The club is a joint partnership between the Barbados Royals, Bat for a Chance and member of the West Indies Men’s Senior and Youth selection panels and former player, Roland Butcher.
The Barbados Royals Girls Cricket Club will seek to provide mentorship and resources to 100 young ladies as they seek to foster their cricket development.
Current Barbados Royals and West Indies Captain, Hayley Matthews, was on hand and gave her thoughts on this momentous occasion.
“I am pleased to be a part of this initiative that allows other young girls to write their names on history’s page,” she said.
“I honestly think it’s something that has been needed for a very long time and that’s why I’m so happy to see it come to fruition. Hopefully we can see this thing really take off and present girls with a lot more opportunities,” Matthews added.
Ball dominated bat on a testing wicket under lights. The Royals were inserted after Warriors captain Lauren Winfield-Hill won the toss and Hayley Matthews’s side struggled to break the infield or find the boundary in the early stages. Matthews fell for just two runs off 13 deliveries, and the normally fluent Chamari Athapanthu used up 27 deliveries for her 15 runs before being pinned lbw by Chloe Tryon.
It was hard going throughout for the Royals in the face of tight bowling, with just 25 runs added in the PowerPlay and 33 on the board after the first ten overs. Erin Burns starred for the Warriors once again, this time with the ball in hand, as she returned figures of 3/31 off her four overs as the Royals reached a total of 101/8 off their twenty overs. Qiana Joseph top scored for the 2023 champions with 19 runs. The slow left-armer later pocketed 3/16 with the ball to cap a Player of the Match performance.
The Warriors found conditions equally as tough in their response. The Royals put the squeeze on and showed their class and composure in defending a small target. Once Erin Burns, the tournament’s top run maker, was dismissed by Athanpanthu to leave the warriors 44/5 in the twelfth over, the game drifted out of sight for Winfield-Hill’s side.
The Royals chalked up another win and look increasingly strong in this year’s competition, now it is a case of who they will meet in Thursday’s final with Trinbago Knight Riders and Guyana Amazon Warriors both tied on two points apiece. Deandra Dottin’s Knight Riders have the chance to secure their place in the final but will need to find a way of beating the undefeated and dominant Royals tomorrow night in order to do so.
The Royals won the toss and put the Warriors into bat and their decision was vindicated when they kept them to 100 from their 20 overs thanks to economical wicket-taking bowling from Shakera Selman who finished with figures of 2-16.
Despite Warriors’ openers Chamari Athapaththu and Rashada Williams racing to 21 from four overs, an all-round performance with the ball including some stunning catches meant the Royals went into the innings break on top and feeling it was a score that they could chase.
In response, Hayley Matthews and Aaliyah Alleyne looked to make light work but a rush of wickets and some tight bowling meant it came down to some big hitting from Qiana Joseph to see them over the line and into the final.
They will now take on the Trinbago Knight Riders, whom they recently defeated in the final of the SKYEXCH 6IXTY last week.
After being put into bat, the Guyana Amazon Warriors started quickly before the dangerous Athapaththu was dismissed by young Fatima Sana for 19 leaving the Warriors 34-1.
As if often the case, one wicket brings another and with just seven more added to the score Williams was bowled by Selman, meaning Stafanie Taylor and Shermaine Campbelle were in need of putting together a rebuild.
The pair looked to be finding their rhythm before a stunning catch from Britney Cooper sent Campbelle back to the dugout and the Warriors floundering on 83/3 after 17.
Another stunning catch from Alleyne saw the back of Nation and then two run-outs in the final over meant the Warriors somewhat limped to 100/7 from their 20.
Beginning the chase, the Warriors’ openers Matthews and Alleyne looked keen to get the chase done quickly and were 22-0 after five overs before Gajnabi trapped Alleyne lbw with the first ball of her spell and made it two-in-two as Cooper edged behind off the next ball.
Chloe Tryon and Matthews had a grip on the rebuild and when Stafanie Taylor dropped Matthews on 20, it seemed the Royals were racing at 59-2 from nine overs.
Making up for her mistake Taylor then caught Matthews who had only added two and a flurry of wickets meant the finish would be tight.
Runs began to dry up but batting power and bravery from Qiana Joseph, who scored 30 off 19 and sealed it with a six, meant the Royals took the two points for the win and qualify for the final.
The Royals must now go and recover, refuel and prepare to return to competition in the final of the inaugural Massy WCPL on Sunday.
After her decisive innings of 61 not out against Guyana Amazon Warriors in the first game of the competition on Wednesday, Matthews showed again why she is one of the best in the world in the white ball format. The in-form opener struck twelve boundaries to finish unbeaten on 67 off 56 balls to see her side complete a comfortable seven wicket victory with 17 balls to spare.
