West Indies’ struggle on this tour continues as they are handed another defeat and they trail 2-0 in the series
England won the toss and decided to bat first and what was interesting is how they seemed to experiment with their side resting the match-winning trio of Nat Sciver, Amy Jones, and Sophie Ecclestone making way for Alice Davidson-Richards, Freya Davies, and Charlie Dean. Off to a slow start, the openers Danni Wyatt and Sophia Dunkley were taking time to settle in and they received their first jolt when Wyatt was dismissed for 20 off just 19. Lauren Winfield Hill was the new batter in at 3 and before she could find her groove, Hayley Matthews got the better of her dismissing her for 4. Slowly and steadily, skipper Heather Knight and Sophia Dunkley were looking on building a partnership but Knight was dismissed by Karishma Ramharack for just 18, an innings that had two crucial boundaries.
Sophia Dunkley who was looking solid at one end anchoring the ship was undone by Hayley Matthews for a run a ball 43. England was in a precarious position in the match, they were 116/4 and really needed acceleration to put up a decent total on the board. Maia Bouchier was batting with ease and looked in control before she was dismissed for 24 off 15 and in quick succession without causing much impact even Katherine Brunt was out. Sarah Glenn gave the final touches to the England batting with a quick-fire cameo of 10 coming off just 3 balls, striking at an impressive 333.33 thereby ending at 141/6 which was a healthy score on the wicket. Another interesting stat was how England could only put up 31 off the last five overs which meant they too didn’t have their best day in office. West Indies’ pick of the bowlers was Hayley Matthews and the skipper who was leading from the front chipped in with 3 wickets and was economical at 3.75. Karishma Ramharack, Afy Fletcher, and Rashada Williams with their solitary wickets also shone in restricting the dangerous England batting.
West Indies with perhaps the intention to register their first win of the tour were off to their run chase and at the two-over mark were 21 for no loss as Lauren Bell conceded 14 runs off just an over. But losing Aaliyah Alleyne for 16 and in the very next over losing Hayley Matthews for 1 dented their hopes. Rashada Williams joined Kycia Knight at the crease and was rotating the strike to keep the run board ticking but her dismissal further added to the pressure. Another quick loss of Djenaba Joseph was only complicating the situation and with Kycia Knight’s dismissal, West Indies were staring the down the barrel looking at an improbable win.
The scoreboard read 50/5 and with the asking rate steeply climbing, the fragile lower middle order could not bear the brunt of the pressure that the England attack was subjecting them to. Shemaine Campbelle, Chenille Henry, and Afy Fletcher with their knocks of 15, 13, and 18 were just the bright spots in a fightback attempt but not enough to help West Indies. After Shemaine Campbell’s dismissal when the scorecard read 82/7, Shabika Gajnabi whose unforgettable six sent Brunt to the carpark will definitely not be forgotten as they scored 12 of the 19th over keeping hopes alive. Afy Fletcher tried to revive the batting but was largely unsuccessful owing to the continuous fall of wickers and Cherry-Ann Fraser with her lofty six certainly lifted the dying spirits of the fans but it wasn’t enough as West Indies lost the match by a narrow margin of 16 runs. Charlie Dean who was featuring in just her 2nd T20I and Katherine Brunt, the veteran with their three and two wickets respectively were the pick of the bowlers and Lauren Bell continued to impress scalping 2 wickets as well. Sarah Glenn and Freya Davies were quiet performers with their economical spells also claiming wickets.
Not surprisingly, Sophia Dunkley was adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’ for her valuable run-a-ball knock of 43. England will be happy with the outcome of the match and trying out different team combinations ahead of the elusive ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is their aim while the West Indies have a lot to introspect and reflect on as they trail 0-2 in this series.
Brief scores: England 141/6 (S Dunkley 43, M Bouchier 24; H Matthews 3/15) defeated West Indies 125/8 (A Fletcher 18, S Gajnabi 17*; C Dean 3/22)
I am a first year postgraduate student pursuing a MA in Media and Communication Studies at Christ University, Bengaluru. I am a podcaster, blogger and an avid cricket fan. When not glued to cricket matches, you can find me submerged in books and thinking about cricket all the time.