Born to fly: Zaida James, silver lining in the West Indies’ overcast sky
Born to fly: Zaida James, silver lining in the West Indies’ overcast sky
West Indies returned to the ODI format after six months and didn’t have much reason to cheer. A 211-run pasting at the hands of India is hardly the best way to begin after flipping the hourglass in the runup to the ODI World Cup in September 2025. That said, head coach Shane Deitz has always been a man who looks for the silver lining in an overcast sky. For the Windies in Vadodara, that was Zaida James who registered her career-best figures of 5/45 against a dominant Indian batting lineup.
The young left-arm spinner put an end to Smriti Mandhana’s march towards a historic fifth century across formats in the calendar year. She saw the back of a dangerous Jemimah Rodrigues who was threatening to give India a massive flourish at the end, before cleaning up the tail.
James became the fourth bowler ever to take a fifer against India in India in the format and her figures are now the best by a visiting spinner in women’s ODIs against India. The 20-year-old also became the youngest player to take a fifer against India in India going past Australia’s Ellyse Perry who did so in 2012 at the age of 21.
This will be a special stat for the all-rounder who looked up to the Australian for much of her developmental years.
“I wanted that number ‘8.’ I had it on my door and all of that. She’s such a match winner and just the way she speaks, there’s so much to learn,” James told Sportstar on the sidelines of the T20 World Cup in Dubai a few months ago.
James was a sports-loving girl growing up, dabbling in swimming, athletics and tennis alongside cricket.
“I got into cricket by watching my dad play on the playstation. It’s crazy, I know, but it just became a habit from there and I began training. I guess it’s also in the genes because the love for this game is there in all of us,” she quipped.
The 2018 World Cup hosted in the Caribbean was transformative for many young girls, James included. She was 14 then and was a flag bearer at the tournament. Soon, she climbed her way up the West Indian regional setup and found herself in the squad for the inaugural U19 Women’s T20 World Cup in 2023, where the Windies finished in the Super Six stage.
Her all-round performance against Ireland in particular where she scored a 57-ball 52 and took four wickets piqued the interests of the national selectors who then absorbed her into the senior set up. India was involved in her first international rodeo as she made her debut in the Tri-series that also featured South Africa in East London.
“During the team huddle, they mentioned who was sitting out and my name wasn’t in that order, so I had to double take in shock a bit,” James chuckled as she recalled her debut game.
“The debut bit slowly dawned on me and so immediately ran to Hayley (Matthews) and told her I wanted her to give me the cap and she agreed.”
James was also involved in another encouraging campaign for the Caribbean ecosystem – the 2024 T20 World Cup where the outfit surprised many by making the semifinals.
In a group game against South Africa, James copped a blow from a Laura Wolvaardt drive. It hit James on the thumb and then deflected to her jaw.
“Getting hit in the face was quite scary. I struggled to eat, I struggled to open my mouth to speak. I wanted to do my best and I thought the team needed me as well, but I had to take my pills and calm down and wait it out.”
She came back to a Windies side that had punched well above its weight, the crowning moment of that campaign being an unforgettable victory against England to knock the former champion out of the tournament.
That was a campaign that saw the girls dancing and singing their way from one game to the next.
“The girls love to live life like a party so the celebrations don’t really stop and our coach has always told us to never stop dancing and to dance in this tournament, we have to win games,” James said.
But it did stop, at the hands of eventual champion New Zealand. James’ spirited knock was snuffed out by Suzie Bates. Three deliveries later, it was all over for the Women in Maroon who fell short by just eight runs.
West Indies and James had a few months off before flying to India for a white ball tour. The side ceded the T20I series 1-2 and was crushed in the first ODI. James had an underwhelming outing till her fifer. While the seniors in the team are used to being under the pump against stronger and better-resourced competitors, it is an initiation for the younger ones in the team.
Coach Deitz wants his players, James included, to have blinkers on and focus on upskilling and better belief in their abilities, two stated objectives from when he took charge of the side in July, 2023.
“As a youngster coming into a side, it takes some time to feel you’re good enough at this level and performances like tonight will reinforce to her why everyone around her thinks she is a good player,” he told reporters after the game.
“But she’s going to have to understand the power of her performances and start believing in herself too. Cricket’s a funny game, you’ll have a good day and a bad day. You have to keep fighting to have more of the former.”
James bowled the hard overs and took five to wrestle some control for her side on a day when they were slippery on the field. As she got hugs from her teammates, Matthews – the cricketer James credits effusively for guiding her in the game – got the ball from the umpire and quietly handed it to her, nudging her forward to lead the pack off the field.
In jest, the youngster once told this publication that she would have been a pilot if not for this life in cricket. One way or another, Zaida James is born to fly.
