A better Caribbean batting display was not enough to challenge the top-ranked Aussies
Australia 164 for 5 (Perry 42, Voll 39; Ramharack 1-21) beat West Indies 147 for 4 (Matthews 56, Dottin 39*; King 2-25) by 17 runs
The West Indies turned in a much improved batting performance against Australia in the second Women’s T20 International at the Arnos Vale Stadium in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Saturday. The result, however, was the same: defeat. The 17-run margin handed the visitors a winning 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Where the first encounter was highlighted by the familiar story of demise by dot-balls for the West Indies, Saturday’s second once more emphasized the divide between the two Windies teams, one with Hayley Matthews at the crease and the other without.
While the skipper was equally slow out of the blocks, the sense that the chase of 165 was within reach remained while she was in the middle. Unlike Thursday's first game, however, Matthews managed to find her timing. After scoring the solitary run from her first 11 deliveries, the 28-year-old hit seven 4s and three maximums on her way to a 38-ball fifty.
Matthews put on 77 runs (52 balls) with Stafanie Taylor for the second wicket, leaving the West Indies 90 for 2 and needing 75 from 47 for victory. Following her dismissal by Alana King (2-25) in the 13th over for a 41-ball 56, Windies scored just 15 runs in the next 23 balls to be left with a required rate of 15 entering the final 4 overs.
Mooney and Perry’s 99-run stand the difference between the sides
Australia 164 for 6 (Mooney 79, Perry 36; Dottin 3-35) beat West Indies 121 for 6 (Joseph 45, Taylor 28; King 3-14) by 43 runs
The West Indies went down to Australia by 43 runs in the first Women’s T20 International at the Arnos Vale Stadium in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Thursday evening. Despite an encouraging bowling performance, the hosts failed to capitalize on an uncharacteristically untidy fielding display from the Aussies to go one-nil down in the three-match series.
Needing 165 for victory, the West Indies scored 15 runs from the first four overs of the chase. Captain Hayley Matthews needed eight balls to get off the mark before she was cleaned up by Alana King in the 7th over for a 17-ball 11. Up until the 12th, they’d only lost the one wicket. Qiana Joseph crunched seven 4s and a six in her 39-ball innings of 45. Australia had put down as many as six catches.
In a tale as old as time, however, the Caribbean side had chewed up 34 dots in the first 66 balls of the innings. When Gardner finally held on to one to dismiss Joseph off the bowling of Kim Garth, the West Indies needed 89 runs from 59 balls at 76 for 2.
Australia essentially sealed victory in the 13th as King delivered a double-wicket maiden, removing Shemaine Campbelle (15 from 15) and Dottin for a duck on either side of a short rain break, leaving the West Indies grasping at 76 for 4. The wrist-spinner finished with figures of 3 for 14.
West Indies head coach Shane Deitz is eager for a bounce-back showing in their upcoming T20 International series against Australia. Ahead of Thursday’s start to the three-match contest, which is set to be played exclusively in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Deitz expressed his desire for the Caribbean side to execute in areas they “didn't quite do against Sri Lanka."
“We've got to express ourselves, show our skills, and back ourselves against the very best, and that will be a bit of a mental shift,” Deitz began. The West Indies lost both the T20I and ODI home series to Sri Lanka last month after repeated top-order failures across both formats.
Despite this, Deitz, an Australian himself, does not want his team to fall into the trap of playing timid cricket, even against the number one side. “It's great to test yourself against the best, to see where we're at, individually and collectively, so we’re looking forward to the contest," he said.
“The intensity and the aggression of the Aussies will come at us,” he stressed. “We've got to match that; we can't be too complacent or too within ourselves.” The West Indies were semi-finalists at the most recent edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2024. They have lost eight of their 14 games since then.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended Barbadian Javon Searles for breaches of its Anti-Corruption Codes as well as that of Cricket West Indies (CWI).
In a statement released on Thursday, the ICC revealed that the charges are in relation to the 2023/2024 season of Barbados' Bim10 Tournament, a competition that falls under the jurisdiction of the CWI Anti-Corruption Code.
The 39-year-old never represented the West Indies at the senior level but was a member of the West Indies Under-19 team. He played 42 matches for the Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League from 2014 to 2019.
The charges extend to team officials Chitranjan Rathod and Trevon Griffith. All three have been provisionally suspended from all cricket with immediate effect and have 14 days (from 11 March) to respond to the charges.
The investigation into the Bim10 led to USA player Aaron Jones being charged with five breaches of the CWI and ICC Anti-Corruption Codes in January.
Offences brought against Searles, Rathod and Griffith:
Breach of Article 2.1.1 of the CWI Code – Fixing, contriving to fix or otherwise influencing improperly, or being a party to an agreement or effort to fix or contrive in any way or otherwise influence improperly,the result, progress, conduct or other aspect of matches in the Bim10 tournament in 2023/24 (or attempting to do so).
Breach of Article 2.1.4 of the CWI Code – Soliciting, instructing, encouraging or facilitating Players and/or Player Support Personnel to commit offences under the CWI Code.
Breach of Article 2.4.4 of the CWI Code – Failing or refusing to cooperate with a reasonable investigation carried out by the Designated Anti-Corruption Official (or his/her designee) in relation to possible offences under the CWI Code.
The West Indies named an unchanged squad for their three-match Women's T20 International series against Australia from March 19 to 23. According to Head Coach Shane Deitz, the series could not have come at a better time. “It's just before the World Cup, so it's a great opportunity to see where we are in our preparation,” he said.
The series will be played exclusively at the Arnos Vale Cricket Ground in St. Vincent and the Grenadines before the teams travel to St. Kitts and Nevis to contest three One Day Internationals. Deitz continued, “We're really excited about the opportunity to play the number one ranked ODI and T20 team in the world."
West Indies Squad for Women’s T20Is against Australia:
