Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced the 13-member women squad for the opening game of the upcoming T20I series against South Africa.
Off-spinner Anisa Mohammed has been named the interim skipper because regular skipper Stafanie Taylor has been ruled out of the entire series after being identified as a primary contact of a COVID-19 in Jamaica, which requires her to serve a period of isolation.
All-rounder Qiana Joseph has earned a T20I call-up. She represented West Indies in two ODIs in 2017. The 20-year-old was recently spotted playing for the West Indies A side against Pakistan A.
Apart from Joseph, seamer Shabika Gajnabi has returned to the T20I side. Though she was part of the ODI squad against Pakistan but when it comes to the shortest format, Gajnabi last played a T20I fixture in 2020 against England.
“It is unfortunate that Stafanie will not be available for this series, but there are a number of experienced players who we would be looking to fill any void,” said lead selector Ann Browne-John in a statement.
“The young player Qiana Joseph brings another left-hand batter option as well as left-arm orthodox bowling, which has been lacking in the team. This will be a good test coming out of the recent Pakistan series since South Africa is one of the higher-ranked teams,” she added.
The first T20I will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on August 31. Similarly, the next two games have been scheduled to take place on September 2 and 4 at the same venue. The three-match series will be followed by a five-match ODI leg from September 7 to 19, with the first three matches being played at the Coolidge Cricket Ground and the last two at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
Here is West Indies Women squad for the first T20I against South Africa Women:
Anisa Mohammed (c), Deanda Dottin (vc), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Shabika Gajnabi, Chinelle Henry, Qiana Joseph, Kycia Knight, Kyshona Knight, Hayley Matthews, Shakera Selman, Chedean Nation.
