Taylor takes West Indies confidence into Pakistan match

• West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor: “We know how important these games are. We definitely want to win them and go home on a high.”

• Pakistan skipper Sana Mir: “It’s extremely important for us to finish this tournament on a strong note.”

West Indies was forced to fight for its first ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 victory last time out, but captain Stafanie Taylor believes her team is in a perfect place to take forward the confidence gained from the win.

Pakistan is the latest challenge awaiting West Indies, at Grace Road, Leicester, on Tuesday, though both teams know reaching the semi-finals is no longer a possibility.

But that doesn’t make the game any less important for Taylor as she looks to build on Sunday’s 47-run triumph over Sri Lanka, having reached the final of the competition four years ago.

And with Pakistan looking for its first victory in this edition of the ICC WWC, the 26-year-old knows she and the team must be at its best to finish as high in the standings as possible.

“This win has added to our confidence. We’ve been fighting really hard to win a game and we know there are two more to go,” said Taylor.

“We know how important these games are. We definitely want to win them and go home on a high.

“Going into Tuesday’s game, we know it’s not going to be easy because Pakistan haven’t won a game.

“We know Pakistan’s usual team. They are going to come with their spinners because that’s what they mostly do to all the teams. We should counteract their bowlers.

“Pakistan has always been a fighting team when they are playing against anyone, but I think everyone thinks West Indies is a team they want to beat. They all come out hard against us.”

Pakistan’s elimination was confirmed on Saturday, when it suffered a heavy loss to New Zealand, at Taunton, its fifth defeat of the competition.

In patches, it has proven to be a match for any team, though consistency remains the next step for the side as it looks to build on its competition experience.

That’s something captain Sana Mir – who reached her 100th ODI cap on Saturday – is hoping to achieve, starting at Grace Road on Tuesday.

“It’s extremely important for us to finish this tournament on a strong note,” said Sana. “We started off with a strong game, then things started slipping off, so it’s extremely important to finish well.

“We have to be patient with the team, not having Bismah Maroof around makes things tougher as a batter.

“There have been a couple of times where we’ve lost early wickets where she could come in and give us a platform to put a good total on the board.

“The youngsters have showed promise in the previous tournaments but they haven’t been able to apply it in the World Cup.

“Everyone in the team is looking to take responsibility, I’m scoring runs so it’s more important for me to do that. I have belief in the same batting line-up, they have the potential and have played really well in the previous matches.”

In the West Indies, the match will be live on ESPN2 Caribbean and Espnplay.com, while it can be watched live in Pakistan on PTV Sports and sports.ptv.com.pk

Squads:

West Indies: Stafanie Taylor (captain), Merissa Aguilleira, Reniece Boyce, Shamilia Connell, Shanel Daley, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Qiana Joseph, Kyshona Knight, Hayley Matthews, Anisa Mohammed, Chedean Nation, Akeira Peters, Shakera Selman, Felicia Walters, Kycia Knight and Subrina Munroe

Pakistan: Sana Mir (captain), Asmavia Iqbal, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Ghulam Fatima, Iram Javed, Javeria Wadood, Kainat Imtiaz, Marina Iqbal, Bibi Nahida, Nain Abidi, Nashra Sundhu, Sadia Yousaf, Sidra Nawaz and Waheeda Akhter

Umpires: Sue Redfern and Langston Rusere

Match referee: Steve Bernard

Points Table