World T20 defending champions Windies announce squad

The hosts for this edition of the World Twenty-20, the West Indies, have announced their squad for the tournament. Also the defending champions in this format, their squad features 11 of the players that were part of their winning team in 2016.



Stafanie Taylor will captain the side as they hope to retain the coveted trophy on home soil. Their team features experienced campaigners such as the captain herself, the leading wicket-taker in Twenty-20's Anisa Mohammad and the batter who holds the record for the fastest Twenty-20 century in the women's game, Deandra Dottin.



The four players who differ from their title-winning team of 2016 are Chinelle Henry, Chedean Nation, Natasha McLean and uncapped Sheneta Grimmond. McLean in particular impressed during her teams recently concluded series against South Africa. She finished as the leading run scorer in the Twenty-20's and was adjudged the Player of the Series for her efforts.



"Captaining the West Indies in the ICC Women's World T20 2018 is both a huge honour and a massive challenge," said Taylor. "It will obviously be a great feeling to lead the team at home, but one has to also live up to the expectations of being the defending champions."



"We have a great squad with several potential match winners, but we will have to be at our best in each and every match if we want to lift the trophy again."



For the West Indies, their batting has primarily relied on contributions from Taylor, Dottin and Hayley Matthews. When none of these three have fired, they can do very little. So, for them, the main goal will be to find some consistency and motivate their other batters to step up when needed.



From a bowling perspective, the West Indies have a stronger spin attack than pace, which features Mohammed, Taylor, Matthews and leg-spinner Afy Fletcher. In the pace department, Britney Cooper returns to the squad after missing out on the South African series. Other pacers named in the squad are Shakera Selman and Shamilia Connell.



Taylor further went on to talk about the excitement in the squad of playing on their home soil. "This promises to be a highly competitive tournament. I really hope that Windies fans can come out and support us as we strive to defend our title on home soil."



Full Fixture here



Squad: Stafanie Taylor (c), Merissa Aguilleira, Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Sheneta Grimmond, Chinelle Henry, Kycia Knight, Hayley Matthews, Natasha Mclean, Anisa Mohammed, Chedean Nation, Shakera Selman