Matthews started the evening well and never looked back. She won the toss for the second night in a row and chose to insert the opposition, her decision vindicated with the very first ball of the match as Chinelle Henry bowled Knight Riders opener Kycia Knight.
It was a sign of things to come as a procession of wickets fell soon after. The Knight Riders total of 113/9 never looked enough to challenge the Royals stellar batting card and so it proved when Matthews hit the winning four off Shikha Pandey from the first ball of the 18th over. The 2023 champions have two wins from two games and look the team to beat in the early stages of this year’s WCPL.
The Royals obliterated the Knight Riders top order to leave them reeling on 57/6 at the halfway stage in the innings and it was thanks to Shikha Pandey and Zaida James that the Knight Riders reached the total that they did. A partnership of exactly 50 runs off 47 deliveries for the seventh wicket helped Deandra Dottin’s side bat out their allotted overs and post a total of 113/9.
Pandey, in particular played, well, top scoring for her side with 30 runs, her deft cuts and manipulation of the ball into the gaps was impressive in the face of tight bowling.
Matthews took a fine diving catch in the outfield and topped off a sparkling Player of the Match performance by bowling both Zaida James and Jazhara Claxton to take 2-21 with the ball.
For the second match in a row the Royals bowlers impressed and shared the wickets around, Henry, Matthews and Wellington all picking up two wickets apiece and Qiana Joseph and Aaliyah Alleyne pocketing one each. The Barbados side are firing in all departments.
The Royals won the tournament last season and they are also bringing back Australia batter Laura Harris along with Chinelle Henry, Afy Fletcher, Aaliyah Alleyne and Qiana Joseph for their title defence.
The new members of the squad are Sri Lankan opener Chamari Athapaththu and Australian wicket-keeper Georgia Redmayne.
There are six more spots in the squad left to fill and these players will be selected at the WCPL draft which will take place in July.
The 2024 Massy CPL will take place in Trinidad from 21 to 29 August will all seven matches at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
The Barbados Royals squad before the draft is as follows: Hayley Matthews, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Chamari Athapaththu, Chinelle Henry, Afy Fletcher, Aaliyah Alleyne, Qiana Joseph, Laura Harris, Georgia Redmayne
Matthews won the toss and chose to field first at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, Trinidad and her side restricted the Warriors to what was thought to be a below-par score of 118-9 off their 20 overs. The wickets were shared around between Royals’ seam and spin bowlers, Aaliyah Alleyne taking 3-21 from her four overs including the crucial wicket of a well-set Stafanie Taylor for 38.
It was far from a comfortable chase for the Royals, the 2023 champions found themselves 44-3 and 50-4 during their innings but Matthews kept her head with wickets falling all around her, finishing unbeaten on 61 not out off 58 deliveries having batted through the innings to secure victory for her side and get the defence of their trophy off to a winning start.
An undulating match began with the Warriors struggling to get any momentum with the bat after losing both openers inside the PowerPlay. Captain Lauren Winford-Hill was bowled by a fast delivery from Alleyne that zipped off the floodlit wicket and Natasha McLean fended off Qiana Joseph to be well caught inside the inner circle by a diving Cherry-Ann Fraser.
At 59-2 after 10 overs the Warriors then lost wickets regularly in the second half of their innings which duly served to stifle their run scoring.
Stafanie Taylor played a typically classy knock, hitting four fours and a six to anchor the innings for the Warriors before Alleyne made the crucial breakthrough by bowling her with the second ball of the 17th over. Amanda-Jade Wellington found turn and a kept a tight line for the Royals, the Australian leg-spinner finishing impressively with 2-19 off her four overs to set up a seemingly straightforward chase.
The Royals also lost regular wickets in their reply, Shabnim Isamil the pick of bowlers for the Warriors, picking 4-16 from her four overs and looking threatening with almost every delivery she sent down.
Erin Burns pulled off an early contender for catch of the competition, a flashing drive by Georgia Redmayne seeing Burns produce a wonderfully athletic diving grab at point. Definitely one for the highlights reel and the repeat button.
Chloe Tryon ensured the game went down to the wire by stitching together five consecutive dots to Shabika Gajnabi in a penultimate over that went for just one run.
With seven needed off the final six balls, Winford-Hill entrusted 19-year-old leg-spinner Nyia Latchman with the final over. The teenager kept her nerve impressively but it wasn’t enough to stop Matthews using all her skill and experience to find the gaps in the outfield and get her side over the line at the last.
After winning the toss and choosing to bowl first, the Royals bowlers made use of some good conditions with the early wickets of TKR captain Deandra Dottin for six and ace Indian batter Jemimah Rodrigues for two.
With the loss of their two premier batters, the Knight Riders never recovered, eventually crawling to 93-8 from their 20 overs.
