TT women still in with chance

St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) are going for their first ever West Indies women’s cricket title today when they tackle St Lucia in their last match. Unbeaten SVG are on 13 points and enjoy a five-point lead over defending championship Trinidad and Tobago, who have played a match less. A win over St Lucia at Barataria today — after yesterday’s rest day — will guarantee SVG the title and their coach Roxell John hopes his girls will be rewarded with title for their hard work. “I am very, very elated the girls have worked very hard,” John told CMC Sport.

After a rain-abandoned no-result in their scheduled opener against Trinidad and Tobago last Tuesday, SVG registered a four-match winning sequence, toppling Barbados, Jamaica, Grenada, and Guyana. John said SVG are showing “excellent team spirit” and good work ethic.  “They are working hard at what we’ve asked them to do. The girls are very hyped, they are very supportive of each other and from there you can see that when errors are made they push themselves even harder to correct those errors as soon as possible,” John said. The St Lucians, aiming to rebound from Saturday’s loss to Trinidad and Tobago, won six consecutive league titles between 1997 and 2002 and are expected to be tough opposition for the high-riding Vincentians.

But John is not daunted by their neighbours’ rich record.  “The past is the past, we are playing  present cricket, we are playing cricket today, it’s eleven against eleven,” he said. “We know with St Lucia, everybody would regard them as one of the better teams but we play cricket on the day and not from past performances, we are going to go there and be positive, as we have been in the entire competition and look for a victory tomorrow,” John added. Trinidad and Tobago, who play Barbados today, are still within reach of the title. They will retain the title if they win their remaining two matches — against Barbados and Jamaica — and SVG are beaten by St Lucia today. In today’s third match, winless Jamaica will play Grenada.