Henry returns for West Indies Women’s home series - Dottin still recovering

ST JOHN'S, Antigua (CMC):

West Indies Women will welcome the return of explosive all-rounder Chinelle Henry to their squad for the upcoming white-ball series against South Africa, which bowls off tomorrow.

However, they will still be without the services of hard-hitting Deandra Dottin, who is still recovering from an injury sustained in the Women's Premier League in March.

The 29-year-old Alleyne has fully recovered from an injury which forced her to miss the team's recently concluded tour of England where they lost both the ODI and T20 series 3-0.

She will replace Cherry-Ann Fraser and is the only change to the squad that toured England.

West Indies captain Hayley Matthews, who did not feature in the last two T20 matches because of a left shoulder injury, is fit enough to lead the team in the three ODIs and T20s.

Matthews and Alleyne were both named in a 15-member squad by Cricket West Indies yesterday, which will take on the Proteas Women at the iconic 3Ws Oval in Barbados from June 11-23.

South Africa Women arrive in the Caribbean ranked higher than the West Indies in both formats, positioned fifth in both ODI and T20I rankings, while the Maroon Warriors are ranked ninth in ODIs and sixth in the shortest format.

Head coach Shane Deitz said he was looking forward to better results against South Africa Women.

"Obviously, England's results didn't go how we wanted. But it was a great learning opportunity and a chance to bring some young players into our team and give them their first taste of international cricket," he said.

"We had five players aged 21 and under in our last ODI against England, so it was great to see a young team go out there and mix it up with one of the best teams in the world. All those younger players learned some valuable lessons during that series which we hope they will bring into this series to contribute some more for the team and put in some match-winning performances," Deitz said.

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"It's great that Hayley is now available for this series - her home series in her hometown and she'll be really excited to put on a great show in front of her family, friends and supporters of West Indies cricket.

"It's also great to welcome back Chinelle Henry. In the last 12 months she has been a world-class player, so it's great to have her back in the team, on and off the field.

"This is going to be a wonderful series and a great opportunity for our girls to test their skills and abilities against one of the best teams in the world, so I am looking forward to getting out there, and putting on a great show for our West Indies supporters. We can't wait to hear and feel their support when we go out to play on Wednesday," he added.

- CMC