Shikha Pandey (28) and Jannilea Glasgow (24) were the main contributors with the bat as Aaliyah Alleyne bowled beautifully on her way to 4-21 from her four overs.
Captain Hayley Matthews took 2-13 from her four overs in support.
The Royals then made tough work of what should’ve been an easy chase, eventually reaching 94-6 with five overs to spare.
Chamari Athapaththu led the way with a patient 39* off 47 balls including seven fours.
The Royals were, at one point, cruising at 66-1 in the 11th over before losing five wickets for just 19 runs before Athapaththu and Afy Fletcher brought them over the line.
16-year-old Samara Ramnath bowled well for the Knight Riders with 2-18 from her four overs.
After chasing a record 167 two days ago in their opener, Hayley Matthews’ side made the most of their chances against the Trinbago Knight Riders.
The visitors were without their captain and most experienced international Deandra Dottin and exciting new overseas Orla Prendergast for their opening match of their WCPL defence.
Trinbago Knight Riders never got going with the bat despite winning the toss and opting to bat first, with only one player reaching double figures as the side capitulated to 73 all out.
The Royals didn’t hang around in their pursuit of the total knocking off 74 for four wickets inside 11 overs after an explosive powerplay started the chase strongly.
The Knight Riders reached 32-1 from their steady PowerPlay. Kycia Knight made a good start as she scored at just shy of a run a ball in the first six overs, however when she was dismissed by Erin Burns, the visitors fell from 36-2 to 73 all out.
Spin dominated for Matthews’ side as it had in their first match on Thursday, taking eight wickets for 54 runs, bowling 12.4 of the 16.4 bowled overs. Australian pairing Erin Burns and Amanda-Jade Wellington were the stars with 3/19 and 2/13, respectively.
The Royals in response got off to a fast start in the powerplay, the captain leading off with a quickfire 19, supported by Gaby Lewis on the back of a score of 47, reached a run-a-ball 27, the hosts surpassing 50 inside the PowerPlay.
Matthews’ side endured a setback as they three wickets for 11 runs between overs five to nine with Knight Riders’ spinners enjoying some consolation wicket taking, although it wasn’t enough to affect the result.
Barbados Royals are back in action for a third-consecutive match tomorrow, as they face Guyana Amazon Warriors in a repeat of the 2023 WCPL opener.
Taylor hit four fours and a six from the 24 balls she faced as the Guyana Amazon Warriors scored 59-1 from eight overs in reply to Barbados Royals Women’s score of 58 from 9.3 overs.
Opener Rashada Williams scored an unbeaten run-a-ball 22 in an unbroken 57-run match-winning second-wicket partnership.
The only wicket to fall was that of Chamari Athapaththu, who was run out for one.
Cheryl-Ann Fraser took the remarkable figures of 3-6 from two overs and Ayabonga Khaka 1-8 as the Amazon Warriors bundled the Royals Women out for just 58.
Chloe Tryon, who scored 24 from 17 balls, was the only batter in double figures for the Royals Women. West Indies Women captain Hayley Matthews made 7.
The victory was the second of the day for the Guyana franchise. Earlier, Taylor scored 24 and Williams 29 in a 15-run victory over the Trinbago Knight Riders Women.
GAW Women scored 81-2 and restricted TKR to 66.
The Royals Women did win a match on Wednesday scoring 108-4 and restricted TKR to 80-3.
Three WCPL matches will be a part of double-headers along with West Indies men's T20 international series against South Africa.
Johnny Grave, CEO of Cricket West Indies, described the move as an exciting new concept for the second edition of the WCPL, which is scheduled for August 21 to 29.
"Women's cricket continues to be a strategic priority for Cricket West Indies, and this is another exciting new concept for WCPL 2024," Grave said.
"We are certain that there will be huge interest from people in Trinidad in these double headers, as fans will be able to watch world class international Men's cricket, followed by the best female cricketers in the region competing alongside some of the best overseas players in the world,” he added.
All the WCPL games will take place at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, with the double-headers scheduled for August 23, 25 and 27.
Pete Russell, CEO of the Caribbean Premier League, also expressed excitement at the move.
"We are very excited to be able to work with Cricket West Indies to have the WCPL take place at the same time as these Men's T20 Internationals. It is another example of how the two organisations are working in harmony to provide the best outcome for fans, players and cricket in the region. We look forward to another successful WCPL as the tournament continues to grow year on year,” Russell reasoned.
The Hayley Matthews-led Barbados Royals clinched the previous edition of the WCPL, where a total of seven matches were held, including the final, among three teams.
South Africa are scheduled to tour the Caribbean for two Tests in Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana from August 7. This will be followed by the three-match T20I series at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy from August 23 ahead of the CPL.
The two teams will also play a four-day warm-up game ahead of the Test series in Tarouba.
