West Indies flair in full flow against Scotland in Women’s Twenty20 World Cup
We have to take one game at a time, skipper Hayley Matthews says
Dubai: West Indies’ cricket is all about flair and the Caribbean Islanders were in full flow to ease to a six-wicket victory in the Group B clash of the Women’s Twenty20 World Cup at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
The second match of the double-header was nothing but a one-sided game. However, Scotland gave a good account of themselves as they are playing only in their second World Cup match.
Qiana Joseph brought the legendary West Indian opener Chris Gayle to memory. Stand and deliver seemed to be her motto and played some effortless drives through the line, clearing the infield with ease.
Joseph, who opened against South Africa in their previous game, was pushed down the order to No 3 but the move didn’t make a big difference as she walked in to take strike in the fourth ball after Stefanie Taylor was dismissed by Rachel Slater, the lone bright spot in the Associate Nation’s outing on Sunday.
“If we got ourselves in a secure position and then we think about the net run rate and we did it. We are taking it one game at a time. Next we have Bangladesh, if we win that and then against England to get into the semi-finals,” skipper Hayley Matthews said.
Then it was Deandra Dottin who gave the finishing touches to the innings with her six-hitting capabilities that propelled the Caribbean Islanders to the top of the Group B table. For the record, Dottin has the most sixes with 24 maximums in Twenty20 World Cups.
Chinelle Henry, who was adjudged the Player of the Match for her one wicket and unbeaten 18, said: “We figured the wicket was slow, batting was difficult. We had a clear plan and backed our skills and we executed. We have batters who can excel.”
Electing to bat on a pitch that saw India defeat Pakistan by six wickets, the Scottish players didn’t take a cue from that game and went into a shell and failed to come out of it with leg-spinner Afy Fletcher making it difficult with a three-wicket haul.
Scotland skipper Kathryn Bryce and Alisa Lister tried to resurrect the innings but took too long and that in turn put the pressure on the rest to finish with a score of 99 for 8 in 20 overs.
“It was pretty performance in field. With the firepower they got, it was tricky. We didn’t get off to a good start, we didn’t get any momentum in the middle. Gives the youngsters a good learning curve,” Bryce told during the post-match ceremony.