West Indies surrender ODI series to Australia after 90-run defeat
On a tour of recurring themes, Windies bowled well again and chased again only to lose again
Australia 269 for 7 (Mooney 65, Litchfield 46; Matthews 3-40) beat West Indies 179 all out (Matthews 45, Fletcher 32*; Gardner 3-34) by 90 runs
The West Indies have so far lost all five games of their white-ball tour at home to Australia, with the latest contest concluding in a 90-run defeat in the second Women’s One-Day International at Warner Park in St. Kitts & Nevis on Sunday.
Not for the first time, the West Indian bowlers tested Australia’s batting, leaving the hosts with a real chance at the halfway stage of the game. Yet just as it had panned out on each occasion prior, the result went the visitors’ way, this time giving them a winning 2-0 lead in the three-match contest.
There was a feeling that if the West Indies were to chase any score in the series, it had to be the 269 they restricted Australia to on Sunday. Chasing 270 runs for victory, Qiana Joseph and captain Hayley Matthews saw them to 48 without loss after 10 overs. The pair went on to share in a 57-run stand for the first wicket before Ashleigh Gardner (3/34) dismissed Joseph, caught and bowled, in the 12th over for 29.
The partnership between Matthews and Stafanie Taylor that followed was a struggle, to say the least. The two boundaries in the stand came within the first 20 of the 74 balls the duo faced in their time together. They only managed to score 37 runs between them as the Australian spinners took control of proceedings.
Matthews eventually fell to stand-in skipper Tahlia McGrath for a 73-ball 45 with the final delivery of the 24th before Taylor (18 from 32) was bowled by Georgia Wareham on the first ball of the following over. Wareham (3/29) closed out the 25th with the wicket of Deandra Dottin, caught behind for a 4-ball duck, as the West Indies lost three wickets in seven balls to slip to 95 for 4.
Vice-captain Chinelle Henry scored a run-a-ball 19 in a 26-run stand alongside Jannillea Glasgow (8), but there would be no recovery for the Caribbean side, who lost their next five wickets for 35 runs to be restricted to 125 for 9 in the 35th.
Afy Fletcher’s unbeaten 32 made her Windies’ second-highest scorer on the night. She also shared in the second most productive partnership of the innings, putting on 49 (from 70 balls) with Karishma Ramharack for the 10th wicket. Australia sealed victory when McGrath had Ramharack caught for 14, dismissing the West Indies for 179 in 46 overs.
The West Indies had earlier forced Australia into what would have been an awkward position for almost every other team in the world. The visitors had raced to 50 inside seven overs before Ashmini Munisar claimed two wickets in two balls, first removing Georgia Voll, caught in the deep for 23, then Ellyse Perry for a golden duck via a return catch, leaving Australia 64 for 2 after 11 overs.
Matthews accounted for Phoebe Litchfield (46 from 47) in the 14th before claiming the scalp of Ashleigh Gardner for five to peg Australia back at 82 for 4 in the 16th. Top-scorer Beth Mooney then set about the repair, sharing in a 58-run (90 balls) sixth-wicket stand with McGrath (24) before putting on 70 from 71 balls with Wareham.
Wareham (39) fell in the 43rd with Mooney (65) following in the 44th, leaving Australia 214 for 7. Nicola Carey (30*) and Alana King (26*) then shared in an unbeaten 55-run stand (37 balls) to push them to 269 for 7 from their allotment.