ICC Women's T20 World Cup - SWOT analysis: Team West Indies

The 2016 World T20 Champions, West Indies arrive for the T20 World Cup in Australia with loads of experience and some x-factor players. They face two tough warm-up games against Australia and India before heading to the main tournament where they are along with South Africa, Pakistan, Thailand and England in Group B.

Squad

Stafanie Taylor (c), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Cherry-Ann Fraser, Sheneta Grimmond, Chinelle Henry, Lee-Ann Kirby, Hayley Matthews, Anisa Mohammed, Chedean Nation, Shakera Selman

Strength

West Indies carry incredible experience heading into this tournament. Eight of their players from the 2016 World T20 finals are still part of the team. Deandra Dottin returning to the side bolsters both the batting and bowling and it's great news for the Windies women's side ahead of the tournament. A big-match player, she was the top wicket-taker in the last two tournaments and also adds stability to the batting.  

Afy Fletcher is West Indies' leading wicket-taker - 16 scalps at 18.50 - heading into the World Cup. After struggling in her career initially, Fletcher is now a mainstay in the Windies line-up and brings experience and recent form.

Read | ICC Women's T20 World Cup - SWOT Analysis: Team India

Weakness

They might carry experience and the fame of past wins, but the reality is that West Indies women have lost their last 11 T20I matches. Since bowing out in the semi-finals of the 2018 tournament, West Indies have gone down terribly. A turnaround will mean Dottin and the others clicking in sync which might not be as easy as it sounds on paper.

Opportunity

Cherry-Ann Fraser is widely touted to be ideal for these conditions with her pace and bounce. She has a great idol in the coaching setup in Courtney Walsh and should pick off him. Gus Logie and the coaching staff brings experience just like their players and it is here that West Indies stand a notch above the rest.

Threat

West Indies don't have much experience in Australian conditions with skipper Stafanie Taylor the only one to feature in the last edition of the Women's Big Bash League. Dottin will be banked upon for her experience and record as a bowler on the bouncy wickets but there's still a lack of impactful players for these conditions.

Read | ICC Women's T20 World Cup - SWOT Analysis: Team Australia

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @windieswomen 

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ICC Women's T20 World Cup - SWOT Analysis: Team Australia

Defending champions Australia will be itching to win another world title in front of their home crowd as they head into the Women's T20 World Cup in Australia. Of the six T20 World Cups held so far in Women's cricket, Australia have won four and are primed to add another to their kitty this time around. Here's a SWOT analysis of the squad selected.

Squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Erin Burns, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham.

Strength

Australia's strength lies in their openers and strong all-rounders. While Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy pack quite a punch at the top with their aggressive batting and consistency, the all-rounders bring stability to the side and help them pack their sides with specialists. Mooney and Healy have 393 and 383 runs respectively since the end of the last T20 World Cup with a hundred apiece in the format. Add in Meg Lanning to the mix and that's one of the strongest top-orders in women's cricket ever. 

In Ellyse Perry, Australia have arguably the greatest women's all-rounder of all-time in their side. Perry has scored runs at an average of 48 and a strike rate close to 110 in T20Is since the last World T20 and has also taken 12 wickets at an economy less than 6. Perry is in good bowling form too as the tri-series involving England and India showed.  

Weakness

Jess Jonassen is the only spinner who has gone through the rigours of international cricket in the Australian team. Sophie Molineux with four wickets in four matches and an average of 18.5 returns after a bout of mental illness and will also be targeted by opposition sides. For a team as bullish as the Aussies, the spin department appears a tad empty if anything. Jonassen and Molineux appeared off-colour in the tri-series and are definitely the weak links in this Australian side.

Read | ICC Women's T20 World Cup - SWOT Analysis: Team India

Opportunity

It's a chance for Australia to show their superiority in the women's game and in this shortest format in front of their home crowd. The Meg Lanning led side has won 10 of their 13 matches in T20Is since the end of the last Women's T20 World Cup. One further game ended in a tie while two matches were lost. 

Threat

While there's enough experience in the squad, Australia have thrived on new players who carry that x-factor. That, somehow, seems slightly off in this current team named for the tournament. Anabel Sutherland's WBBL exploits offer hope and Australia will bank on her and Erin Burns to add a bit of punch to their old-school line-up.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @AusWomenCricket

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ICC Women's T20 World Cup - SWOT Analysis: Team India

The second major ICC event of 2020 will see the women's teams land in Australia for the T20 World Cup that stretches from February 21 to March 8th. We analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the women's teams as they prepare themselves for the big tournament. First up in the series is the India Women's team.

