Champion vibe

Article by Mike King

THE FANS screamed “Champions, Champions” for the trailblazing West Indies women’s cricket team, and two of the team’s biggest stars, Stafanie Taylor and Deandra Dottin, said yesterday’s rousing welcome in Barbados was one of the biggest days of their lives.

Taylor, the winning captain and the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP), told officials and media at the Grantley Adams International Airport, that the welcoming reception made her feel like a superstar.

“I am real proud of the girls. The reception was wonderful, leaves me speechless, makes me feel like a superstar,” said the 24-year-old all-rounder from Spanish Town, Jamaica, who made 59 in the final against Australia.

Taylor, Dottin, and final MVP Hayley Matthews headlined the team that arrivedfrom London on the Virgin Atlantic flight VS 29 at 3:15 p.m. to a reception befitting a world champion team that were good enough to convert their maiden appearance in a World Twenty20 final into a historic victory in Kolkata, beating three-time defending champions Australia for the first time in a T20 international.