In-form West Indies lie in wait for defending champions England

MATCH CENTRE | STANDINGS

• West Indies v England
• University Oval, Dunedin, New Zealand
• Wednesday 9 March, 11:00 local time

Defending World Champions England will be in search of a morale-boosting win at the University Oval to get their title defence properly underway, but the pressure is already building on Heather Knight’s side.

Defeat to Australia in their opening game wasn’t a disaster in isolation, with the team putting in a decent showing, particularly with the bat, to push the tournament favourites close.

But two losses from two games would leave England under real pressure in the race to finish in the top four of the group stage and qualify for the semi-finals at the end of the month.

And Wednesday’s opponents West Indies are one of their biggest rivals for those final four berths.

Stafanie Taylor’s team got their tournament off to a brilliant start with a dramatic final-over win against an in-form New Zealand in the opening fixture.

And the West Indies, who are ranked seventh in the world, showed that they have the star quality in their team to do plenty of damage to higher-rated opponents.

Victory over England on Wednesday would be a huge boost to the Windies’ hopes of finishing in the top four, with the fixture list throwing up the more winnable matches (on paper at least) towards the end of the campaign for Taylor and her exciting young squad.

England, in contrast, would know that two defeats from two would put them under huge pressure, with no further slip-ups likely to be allowed as they go in search of one of those semi-final spots.

It’s very early in the World Cup for a game to feel like a must-win, and it’s not time to panic just yet for Knight and Co. But the 2017 champions will be keen to get themselves on the board in the tournament and ensure that their title defence isn’t at risk of being over before it’s barely begun.

THE TEAMS

**England Squad:**Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Freya Davies, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone, Tash Farrant, Amy Jones, Emma Lamb, Nat Sciver (vc), Anya Shrubsole, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Danni Wyatt. Travelling Reserves: Lauren Bell, Mady Villiers

**West Indies Squad:**Stafanie Taylor (c), Anisa Mohammed (vc), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Cherry Ann Fraser, Chinelle Henry, Kycia Knight, Hayley Matthews, Chedean Nation, Karishma Ramharack, Shakera Selman, Rashada William. Travelling Reserves: Kaysia Schultz, Mandy Mangru, Jannillea Glasgow

CWC22 DREAM11 FANTASY WATCH

Captaincy Pick – Natalie Sciver

So often considered a generational talent in English cricket, Natalie Sciver’s international record has been good but not as great as her potential could see her reach. But if she clicks then the 29-year-old could be one of the dominant batters at the tournament, and her outstanding century in the loss to Australia hinted that she’s at the top of her game at precisely the right moment for England.

Must have – Hayley Matthews

The West Indies all-rounder was in outstanding form in her team’s win over New Zealand on the opening day of the tournament. Her brilliant 119 at the top of the order showed the kind of touch that suggests she could have a big World Cup going forward, and she chipped in with ten overs and two handy wickets too.

KEY PLAYERS

Tammy Beaumont - The England opener always seems to save herself for the big occasion, so expect to see the 30-year-old score plenty of runs in New Zealand. Beaumont topped the scoring charts at the 2017 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup with a whopping 410 runs and looked to be in good touch during the recent Ashes series against Australia.

Stafanie Taylor - The West Indies allrounder is a proven match-winner on her day and is always the wicket that opposition teams want most. Taylor is just as adept with her slow off-spin and is definitely one to keep an eye on.

WHAT THEY SAID

England batter Tammy Beaumont: "I think we know going into it that it's a very long tournament as quite a few of us have been to World Cups before. And it's not necessarily how you start. It's how you build momentum and how you finish and how you kind of go into those must win games at the backend. So we knew it was going to be tough, there's going to be highs and lows. And for us, it's about sticking together as a group, sticking to the way that we do things."

West Indies seamer Chinelle Henry: "England's a team that we've played before - we know every player on the team, know all the bowlers, all the batters. So tomorrow really is about applying ourselves. It doesn't matter if we know the bowlers, we still have to go there and assess each one like it's the first time we played them. So tomorrow for us really is just about going out there and being brave and doesn't matter the opposition. We're just going out there to play cricket."

THE VENUE

This is one of three matches hosted at University Oval in Dunedin during the tournament.

The ground typically hosts cricket and rugby fixtures for the University of Otago, but became an international cricket venue in 2008 when it hosted the first Test between New Zealand’s men and Bangladesh, and has been used for seven further Tests and a string of ODIs, including three at the 2015 Men’s World Cup.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT

All eight teams at the tournament will play each other across seven rounds in a league format.

The top four teams in the standings after the conclusion of the Group Stage will qualify for the semi-finals, which will be held in the final week of March.

LATER FIXTURES

England’s tournament fixtures:

14 March v South Africa
16 March v India
20 March v New Zealand
24 March v Pakistan
27 March v Bangladesh

West Indies’ tournament fixtures:

12 March v India
15 March v Australia
18 March v Bangladesh
21 March v Pakistan
24 March v South Africa