By Terry Finisterre
Saint Lucian cricketers Qiana Joseph and Zaida James have been retained for the 2024 Women’s Caribbean Premier League, WCPL.
The same three teams will compete in this third edition – defending champions Barbados Royals, Trinbago Knight Riders, and Guyana Amazon Warriors.Â
Joseph, 23, will once again turn out for the title holders, under the leadership of West Indies captain, Hayley Matthews. A left-handed batter and slow left arm bowler, she has taken 12 wickets in 11 One Day Internationals for the West Indies, and scored 49 runs in seven innings in the 50-over format.Â
In T20 Internationals, Joseph has four wickets and 69 runs, the latter in six innings. She took two wickets for the Royals in six overs in the 2023 WCPL.
The Royals have also strengthened by adding Sri Lanka superstar Chamari Athapaththu, and Australia wicketkeeper-batter Georgia Redmayne.
James, meanwhile, will play once again for the Trinbago Knight Riders. It’s her second stint with that outfit, after starting the WCPL with the Guyana Amazon Warriors in 2022.
Carrying a similar profile to Joseph’s, but four years younger, James was the top player for West Indies at the 2023 ICC Under-19 Women’s World Cup in South Africa.
For West Indies, she has played 12 ODI’s and 14 T20I’s, taking five wickets in all formats, and scoring 102 runs in 17 innings. In last year’s WCPL, she captured three wickets.
For the 2024 series, James will be under the captaincy of former West Indies star, Deandra Dottin.
The Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad & Tobago will host the seven games of the WCPL 21-29 August.