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.
Winning the toss and batting first, Ireland posted 203 all out in 50 overs. The star of the Irish innings was Gaby Lewis, who was stranded on 95 not out from 121 deliveries.
Lewis shared a 50-run partnership with Cara Murray which proved crucial in steadying the ship after Ireland had lost quick wickets.
Afy Fletcher 10-0-37-3 and Shamilia Connell 4-0-16-2 kept the Irish batters in check.
In response, the West Indies Women started their innings shakily, losing a few early wickets.
However, it was Stafanie Taylor who once again rescued her side. She notched her 40th ODI half-century while showcasing her experience and composure in a challenging situation.
Taylor found a reliable partner in Chinelle Henry, who carried on her good form from the first ODI, hitting her second consecutive half-century.
Together, they put on a match-winning 104-run partnership, steering their team to a comfortable victory with 8.4 overs to spare.
This was captain Hayley Matthews first series win.
“I’m happy that we were able to get over the line in a series that we were looking to dominate,” she said.
“We earned valuable ICC Women’s Championship points, Stafanie is back in form and Chinelle is coming into her own along with debuts from our youngsters, I’d say those are some serious positives we can take away from this series.
“We all knew the potential Chinelle has and what we have been expecting from her, it’s great to see her scoring runs and I know there’s more to come.”
Taylor was awarded Player of the Match for her outstanding knock of 79 not out under pressure, while the Player of the Series was given to Hayley Matthews for her all-round performance.
The two teams will now switch to the shorter format when the three-match T20 International series starts on Tuesday at the same venue. All matches will start at 5pm Eastern Caribbean time (4pm Jamaica time).
T20 International Series:
All matches start at 5pm Eastern Caribbean Time (4pm Jamaica Time)
Tuesday 4 July: 1st T20I
Thursday 6 July: 2nd T20I
Saturday 8 July: 3rd T20I
