Deitz impressed with debutants despite shellacking

LEICESTER, England (CMC):

DESPITE A 143-run loss, West Indies Women’s head coach Shane Deitz has praised the performances of some of the younger players in the team in Wednesday’s One-Day International against England Women.

The regional side was outplayed by England for the second straight match and fell behind 0-2 in the three-match series.

West Indies Women were without the services of their captain and star player Hayley Matthews due to a shoulder injury, and fellow opener Qiana Joseph also missed out because of illness.

In their absences, Realeanna Grimmond scored 53 from 72 balls on debut at the top of the order, and Jannillea Glasgow fell just short of a maiden half-century, blasting 44 off just 24 balls with nine boundaries.

Speaking to members of the media following the defeat, Deitz said he was pleased to see other players step up.

“We talked about being in the contest and competing at every ball. Obviously, they’ve got more famous players who have been around for much longer and have way more experience, but we’ve just got to go out and try to compete every ball and fight fire with fire, and if you keep doing that day in and day out, you’ll gain your confidence and over time, we’ll develop these players, so I’m very proud of the young girls today.

“As I said the other day, we had to take on the opposition a bit more, don’t let the bowlers settle into a rhythm, you have to put them under pressure and then more mistakes will come, and I think all of our batters sort of did that.

“Glasgow in particular came in and took them on. That was really good from her, and obviously, Grimmond, at the top of the order, did it as welln… .They did well, and that’s how we have to play all of our games - don’t take a backward step, go on the front foot - and we did that, and that was pretty good.”

Deitz admitted that he was especially pleased with the manner in which the 20-year-old Grimmond performed in her first ODI.

He said he believed that she had a bright future ahead of her once she continued on this trajectory.

“She keeps things really simple … and I’m really, really happy for her. She hits the ball hard, and she can hit boundaries,” Deitz said.

“She had a great regional tournament in the T20 and 50-over, so she’s an up-and-coming talent, and we’re really proud of her.

“But as I said to her, those other openers when they get 50, they get big hundreds, and she’ll learn that skill over time, no doubt. She’s definitely proved that she belongs, so now it’s about keeping the work ethic up and improving on different areas of her game over time, and she can have a long, successful career ahead of her if she does all the right things,” he added.