00:01The West Indies suffered a 3-0 whitewash at the hands of Australia in the women's T20 series in St.
00:06Vincent recently, with both teams next getting ready to play three ODIs from Friday in St. Kitts.
00:11Cricket analyst Fazir Mohamed does not expect a turnaround from the ladies in Maroon anytime soon.
00:16The results have got to be pretty much the same because of the huge gap in quality, in experience, in
00:22talent, in resources that are available to grow the women's game in the respective territories compared to what goes on.
00:31Besides whiteball cricket, the Aussies were also supposed to play a one-off test against the Windies, but reports stated
00:37that the test match was scrapped to focus on the other four mats with the women's T20 World Cup bowling
00:42off in June in England and Wales.
00:44In fact, Mohamed is aware of the situation, saying that's not a real reason.
00:48The mere fact that they scheduled a test match, which was much heralded and much touted and announced last year,
00:55that that was cancelled, the excuses really don't wash.
00:59The simple fact is that the West Indies have not been prepared for test match cricket, and that's why the
01:05test match was really cancelled.
01:06And of course, it's been papered over with lots of fancy statements, but the simple fact is that if West
01:12Indies women don't play any sort of long-form cricket,
01:15how are they possibly going to compete against the best team in the world in test match cricket when they
01:21haven't played a test match for such a very long time, almost 20 years now?
01:25Such factors have resulted in Mohamed asking this question, is the regional game getting our women ready to take on
01:31the very best in the world?
01:33One thing's for sure, he was far from impressed with the 2026 women's T20 Blaze and the women's Super 50.
01:39You look at the women's 50 over competition, which would have been played back-to-back, and the quality was
01:47really poor.
01:48It was almost watching cricket in slow motion compared to what you see from the top women's teams, whether it's
01:55India, whether it's New Zealand,
01:56whether it's Australia, whether it's South Africa, and the way they play their cricket.
02:00And therefore, for the women's game to grow in the Caribbean, it really needs a clear intent and a clear
02:08desire to grow the game.
02:11Mohamed says it seems as if the regional tournaments are held just to fulfill certain obligations,
02:16instead of having the dedication and passion to see the women's game reaching far.
02:21The well-respected analyst says people must realize cricket can open up avenues for women in the Caribbean.
02:26Let's get it out of the way. We're not too concerned about the quality, because at the end of it
02:31all,
02:32there were the usual empty, shallow platitudes from Cricket Western News,
02:36which were at complete variance with the quality or the lack of quality that we saw in those white ball
02:43regional competitions.
02:44And therefore, it requires money. It requires a will.
02:48It requires a real recognition that women's cricket has vast scope for expansion, for growth, for revenue,
02:58for opportunities for young Caribbean women throughout our territories, from Guyana all the way up to Jamaica.
03:05With the women's T20 World Cup bowling off in June, the Windies are grouped alongside some quality teams,
03:10and the Trinidad-based Cricket Guru expects a tough tournament for the Caribbean ladies.
03:14This time around, they find themselves in a tournament in June,
03:19playing against the defending champions New Zealand in their opening match.
03:23They face the host England, also in that same group,
03:26and Sri Lanka, who they just played and lost to in the Caribbean.
03:31So even with the minor matches, the relative minor matches included in their grouping,
03:36it's difficult to see the West Indies finishing in the top two to reach the semifinals of that competition.
03:43Mohamed says the likes of Deandra Doughton and former skipper Stefani Taylor
03:47are no longer the battles they used to be, which is also a cause for concern.
03:51Vinod Nowani, 264.
