Matthews, King return for West Indies tour of Ireland and England
King, who last played for them in October 2016, impressed selectors in the domestic 50-over and Twenty20 tournaments. Matthews, who injured her knee during the Women's Big Bash League in Australia in December and had missed the series against Pakistan in February, too has been in fine form in the domestic matches.
On the other hand, wicket-keeper Merissa Aguilleira and spinner Anisa Mohammed's poor form has been cited as the reason for their exclusion.
"Stacy-Ann King’s return to the West Indies Women’s team to tour Ireland and England is no real surprise after her performance during the recently concluded Women’s Super50 Cup and T20 Blaze tournaments. Her experience is very vital in this very crucial series against England, a series that we must win, so her ability to bowl good left-arm swing will be an added dimension to our bowling attack," Robert Haynes, the interim chairman of selectors, said.
"Anisa Mohammed and Merissa Aguilleira’s performances in the recent women’s championships weren’t what we expected or how we wanted them to perform, so unfortunately they were not picked on this touring squad. There are other ladies who are vying for these coveted spots, we have three other wicket-keepers who have all been scoring consistently thereby outperforming Merissa."
In Anisa's absence, Matthews and captain Stafanie Taylor will lead the spin attack.
West Indies Women squad announced for Tour of Ireland and England 🌴🏏 #ItsOurGame
— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) April 18, 2019
Tour Dates 📅: May 21 - June 26 pic.twitter.com/DZh8NYusSy
Along with the 14 members, six reserve players have been named for a training camp in Antigua from 6 to 20 May, prior to their departure to Ireland on 21 May.
West Indies will play three Twenty20 Internationals on 26, 28 and 29 May against Ireland before leaving for England to play three one-day internationals as part of the ICC Women’s Championships on 6, 9 and 13 June and three T20Is on 18, 21 and 25 June.
**West Indies squad:**Stafanie Taylor (c), Hayley Matthews (vc), Shemaine Campbelle, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Chinelle Henry, Stacy-Ann King, Kycia Knight (wk), Kyshona Knight, Natasha McLean, Chedean Nation, Karishma Ramharack, Shakera Selman, Shamilia Connell
Reserve players for the camp: Shabika Gajnabi, Sheneta Grimmond, Reniece Boyce, Britney Cooper, Shanika Bruce, Shawnisha Hector