West Indies Women ready for Sri Lanka challenge

West Indies Women will play a series of matches against Sri Lanka and Pakistan before it hosts the ICC World Twenty20 from 30 April - 16 May 2010.

The Caribbean side will play two ODIs and three T20Is against Sri Lanka and three practice T20 games against Pakistan in the build-up to the WT20 tournament.

Coach Sherwin Campbell said on WICB website that his players will be looking to start their campaign with a win: "We have been here for a week now and we are ready for what we have ahead of us. We have ticked all the boxes and we are comfortable with the work we have put in. We believe we will get the benefit of that hard work."

"We want to stamp our authority against Sri Lanka. We are ranked above them on the ICC ladder and we want to maintain that. We played really well against England here last year and we will be looking to pick back up the momentum we established. We enjoy playing here in St Kitts. It is a great home base for the girls."

He added: "This is an official ODI so we will be playing our best team. Deandra Dottin won't be playing, as she has a sore ankle, but she will be ready for the other matches and the ICC World Twenty20."

Captain Merissa Aguilleira said: "The series against England was a wonderful experience so we want to continue the good work which we started. The matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be crucial as we want to win and get into habit of winning."

"We believe we will do well in the tournament, and the overall aim of the team is to win at home for our fans. We want to make sure we get fully prepared and have everyone in the squad going in the same direction. We have several processes we have to go through as a team and the camp will be part of the 'totally preparation' stage. We want to be there on May 16 to lift the trophy, but to do that we know we have to go through the stages and work really hard," she added.

The first round of matches for women in the ICC World Twenty20 tournament will be played at Warner Park in St Kitts from 5-10 May. The semi-finals will be played in St Lucia on 13 and 14 May, with the grand final at Kensington Oval in Barbados on 16 May.

The fixtures is as follows:

Saturday, April 17 at St Paul's
West Indies v Sri Lanka (ODI)

Monday, April 19 St Paul's
West Indies v Sri Lanka (ODI)

Tuesday, April 20 at Cayon
West Indies v Sri Lanka (T20I)

Thursday, April 22 at Cayon
West Indies v Sri Lanka (T20I)

Friday, April 23 at Cayon
West Indies v Sri Lanka (T20I)

Monday, April 26 at Molineux
West Indies v Pakistan (practice T20 match)

Tuesday, April 27 at Molineux
West Indies v Pakistan (practice T20 match)

Thursday, April 29 at Molineux
West Indies v Pakistan (practice T20 match)