Jamaica will begin their defence of their title against Barbados when the West Indies Women's limited overs tournament bowls off with a double-header here today.

The two teams will clash at Bourda starting at 9:30 a.m. in a match that brings together two competitive units with Barbados boasting five West Indies players in their line-up.

Jamaica will be without West Indies player Staphanie Taylor, but fellow Windies player Shanel Daley will provide the international experience.

Grenada vs St Lucia

Meanwhile, Grenada and St Lucia will do battle in the other Zone A game at the Demerara Cricket Club.

With eight teams participating in this year's edition, keen competition is likely to unfold as a large number of top cricketers from around the Caribbean will be on show.

Jamaica, who captured the rain-hit tournament in St Lucia last year, will be looking to extend their success against the Barbadians who are yet to win the league title.

Barbados, who won the knockout title in 2006, will have a challenging first-match assignment but will be confident of starting the tournament on a winning note, especially with Windies players Deandra Dottin, Pamela Lavine, Shakera Selman, Danielle Small and Charlene Taitt in the line-up.

Definite advantage

Their experience will be a definite advantage but Jamaica will counter with Daley and the experienced Herma Nathan-Dawes.

Grenada and St Lucia, meanwhile, both went through their final training sessions yesterday and should provide great entertainment at the relatively small DCC ground.

Former champions Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica are also participating in the tournament.

A grand ceremony yesterday evening marked the opening of the competition.