MUMBAI, India, CMC – Captain Merissa Aguilleira says West Indies have not been daunted by their opening loss to Australia and remain confident they can hit back and still qualify for the Super Six, second round stage of the ICC Women’s World Cup.
The Caribbean side suffered a heavy 105-run loss to Australia in the tournament opener on Thursday, leaving them bottom of the four-team Group A without a point with just two games remaining.
“We are ready and everybody is in high spirits, looking forward to this match. We fully appreciate the position in which are now, so we really have to perform at our best,” said Aguilleira ahead of today’s clash with Sri Lanka.
“I think our batting has been faltering a bit but I believe we can turn things around if we put our heads down and do what we have to do. Everybody is pumped, so we are looking to execute.”
West Indies boast a good record against Sri Lanka having won eight of their last 13 One-Day Internationals but are aware their opponents will be a handful after they upset defending champions England in a last-ball thriller on Friday.
However, Aguilleira said that while her side would take nothing for granted, they would be positive in their approach to the encounter scheduled for the Middle Income Group Ground at 11:30 pm (Saturday, Eastern Caribbean time).
“We cannot underestimate them right now. They are on a high but we have had the better of them in the past and we have a strong belief in ourselves as a team that we can do it,” she pointed out.
“We are going into this match with a positive frame of mind because we know where we stand and to move forward we have to do what we have to do as a team.”
She was quick to emphasise, however, that her side needed to improve their out-cricket.
“We were very inconsistent with our bowling and we were not as sharp in the field as we are typically,” she said.
“Though they (Australia) scored over 200 runs, I know we had the capacity to score it, but it was probably inconsistency and a lack of application.”
