Deitz lauds Windies Women’s for ‘unbelievable’ fight against Thailand

LAHORE, Pakistan (CMC):

DESPITE FAILING to qualify for the Women’s World Cup, West Indies Women’s head coach Shane Deitz has praised the efforts of his troops after their remarkable effort against Thailand Women in their final World Cup Qualifier on Saturday.

The regional side chased down Thailand’s total of 166 in just 10.5 overs, but fell agonisingly short of qualifying for the World Cup with their net run rate slightly worse than second-placed Bangladesh Women, who booked their spot along with Pakistan Women.

While it was a disappointing result to miss out on the World Cup, Deitz said he was heartened by their performance in the final game, where they left everything on the field.

“The run chase was unbelievable. We knew what we had to try to do, and to get 160-odd in 10 overs is really difficult, but the girls went about it and played some unbelievable shots; and it shows how talented our players are,” Deitz said.

“But at the end of the day, if we’ve got to look back at the whole tournament, there are things we have to do better for longer periods of time. But if we just focus on that little run chase there, it was absolutely phenomenal and the girls fought hard all the way, so I’m proud of them for that.

“It’s just a shame that it came down to that…we’ve got to improve in our ODI cricket moving forward for the future, but really proud of the girls with how we fought and didn’t give up; and hopefully, all of the supporters back home will be proud of them, too.”