Potchefstroom–West Indies women are all set to take on the Netherlands at Witrand in the opening match of the International Cricket Council's Challenge, today. The Windies girls enter the six-team tournament as the highest ranked team and will be looking to win both the One-Day International Series and the T20 League, which follows after. The ODI event will run from today to Tuesday while the T20 matches will be played from October 14 to 16 and teams competing in the tournament include the host nation, South Africa, West Indies, as well as Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland and Netherlands.
Coach Sherwin Campbell is eagerly looking forward to the tournament. The results of the One-Day International event will determine the new women's ODI team rankings, behind the top four of England, New Zealand, India and Australia. The tournament, which is being held in association with Cricket South Africa (CSA), will bring about a greater focus on women's cricket within South Africa and the world of cricket at large. The event will also see a shake-up in the Reliance Mobile ICC Women's Player Rankings for ODI batters, bowlers and all-rounders. Currently in the Reliance Mobile ICC Women's Player Rankings for ODI batters, the highest-ranked competitors in the ICC Women's Cricket Challenge come from South Africa, West Indies and Sri Lanka.
South Africa captain Cri-Zelda Brits (ninth), West Indies Stafanie Taylor (10th) and Sri Lanka all-rounder Shashikala Siriwardana (20th) will be hoping strong performances with the bat during the event will push them up the rankings, which is currently topped by India's Mithali Raj with Australia's Shelley Nitschke, ICC Women's Player of the Year nominee, in second place. Taylor will also be hoping to return to the top five of the all-rounders list with the ICC Women's Player of the Year nominee currently sitting in sixth place.