 12
Guyana vs USA at Diego Martin Sporting Complex – 9:30am,
Jamaica vs Barbados at Brian Lara Cricket Academy – 10am
Windward Islands vs Trinidad & Tobago at Brian Lara Cricket Academy -2:30pm

July 13
Trinidad & Tobago vs USA at Brian Lara Cricket Academy -10am
Guyana vs Windward Islands at Brian Lara Cricket Academy – 2:30pm