Harris, Burns perform royal resurrection following a Devine century in WCPL opener

Thu, Aug 31, '23 by KRISSANIA YOUNG

The second season of the Women's Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) got underway with iconic New Zealand opening duo Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine handing the Guyana Amazon Warriors the perfect start to their innings, assembling a 50 partnership inside the powerplay without casualties. Devine, especially, latched on to an uncharacteristically erratic Hayley Matthews and the ill-advised leg-stump line the Barbados Royals captain offered up.

The introduction of Royals' wrist-spinning duo of Amanda-Jade Wellington and Afy Fletcher was able to pull things back once the fielding restrictions were relaxed, however. And following a missed opportunity by Fletcher in the field, who put down Devine early in the 9th over on 41, Laura Harris was able to gobble up the opportunity presented to her by Bates 23 (22) four deliveries later.

After the 50 runs scored in the first 6 overs of their innings, with the pitch offering up turn and bounce and Fletcher only permitting 17 runs from her 4 overs in the period, the Amazon Warriors only managed 47 runs in the next 8 overs.

The return of Matthews in the 16th over was where the Warriors dragged their innings back on track, with Devine dancing down the wicket for consecutive boundaries in the eventual 16-run over. Stafanie Taylor 22 (26) on the other hand, in trying to get a move on, was undone by the bounce of Qiana Joseph in the 18th, finished off by a wonderful take from Rashada Williams behind the stumps.