TT women cricket skipper wants support

TRINIDAD and Tobago women cricket team skipper Stephanie Power is calling on cricket fans to come forward and show their unstinted support during the regional series which begins here on Tuesday. Power, who is also the captain of the West Indies team said: “Men take all the attention in the sport but when you come to see women’s cricket you see the same strokes because we are just as good. “When you turn up to the game you can see the straight drive, cover drive and hook shot, just as in the men’s version of the game.”

President of the Trinidad and Tobago Women’s Cricket Board of Control (TTWCBC) Gayle Daniel-Worrell said: “Cricket in the West Indies still looks like an old boys game. “When we hear about West Indies cricket it still refers to the regional men team, but I would like to let you know that in recent times there has been growing interest in women cricket. Women play for far less adulation but their love and enthusiasm for the game is no less than their male counterparts.” Chairman of the tournament organising committee Patrick Rampersad outlined the schedule and also made a call to the public to come out and support good cricket.

Seven teams including Barbados, back for the first time in 26 years, will be arriving here on Sunday to vie for the league title as well as the knockout crown. Trinidad and Tobago are the defending champions in both forms of the game, and will be going all out to stop the visitors from taking away their titles. Teams coming for the tournament are:  Guyana, St Vincent, St Lucia, Grenada, Jamaica, Barbados and the United States of America. At the conclusion of the tournament the West Indies team for the 2005 Women Cricket World Cup in South Africa will be chosen to begin preparation. Rampersad said for the first time they are looking to give a cash award to the winning team, but are still in the process of getting sponsors to defray the cost.

He however lauded the sponsors already on board, and the many others who will be helping to stage the series including the Ministry of Sport, National Lotteries Control Board, Trinidad and Tobago Unit Trust, Cable Company of Trinidad and Tobago, Bermudez Biscuit Company Limited, Toyota Trinidad and Tobago Limited and The National Insurance Property Development Company Limited (NIPDEC). Meanwhile, the TTWCBC has named Margaret Antoine as the new manageress of the Trinidad and Tobago team. Antoine who is attached to the UTC, because of her efficient performance to date landed her the job.

The Trinidad and Tobago team: Stephanie Power (capt), Nelly Williams, Anisa Mohammed, Nita Naipaulsingh, Kirbyiana Alexander, Jade Chadee, Felicia Cummings, Devika Singh, Roxanne Toussaint, Envis Williams, Erica George, Shane DeSilva, Sharon Wharton, Lee Ann Kirby, Brenda Solozano-Rodney, Alisa Mohammed, Marissa Aguilera and Gaytree Seetahal.