West Indies confident of maiden women's World T20 title

Dhaka - Experienced West Indies off-spinner Anisa Mohammed believes this is the year a global title will return to the Caribbean.

Two-years-ago in Sri Lanka, the men celebrated their ICC World Twenty20 triumph while the women had to be content with making the semifinals.

In 2010, they had suffered the same fate at home and last year proved even more frustrating when they lost the final of the 50-over World Cup in India.

“There is a different feeling this time around that we’re going to win this World T20. Once the girls stick to the basics, do what we are supposed to and not get over-confident, we’re confident that we will do it. Reaching the finals in the 50-over World Cup was a great feeling for us,” said Mohammed.

“They were showing highlights from the 2012 World T20 and we were looking at the men celebrate and everyone was saying ‘that is going to be us this time around’. All the players are confident and ready for whatever comes our way.”

West Indies women endured a torrid time in their recent limited overs tour of New Zealand, losing the one-day series 0-3 and the five-match T20 series 0-4. This came after a strong showing in the Tri-Nation Series in Barbados last October when they trounced England and New Zealand to win the tournament.

However, they easily brushed aside South Africa in their first warm-up game Tuesday.

“We’re happy with our first game. We’re back in our conditions where the sun is hot and we’re not playing in nine degrees. The girls played really well on Tuesday and I am confident that if we do what we did, or even better, that there is no way any team can beat us,” Mohammed said.

The ICC Women’s World Twenty20 begins March 23 while the West Indies women play their first tie against England March 24 in Group B. Other teams in the same group include India, Sri Lanka and hosts Bangladesh.