Sports
Jonathan Ramnanansingh
West Indies women suffered a a heavy nine-wicket defeat to England to lose the three-match T20 International series at Hove, in the second fixture on May 23.
After losing the first T20 by 124 runs, on May 21, West Indies fielded a slightly more experienced lineup, but the maroon women failed to fire with the bat and were restricted to a paltry 81/9 after 20 overs.
An unchanged England squad, in reply, cruised to victory as they achieved 82/1 from 9.2 overs to seal the series, with the final match set to bowl off on May 26 at Chelmsford.
After the match, West Indies skipper Hayley Matthews, who scored a century in vain in the first T20, said the coaching staff cannot make magic and turn inexperienced players into international ones.
“We’re asking girls who’ve probably played 30 to 40 domestic games in their life—if that much—to come and perform at the international stage,” she said.
“It’s always going to be hard for them (and also) hard to ask coaches as well, to come to this level and turn girls into magic, when we don’t have a proper system to come through a lot of the times.”
The Cricket West Indies Women’s T20 Blaze, the premier regional tournament, recently ended with the majority of teams struggling to score a hundred runs. Guyana were the champions.
Once again, England won the toss and put the visitors in to bat. Skipper Hayley Matthews (six) could not repeat her first-game heroics as she was bowled by Em Arlott in the fourth over, having lost fellow opener Qiana Joseph (four) off the innings’ third delivery.
Zaida James (six) perished soon after, but Shemaine Campbelle, in for Raeleanna Grimmond, showed some resistance with her 26-run knock. Veteran Stafanie Taylor, who came in for Janillea Glasgow, was dismissed without scoring after two balls, which sank West Indies to an unstable 29/4.
Campbelle and Shabika Gajnabi (22) put on a 34-run partnership before spinner Charlie Dean had the former caught out by Arlott. Maroon wicketkeeper Mandy Mangru was bowled for a first-ball duck by Dean, and Aaliyah Alleyne was dismissed for the same score by pacer Lauren Bell.
At 69/7, the visitors were in disarray. Gajnabi and Afy Fletcher (two) were also dismissed as Windies failed to reach triple figures. Karishma Ramharack (five not out) and Cherry-Ann Fraser (four not out) were at the crease at the death.
Right-arm fast bowlers Arlott (3/14) and Lauren Bell (3/28) were England’s best with the ball while Dean (2/12) bagged a pair.
Set a cool victory target of 82, England had the worst possible start as opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge was bowled by James off the first ball. That was quickly forgotten as skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt (55 not out) and Sophia Dunkley (24 not out) made light work of the target.
Sciver-Brunt held nothing back, striking four boundaries in her knock from 30 balls. Dunkley also showed aggression with the bat as her 24 runs came from 25 balls, three fours included.
Speaking after the match, Matthews described the series-loss as, “a bit disappointing,” but acknowledged the steep learning curve facing her young, inexperienced squad.
“We knew coming down here it was going to be a tough tour,” said Matthews. “Missing some of our seasoned campaigners like Deandra Dottin and Chinelle Henry, it’s still a lot to ask from the girls who are obviously quite inexperienced. We would like compete a bit better but we’ll have to see how that goes in the next one.”
The absence of those veteran players has left the West Indies fielding a relatively untested lineup, and Matthews highlighted the challenge of expecting consistent international performances from players with limited domestic experience.
Despite the setback, Matthews said the focus remains on building confidence and resilience within the squad.
“Just keep encouraging them. It has nothing to do with the effort they’re putting in. This is always going to be a steep learning curve and the mistakes we make as a team, we’re all going to learn from together.”
The final T20 bowls off at Chelmsford on May 26, from 9.30 am (TT time). A three-match ODI series between both nations bowls off from May 30 to June 7.
Summarised Scores:
WEST INDIES 81/9 (20) – Shemaine Campbelle 26, Shabika Gajnabi 22; Em Arlott 3/14, Lauren Bell 3/28, Charlie Dean 2/12 vs ENGLAND 82/1 (9.2) – Nat Sciver-Brunt 55 not out, Sophia Dunkley 24 not out; Zaida James 1/12. England won by nine wickets.
