Despite opening ODI hammering… | Local sports

West Indies Women’s head coach Shane Deitz says the team needs to bounce back from the opening ODI loss to India quickly and find the right tools to come up with a better plan to turn things around in the second match, today , another day/night competition (bowling from 4am T&T time).

The regional side was no match for India in the opening game, falling by 211 runs. Despite the heavy loss, Deitz acknowledges areas for improvement while expressing optimism about turning the series around.

“We still believe we can win the series 2-1. That’s what we have to do. We’ve come back stronger from ball one than we did in the opening game.”

The Australian made it clear that his team must do much better in the box if they are to challenge the home side in any way.

“If you send a team in, you have to take all your catches and take chances to put them under pressure. We didn’t do that in the first game.”

While the squad has worked hard on catching during practice, execution of the play remains an obstacle. Deitz emphasized the importance of improvement across all departments and cited the team’s six-month break from ODI cricket as a possible factor for rustiness.

“We’ve had a lot of T20 cricket recently, including a strong T20 World Cup performance where we reached the semi-finals. The switch back to ODI cricket clearly showed its challenges today.”

Amid the challenges, youngster Zaida James emerged as a beacon of hope, taking an impressive five wickets for 45 runs. Deitz heaped praise on the budding talent and stressed the importance of confidence.

“Performances like this can reinforce for her what we all know, that she is a good player. It’s a great day for her, but one good performance doesn’t make a career. She has to keep working hard and improve every day.”