Reaching finals was huge: Aguilleira
First Published : 18 Feb 2013, 10:48
Last Modified : 18 Feb 2013, 11:10
Although the West Indies lost the 2013 ICC Women’s World Cup to Australia, the Merissa Aguilleira-led side was the first women’s team from the Caribbean to make it to a World Cup final. Speaking after their maiden appearance in the final of the premier tournament, the West Indies captain lauded her team’s performance leading up to it, but also agreed that there is scope for improvement.
Looking back on her team’s overall performance, she said, “We are happy and pleased as a team. We have so much to be thankful for, rising from fifth place to second is a really huge accomplishment. I believe that people of the Caribbean are really pleased with us. We had never reached the World Cup final before, which we did [here].”
Asked if they were nervous while taking the field, Aguilleira told the media, “Well, I wouldn't say so. I think our batting has been our downfall throughout the tournament. We didn't execute well, so that was one area that we needed to work. Yes, we had some nerves, but it was good nerves because we were in the final and it was after all something to be proud of.”
While their batting didn’t click on Sunday, the West Indies who have been quick on their feet also had a few mishaps in the field. Reflecting on the game, she said, “I really don't know what took place today in terms of fielding. We went out with a mission to win the World Cup. [...] But we didn't play as a unit today as were accustomed to. There is a lot of room for improvement.”
Deandra Dottin who has earned a reputation for her power hitting and ability to turn matches was sent down the order at No.6. Explaining this move, the skipper said, “The main plan was to see off Ellyse Perry and Lisa Sthalekar. We felt we could attack the other bowlers with Deandra to come in. We believed that we could achieve a required rate of seven or eight runs per over, but it didn't work out.”
Later, while explaining the reason for not handing the ball to Dottin, she said, “Deandra had a groin injury, so we were saving her for batting. We didn't want to risk anything.”
Asked if they need to focus on specialists looking forward, the WI captain said, “I think that is a valid point in lines of us getting specialists. Shakera Selman is a specialist, but she hasn't been up to the mark in this tournament. But that's an area that we need to work on that area in the future.”
Discussing the development of women's cricket and analysing at the tournament from that perspective, she said, “The tournament has been a fantastic one. There has been lot of development in women's cricket. The teams have put up a great show. Look at Sri Lanka; I can't stop talking about Sri Lanka. They have been so great throughout the tournament – you have seen so much development from 2009 till now. Women's cricket is on the rise and we will be looking forward to more media coverage and the more we get, the better it will be. So the people can see the ability of the girls and what we can do.”
