That was the Facebook-listed description of one adoring fan, immediately after Hayley Matthews had posted her career-best bowling figures of 4/15-10 overs to help the West Indies to yet another nail-biting win in their 2022 ICC Women’s World Cup campaign. Matthews’ outstanding performance deservingly earned her the player-of-the-match honours, while providing further concrete evidence of her continuing rise as West Indies Women’s cricket’s brightest shining star.
Matthews had earlier also demonstrated her outstanding batting skills in the West Indies opening match of the tournament against hosts New Zealand. She scored a superb century, 119 made off of 128 balls and including 16 fours and a six, to help the West Indies post 259/9 off their 50 overs, a total which in the end proved to be just out of reach for New Zealand.
Now still only just 24 years of age, Hayley Kristen Matthews started her involvement with cricket at the tender age of 11. By then she had already captained her school’s Boys team. Just a year later, at 12 years of age, she made her debut for the Barbados Women’s team.
West Indies Women’s bowling coach, Corey Collymore, said it was difficult to defend the 89 for 7 the team scored in their losing effort to lowly Pakistan in the Women’s Cricket World Cup yesterday.
The regional women imperiled their chances of a semi-final spot when another faulty batting effort sent them crashing to an eight-wicket defeat by Pakistan in a rain-hit affair at Seddon Park. The win was at an ICC Women’s World Cup in 13 years.
Scores: West Indies Women 89 for seven (20 overs); Pakistan 90 for two (18.5 overs).
“I think … it was difficult to defend 90 runs. We really had to be on our ‘A’ game today in every single ball,” Collymore said.
ST GEORGE’S, Grenada – Cricket West Indies (CWI) Men’s Selection Panel has named an unchanged squad for the third and final Apex Test match against England. The match will be the series-decider and will be played at the Grenada National Stadium from March 24-28. The three-match Apex Series is level 0-0 following a draws in the first Apex Test match at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua and the second Apex Test at Kensington Oval in Barbados, which ended on Sunday.
Captain Kraigg Brathwaite was named Player-of-the-Match in the second Apex Test. He scored an outstanding 160 in the first innings – his 10th Test century and first on home soil and then 56 not out in the second innings on the final day.
Lead Selector, the Most Hon. Dr. Desmond Haynes said: “We were very impressed with the captain Kraigg Brathwaite showing the fight in both innings and the way he led from the front with the bat. Also, Jermaine Blackwood and the way he played in the first innings to get a century. They batted very well together. We really appreciated the fighting spirit from the batting department. We decided to stick with the same squad and want to see them continue to give a big effort in the third Apex Test match.”
Kraigg Brathwaite rescued West Indies with a record-breaking innings on his home ground as England again failed to force a final-day victory at Kensington Oval.
Windies captain Brathwaite spent 710 minutes at the crease to hold the tourists up with an excellent 160 in the first innings and he followed that up with a resolute unbeaten 56 in Barbados on Sunday to keep the three-match series level at 0-0.
Joe Root set West Indies 282 to win by declaring on 185-6, but Brathwaite set a record of 673 for the most balls faced by a West Indies player in a single Test as he dug in for a second time.
Brathwaite showed incredible concentration and skill as the Windies frustrated England for the second time in the series to grind out a draw, reaching 135-5 from 65 overs to set up a decider in Grenada.
Jack Leach (3-36) and Saqib Mahmood (2-21) gave the tourists high hopes of forcing a victory, but they were unable to dislodge the rock-solid Brathwaite or Joshua Da Silva (30 not out).
Off-spinner Nida Dar took four wickets for 10 runs as previously winless Pakistan beat the West Indies by eight wickets Monday in a match shortened to 20 overs per side at the Women’s Cricket World Cup.
Pakistan’s battery of spin bowlers came into its own in sticky conditions at Seddon Park to deal a blow to the West Indies’ hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
The West Indies managed only 89-7 from their 20 overs and Pakistan surpassed that total with seven balls to spare, led by opener Muneeba Ali’s 37 from 43 balls in her first innings at the tournament.
Pakistan captain Bismah Mahroof made 20 and Omaima Sohail 22 in an unbroken partnership of 33 for the team’s first win at a World Cup in 13 years.
