DOHA: The West Indies women’s cricket team walked off the field after their very first Test match in the history of women’s cricket 44 years ago.
This iconic match was played against Australia at Jarrett Park in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Louise Browne from Trinidad & Tobago had the honour of leading the West Indies against the Aussies and also faced the first ball for the team.
She was accompanied by opening partner Jasmine Sammy.
Browne’s younger sister Beverley Browne was also in the team for the Test. A third sister Anne Browne-John would later play for the West Indies in One-Day Internationals.
The match was played over three-day and West Indies scored 282 in their only innings.
The visitors reached 268-8 off 119 overs in their turn at the crease.
Vivalyn Latty-Scott emerged as the leading bowler with a five-wicket haul as she ended with 5-48 which remains to date the best bowling figures in West Indies women’s Test history.
At the inaugural edition of the World Cup, in 1973, two teams that now compete as part of the West Indies, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, competed separately.
A combined West Indian team made its Test debut in 1976 (almost 50 years after its male counterpart), and its One Day International (ODI) in 1979.
The West Indies currently competes in the ICC Women’s Championship, the highest level of the sport, and has participated in five of the ten editions of the Women’s Cricket World Cup held to date. At the most recent 2013 World Cup, the team made the tournament’s final for the first time, but lost to Australia. (Source: Windies Cricket)
