England Women Hand West Indies Defeat In T20 World Cup Opener
A valiant 42 runs from skipper Hayley Matthews, and the return of Stafanie Taylor were not enough to defeat England in the West Indies’ opener at the T20 World Cup on Saturday in Paarl, South Africa.
Matthews leading from the front
The West Indies won the toss and elected to bat. The experienced pair of Matthews and Taylor opened the innings for the West Indies with Matthews being the aggressor. Matthews was in top form displaying excellent skill and control. Taylor, who has featured in every T20 World Cup, looked a bit rusty after returning from a back injury and not featuring in any of the warm-up matches. The pair took notched up 47 for no wicket at the end of the Powerplay but Taylor found difficulty navigating the bowling and only managed 3 runs off 15 balls falling LBW to Sarah Glenn.
Matthews continued scoring with perfectly timed drives and cuts and took the West Indies to 69 for 1 at the halfway stage with vice-captain Shemaine Campbell at the crease. However, Matthews soon departed after the break for 42 succumbing LBW to the off-spin of Sophie Ecclestone. She struck 8 fours in her innings.
West Indies stutter
Campbelle stayed at the crease for a short time and made 34 from 37 trying to hustle quick runs for the team and hitting 4 fours along the way. However, some sharp glovework by wicket-keeper Amy Jones accounted for Campbelle as she collected a faint edge off Sciver-Brunt’s bowling. Shabika Gajnabi and Chinelle Henry were run-out attempting risky runs, exposing the lower-order batters. Afy Fletcher and Zaida James, the latter on her senior World Cup debut, attempted to increase the scoring rate, but were no match for the English bowlers as the West Indies were restricted to 135 for 7 at the end of their 20 overs. Ecclestone was the pick of the bowlers taking 3 wickets for 23 runs.
England chase like a walk in the park
England started briskly in their reply as openers Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt wasted no time in finding the boundary. Dunkley set the tone dispatching Matthews calmly for a couple of fours and a six as the pair put on England’s highest opening partnership ever in a World Cup – 58 runs. Wyatt was first to go holing out in the deep off Henry, and then Henry accounted for Dunkley in her next over with a stunning one-handed catch in her follow through. Capsey was next to go stumped after charging at the leg-spin of Fletcher, but by this time, the Required Run Rate was less than a run a ball. Nat Sciver-Brunt and captain Heather Knight would ensure there were no more hiccups as they chased the winning target with 33 balls to spare topping Group B with a healthy Net Run Rate.
The West Indies take on India next on Wednesday 15 February at Cape Town as they seek to finish in one of the top two positions to move forward to the next round.
WEST INDIES 135/7 (20 overs)
Hayley Matthews 42 (32), Shemaine Campbelle 34 (37), Chinelle Henry 14 (13)
Sophie Ecclestone 3/23 (4 overs)
ENGLAND 138/3 (14.3 overs)
Nat Sciver-Brunt 40 (30), Sophia Dunkley 34 (18), Heather Knight 32 (22)
Chinelle Henry 2/30 (3.3 overs)
Photo Credit: ICC
