West Indies registered their first win of this ICC Women’s T20 World Cup by defeating Scotland by six wickets, chasing 100 runs for victory on Sunday in Dubai. The 2016 T20 World Cup champions made short work of the run chase as they completed the formalities in just 11.4 overs with 50 balls to spare. Leg spinner Afy Fletcher from West Indies and middle-order batter Lorna Jack-Brown from Scotland shared their thoughts on the game and much more in the post-match media interaction.
On losing two in two matches of this T20 World Cup so far, Lorna said, “We were disappointed after the Bangladesh game. Playing in the T20 World Cup has been a great experience. We still have a couple of more games to go. We are looking to improve. We as a team want to keep learning. We are up against world-class players. But we too are here to compete.”
She added, “After the Bangladesh game, we trained hard on our fielding and catching. Catching under lights is a different ball game.” Notably, Scotland’s fielding was praiseworthy in their second match that they played against West Indies.
Lorna, 31, who has been playing cricket for 18 years now expressed how happy she was when her team Scotland finally qualified for the T20 World this year. “I always wanted to be in the team that got Scotland to the World Cup. Before the qualifiers, I had announced that it will be my last one. Every time we played qualifiers, I thought that this was the best Scotland team,” she stated.
She also expressed that going forward, it would be better for Scotland Cricket to play more matches against quality oppositions.
Unlike Scotland, who are yet to get off the mark in the points table, West Indies grabbed two points after beating the Kathryn Bryce-led side. West Indies lost their first match against South Africa on Friday by 10 wickets.
“The first game didn’t go as planned. We went back to the drawing board, looked at areas we needed to improve, and came out with a strong plan. Result was good (against Scotland),” said Fletcher.
The wily leg spinner, who scalped three wickets against Scotland, is one of the few cricketers to have struck a perfect balance between motherhood and being a professional cricketer. She averred, “Once you have good family support and support from your (cricket) board, it makes it easier to balance motherhood and professional life.”
She added, “(It is) always a joy to represent the West Indies. We come from different nations, but we come together to play as a team. It makes us happy that we put smile on people’s faces.”
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.
