A notable all-round performance from West Indies Women captain Hayley Matthews helped her side break their losing sequence with a four-wicket win in a low-scoring ICC Women’s Twenty20 World Cup warm-up contest against Sri Lanka Women on Wednesday.
The Barbadian all-rounder grabbed 3-17 from her allotted four overs and Afy Fletcher supported with 2-12 from her four overs, and the Windies Women dismissed the Sri Lankans for 107 in their second warm-up match at the Western Province Cricket Club.
Batting still proved to be a challenge for the Caribbean side, but Matthews followed up with the top score of 46 from 48 balls, and they successfully chased the target, but only got over the finish line with two balls remaining in the contest.
“It was good to have a decent all-round performance from a personal perspective,” Hayley Matthews told CWI Media in a post-play interview.
“From a team aspect, I think the bowlers did a fantastic job to restrict them to 107, as we know they’ve got a couple batters who can really fire up.
“We still have areas to improve on, but the win will no doubt give us a boost heading into our first official match against England on Saturday.”
West Indies Women will be looking for an upset against the English on the weekend at Boland Park in Paarl, after Heather Knight’s side embarrassed them in a series of One-day and Twenty20 Internationals in the Caribbean, when they swept all the matches.
West Indies have been drawn in Group 2 alongside England, India, Pakistan, and Ireland.
Newlands in Cape Town, Boland Park in Paarl, and St George’s Park in Gqeberha are the host venues for the tournament, with both the semi-finals and the final being played on February 26 in Cape Town.
The eighth edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup will begin on Friday when hosts South Africa face the Sri Lankans.
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