Women’s cricket on the upswing

WOMEN’S cricket boss Gayle Daniel-Worrell is convinced the Trinidad and Tobago Women Cricket Board have been doing a good job in improving the game locally. She said: “We have worked very hard to raise the standard of women’s cricket in this country and I am happy to report that we are well on our way to achieving the goal.” Daniel-Worrell who has been president of the board for the past three years, has seen Trinidad and Tobago make a big leap forward to the point of winning both the one-day series and regional championship. She credits this success to the development process started by Ann Browne in the schools. “Ann and they decided that we must have cricket in the schools in order to develop the sport and broaden the base of players from which we can select. This has worked magnificently for us and we are very happy with the response of  the school girls,” Daniel-Worrell said.

Browne added: “We wanted to take the game to the primary and secondary schools with the aim of getting more girls involved. “We were successful in doing that and as a result we got the Anisa Mohammeds coming out.” Mohammed, a 14-year-old spinner was selected almost from obscurity to the West Indies team which competed at  the World Cup qualifying series in Holland earlier this year. Browne continued: “Two of  the girls from Couva Government Secondary made it into the national team and when I spoke to them they told me something that was amazing. “They said when the principal of  the school announced that all those interested in cricket must show up at the playing ground, it was full of girls. “This made me very happy and it shows that we are on the right path.” Meanwhile, the domestic competition will bowl off in early January in order to facilitate the West Indies Championships which will be played in Trinidad from May 2 to 17. Browne said  the West Indies team to play at  the World Cup in South Africa have already started preparations, and at present the locals on the team are undergoing physical training at the Barataria Recreation ground. She said the entire Trinidad and Tobago team have also been called into training with the West Indies players with the hope to keeping them fit all-year round.