CAPE TOWN, South Africa- The West Indies defeated Sri Lanka by four wickets in a low-scoring thriller at the Western Province Cricket Club.
Sri Lanka scored 107 all out in 20 overs. Nilakshi Silva top-scored with 29 (26) followed by Harshitha Samarawickrama 16 (20). Hayley Matthews finished with figures of 4-0-17-3 followed by Afy Fletcher with 4-0-12-2. West Indies got to the 108-run target with two balls to spare, thanks to a top-score of 46 (48) from skipper Hayley Matthews and 16 (14) not out from Chinelle Henry. Bowling for Sri Lanka Kaveesha Dilhari finished with figures of 3-0-11-1 and Malsha Shehani with 2-0-11-1.
Speaking after the match Hayley Matthews told CWI Media, “It was good to have a decent all-round performance today from a personal perspective. From a team aspect, I think the bowlers did a fantastic job to restrict them to 107, as we know they’ve got a couple batters who can really fire up. We still have areas to improve on, but the win will no doubt give us a boost heading into our first official match against England on Saturday.”
Former Jamaica and West Indies fast-bowler Franklyn Rose is calling on players to have the right frame of mind when representing the region.
The 51-year-old Rose, who played 19 tests and 27 one-day internationals, made this plea in a recent interview with www.usacricketers.com.
He implored players to aspire to be role models, always disciplined and change their attitudes when it comes to international duties.
“Our players need to change their attitudes in the region and I think that is what is affecting our performances over the years, if not our cricket will continue to decline,” Rose commented.
Rose, who took 53 Test wickets, also commented on the standard of First-class cricket in the region.
West Indies Women lost their ICC Women’s World Cup warm-up match against New Zealand by 32 runs in Cape Town on Monday.
Chasing 123-5 made by the Kiwis, the West Indies limped to 91-7 in their 20 overs.
Maddy Green top-scored for New Zealand with 47 from 37 balls after her team had slipped to 32-3 in the seventh over. Suzie Bates and Green added 26 for the fourth wicket before the former was dismissed for 30.
Green and Brooke Halliday then added 56 for the fifth which took the score to 114 when Halliday was run out for 24 in the 20th over.
Green added the remaining runs before the innings closed.
West Indies openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Tagenarine Chanderpaul broke a long-standing record for Test opening partnerships on Monday’s third day of the first Test against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo as the West Indies went to lunch on 374-2.
Resuming from their overnight score of 221-0 with Brathwaite on 116 and Chanderpaul on 101, the pair took their opening partnership to 336 before Brathwaite was trapped leg before wicket to Wellington Masakadza for 182. The score broke the record for the best-ever West Indies opening partnership of 296 made against England that had been held by the West Indies iconic opening pair of Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes that had stood since 1990.
They also became the first opening pair to bat in excess of 100 overs in an innings in the 21st century only the second opening pair to face over 600 deliveries in a Test innings, falling just short of the record held by Sri Lanka’s Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya, who had played 114.2 overs against Pakistan.
WEST INDIES women’s selectors are doubling down on their choice to have the injured Stafanie Taylor as part of the West Indies Women’s T20 World Cup team set to bow into action in another week.
Despite being injured since October 2022, lead selector of the team Ann Browne-John believes that the former captain will be ready ahead of the tournament.
“We are aware that Stafanie has been out injured for quite some time, since October, but she has been progressing and we have been working with her back-to-play routine. She’s almost there. We are now awaiting the final assessment from the medical team to give her clearance, but we are all positive,” said Browne-John.
