The West Indies versus Ireland match at the U19 ICC Women’s World Cup certainly lived up to its billing of being a thriller.
Ireland won the toss and elected to bowl first. Batting first, West Indies put up a decent 125/3. They had a fine start and it was only in the 10th over that opener Shunelle Sawh was dismissed for 15 by Aimee Maguire. Zaida James built on a solid knock, scoring a valuable 52 striking eight boundaries and stood out with her performance. After James’ dismissal, Naijanni Cumberbatch and Jannillea Glasgow with their knocks of 21 and 13 ensured West Indies had a reasonable 125/3 on the board. Freya Sargent was the pick of the bowlers scalping 2 wickets and Aimee Maguire scalped 1. Another concerning trend that perhaps worked well for West Indies and backfired for Ireland was how the Irish team conceded 24 runs as extras, something they would wish to work on before their other matches.
Ireland was in to bat and lost their opener Siuin Woods for 8 and with Amy Hunter and Annable Squires at the crease, they looked on course to chase the total down. The highlight of their batting was the ability to rotate the strike and score runs at a consistent rate. But when Amy Hunter was dismissed for 21, the new batter Georgina Dempsey was also out for 1. Losing the set Annabel Squires for 42 meant Ireland was 4 down and suddenly looked out of sorts. The middle-order and lower middle-order of Ireland wilted under pressure and were unable to capitalise and the wickets fell like a pack of cards. Consequent dismissals of Abbi Harrison, Joanna Loughran and Zara Craig meant excess pressure on the duo of Freya Sargent and Kia McCartney who tried their best to ensure Ireland was on the other side of the finishing line but they fell agonizingly short by 8 runs but Freya Sargent was brilliant with her 15 off 11. Zaida James for her 4-wicket haul was the pick of the bowlers and with Glasgow and Mitchell scalping a wicket each, West Indies was able to pull off a win by a whisker.
🚨RECORD🚨
West Indies’ Zaida James becomes the first player to have a 4 wicket haul in U19 Women’s World Cup#CricketTwitter #U19T20WorldCup 📸Getty pic.twitter.com/AOf8UiOXC4
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 15, 2023
Zaida James for her phenomenal all-round effort of scoring 52 and also scalping 4 wickets was adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’. This match also became the first in this World Cup where a team batting first was able to defend their total.
Match 6: West Indies U19 won by 6 runs
🌴West Indies U19: 125-3 (20)
Zaida James: 52 (57)
Najanni Cumberbatch: 21(28)
Freya Sargent 2-9🇮🇪Ireland U19: 119-7 (20)
Annabelle Squires: 42 (38)
Amy Hunter: 21 (25)
Zaida James 4-20#CricketTwitter #U19T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/drF9SJUYa5— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 15, 2023
Brief Scores: WI 125/3 in 20 overs (Z James 52; F Sargent 2/9) defeated IRE 118/7 in 20 overs (A Squires 42; Z James 4/20) by 8 runs
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.