Team: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodriguez, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Veda Krishnamurthy, Richa Ghosh, Tania Bhatia, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gaikwad, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy.

Strength

The evident strength in India's line-up is in the top-order comprising Smriti Mandana, Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodriques. The three have carried India's batting alongside Harmanpreet Kaur and have eight half-centuries between them since 2019 in the format. The potent top-order has kept India in matches.

The other outright strength is the quality in the spin attack. Radha Yadav, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Deepti Sharma have choked teams with their bowling in the middle overs. Radha and Deepti are the top wicket-takers since 2019 with 23 and 22 wickets respectively in T20Is. Poonam has 16 while Gayakwad has played lesser number of matches but adds sting to the line up as a back-up.

 Weakness

The tournament is in Australia and there's a general notion that India do not have quality in the pace attack.

"I think fast bowling in general, if you look at the trend across the Big Bash earlier this season, has come back into vogue a little bit," Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry declared a few days ago predicting pace to play a major role this T20 World Cup.

When the world's leading all-rounder talks, you listen. India's pace attack - save Shikha Pandey - lack a punch with Arundhati Reddy and Mansi Joshi, despite being around for long enough, not playing enough matches nor performing well enough.

Pooja Vastrakar, the other pace bowler, has four wicktes in nine matches since 2019. Reddy has 6 in 6 matches in this time frame while Joshi has two in five matches. Shikha Pandey has done well, but she has been waging a lone battle with little to no support from her pace compatriots.

The other weakness lies in the middle-order where aside from Kaur - whose form itself has dwindled - there's little quality. Since 2019, omly two batswomen - other than Kaur - have 100-plus runs from positions 4-7 - Deepti and Veda Krishnamurthy. Neither have the consistency or a game-changing strike rate to boast of. If the top-order fumbles, the middle-order is unlikely to resurrect and build totals. 

Opportunity

The major concern that needs to be ironed out is that Smriti Mandana, despite her impressive T20I records, do not do well in major tournaments. Mandana averages 20.75 in T20 World Cups with just one half-century. Even in multi-nation tournaments like the T20 Asia Cup, Mandana has done poorly, averaging less than 20 in her career. Can she carry her bilateral record to the World Cup this year?

Threat

Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's stocks have fallen a bit since 2019 with the skipper not scoring a single half-century since 2019 in the format. Her average and strike rate have come down too in this time frame.

 India women have had a stumbling block in pressure matches in general. They had the 2017 Women's ODI World Cup title well in sights in the finals until England managed to come from behind to hand them a loss. The story was in no different in 2018 as they lost the T20 World Cup semi-final to the Aussies.

Feature image courtesy: AFP/ Biju Boro

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No surprises as India name full strength squad for Women’s T20 World Cup

The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) named the women’s squad for the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia, with no major surprises as the usual suspects like Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana making the cut. 15-year-old Haryana bowler Shefali Verma has retained her place after a string of good performances in the recent bilateral series’ and will be playing her first major global competition come the Women’s T20 World Cup.

Selectors also opted to pick upcoming Bengal batswoman Richa Ghosh, who made a name for herself with some explosive batting in the Challenger Trophy, where she scored 36 off just 26 balls.

The selectors also picked a 16-member squad for a T20 tri-series against Australia and England which is slated to begin from next week. Wicketkeeper-batswoman Nuzhat Parveen from Madhya Pradesh will be the additional representative in that tri-series.

For the World Cup squad, India have the likes of Veda Krishnamurthy, Radha Yadav, Poonam Yadav- all of whom were a part of the squad which finished runners-up in the 2017 Women’s World Cup, losing in a closely contested final against England.

India’s women’s team will, however, be without veteran batswoman Mithali Raj and pace bowler Jhulam Goswami, with both those players announcing their retirement from the shortest format of the game in the recent past.

The women’s World T20 is scheduled to begin from the third week of February, with India’s first game being against hosts Australia. Apart from Australia, neighbouring nations Sri Lanka, Bangladesh will also be in India’s pool at the World T20. The group will be completed by New Zealand, who will be captained by Amy Satterthwaite.

World T20 Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodriguez, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Veda Krishnamurthy, Richa Ghosh, Tania Bhatia, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gaikwad, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Randy Brooks

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