Indian women's team calls for more Tests

India women have just completed a one-day series win over West Indies and are set to play them in three Twenty20s, but what their captain Jhulan Goswami wants is more Test matches.

It has been more than four years since India last played a Test series. "I do miss Test cricket," Goswami said. "It is more challenging than other forms of the game."

Mithali Raj, the Indian vice-captain who has played only eight Tests in a decade-long career, agreed saying more matches are required to better the team's bench strength and would help attract more players to the game. "We need at least three to four international series every year," Raj said. "That would be good for youngsters who are new to the system and will keep the momentum going for seniors. The Test format is good for the youngsters as it is all about applying techniques."

The immediate challenge for India is the Twenty20 series against West Indies starting Saturday and Goswami was hopeful that her team will carry the winning momentum from the ODI series victory. "The team is on a high after the 3-2 series win against West Indies," she said at the Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad, where the series will be played.

"We know this ground very well and have played here many times," she said, "We have about six or seven allrounders. This, I think, is our basic strength." Goswami said the series would be good preparation for the tour of England later this year.

West Indies skipper Merissa Aguilleira said she expected a competitive T20 series. "Our approach would be very different from that of the ODI series," she said, "There was a problem in the middle order during the ODIs, but the girls were learning from their mistakes.

"Our side is a less experienced than the Indian side, but we are working on our weaknesses and looking forward to win the T20 series."