England's Edwards lauds Windies women's cricket success

Port of Spain, Nov 3 (IANS/CMC) The West Indies have been hailed as the biggest success in women's cricket over the past five years.

England captain Charlotte Edwards made the statement recently as she showed respect for the success and dedication of the regional side. She said no team has made as much progress as the Merissa Aguilera-led Caribbean side.

"For me they have been the biggest success in women's cricket in the last five years," said Edwards, who has played 174 one-days, 64 Twenty20 Internationals and 20 Test matches since her debut in 1996.

"The way they have played their cricket and the performances of their two outstanding players in Deandra Dottin and Stafanie Taylor and for me to see those young players coming out and expressing themselves in this form is testament to where they are at the moment. I think there are highly exciting times ahead and I think that the West Indies have brought a lot to women's cricket in the last five years," added Edwards.

Recalling back in 2008 when the two teams met for the first time and England pounded a then inexperienced West Indies, Edwards jokingly acknowledged that that treatment had now come full circle. In response, Aguilera praised the West Indies' tremendous determination and perseverance, along with a strong work ethic for helping to propel them among the best team in the world.

She admitted that after having been "treated roughly" by England, the players knew exactly what was required of them if they wanted to be competitive against elite teams like Australia, New Zealand and England.

"It has always been a roller coaster ride for the West Indies. But no matter what we have been through or what has been thrown at us, we have been able to stand firm and continue to work hard towards what we wanted. Our main goal is to reach No.1 and we know that it isn't just going to come like that," Aguilera explained.

The two teams are presently playing a three-match one-day series at the Queen's Park Oval here. The first match was abandoned due to rain while England won the second match Friday. West Indies will look to level the series in the final match Sunday.

--IANS/CMC

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