Storm Fiona impact: West Indies vs New Zealand ODI series to now start on September 19
The schedule of matches for the West Indies vs New Zealand women's series has been rejigged*, after the impact of the tropical storm Fiona forced the organisers to postpone the first game, scheduled for Friday in Antigua. The three ODIs will now be played on Monday (Sep 19), Thursday (Sep 22) and Sunday (Sep 25), followed by the five T20Is. All the matches will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
The change of dates has been made keeping in mind the possible impact of Fiona over the next couple of days. It has already caused extensive showers in Antigua, and is likely to reach its peak over Antigua and the Leeward Islands later on Friday.
"We have put player safety at the forefront of this decision and will be working very closely with New Zealand Cricket to protect all the internationals matches via a revised schedule if possible," CWI director of cricket Jimmy Adams said in a statement a while before the reschedule was made public. "We are very keen to get as much high-quality competitive cricket for our women's team as possible, especially in this period leading into next year's Women's T20 World Cup."
The T20Is will be played between September 28 and October 6.
The ODI series counts towards the ICC Women's Championship and eventual qualification for the 2025 ODI World Cup, while the T20I series serves as preparation for the 2023 T20 World Cup, to be played in February in South Africa. Neither side has played a game in the Women's Championship cycle so far.
It is the first series for West Indies where Hayley Matthews will lead the side as the official captain, and the first since Deandra Dottin announced her retirement rather abruptly last month. It will also be West Indies' first series in any format since they lost the semi-final to eventual champions Australia in the ODI World Cup in March earlier this year.
*September 16, 05.20 GMT - This article was updated after NZC published the new schedule on its website.