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.
In the low-scoring game, West Indies Women A were brilliant with the ball, dismissing Thailand Emerging for just 46 in 14.2 overs after winning the toss. West Indies then got over the line in 13 overs, with five wickets to spare.
Qiana Joseph (11, 17b, 1x4), Shabika Gajnabi (10, 26b) and Trishan Holder (10, 13b, 1x4) chipped in with small contributions, which was enough to award West Indies victory. Thailand Emerging attempted to derail the chase by taking wickets in quick succession with Thipatcha Putthawong taking two wickets, while Phannita Maya, Sunida Chaturongrattana and Onnicha Kamchomphu getting a wicket each.
Earlier, all of the West Indies bowlers found success; left-arm spinner Qiana Joseph and right-arm pacer Jannillea Glasgow picked up three wickets each. Right-arm pacer Jahzara Claxton bagged two wickets, while off-spinner Sheneta Grimmond and fast bowler Cherry-Ann Fraser got a wicket apiece to their names.
Chaturongrattana was the only batter on the Thailand scorecard that got to double digits. She hit 12 from 26 balls, including one boundary.
Thailand Women Emerging play Pakistan Women A in the third match of the T20 tri-series on November 5.
The squad includes several players with international experience and they will work under the guidance of Steve Liburd, Head Coach of the West Indies Women’s Rising Stars Under 19s programme.
Among the players selected are teenagers Djenaba Joseph, Trishan Holder and Zaida James, who were part of the West Indies Rising Stars Under 19 team at the recent ICC U19 T20 World Cup and were also selected in the West Indies Senior team at the ICC T20 World Cup in South Africa. Other players with international experience who will be participating are allrounders Jannilea Glasgow, Kaysia Shultz, Sheneta Grimmond, Qiana Joseph and Shabika Gajnabi, while other members of the Rising Stars Under 19 team have been selected.
This High-Performance camp continues CWI’s increased investment into the women’s game and forms part of the overall High-Performance Pathway. CWI’s strategic plan has committed resources into developing the women’s cricket at every level. This High-Performance Camp at CCG plays a vital role in the strategy to develop the talent pool and produce the next generation of West Indies Women’s players.
Graeme West, CWI’s High-Performance Manager said: “This camp is geared towards players aged 25 and under as part of developing the pool of talent across the region. The camp will offer activities and support across technical, tactical, physical, mental and personal development areas with individualized programmes following each players involvement in the Senior and Under 19 sides in the last six months.
“We are looking to increase our investment in our most talented young female players and the introduction of an Academy programme later in the year will provide a further 15 players with full-time support, training and competitive opportunities as they make their way through the CWI High-Performance Pathway,” West said.
“The camp represents an opportunity to prepare some of the players that will be strong contenders for Academy places while sharpening the skills of several players that have already performed on the international stage at the senior level. These players will benefit from a fortnight of intensive work leading into a busy summer schedule with Regional Tournaments and International Series planned.”
West added: “We also have Cherry-Ann Fraser and Mandy Mangru who will come in for rehab from injuries that have held up their progress, so we hope to help them along their way with the intention that they will be fit for the Senior Women’s Regional tournaments in May.”
FULL SQUAD
Earnisha Fontaine
Shabika Gajnabi
Jannilea Glasgow
Sheneta Grimmond
Trishan Holder
Zaida James
Djenba Joseph
Qiana Joseph
Ashmini Munisar
Abini St Jean
Shalini Samaroo
Shunelle Sawh
Kaysia Schultz
Steffie Soogrim
Kate Wilmott
NOTE: Cherry-Ann Fraser and Mandy Mangru will be attending as part of their rehabilitation work from injury.
Joseph, the 20-year-old left-arm spinner from St Lucia, was the leading wicket-taker for the West Indies Women with five wickets in the four ODI matches she played at an average of 19.40 and economy rate of 3.38.
Speaking to the media late last week, Walsh lauded Joseph’s performance during the series.
“Obviously, Qiana has played before but it’s the first time we were looking at her to play the role she did and she did it in both competitions; very, very satisfying,” Walsh said.
“We haven’t had a left-arm spinner for quite some time, most teams struggle against that or have that in their set up, so from a coaching perspective, it was something I had been very keen to have a look at and she has answered the right questions.
“She did well, it was very satisfying with her performance and how she went about it so it is definitely something to work on to give us those options with the bowling.”
Grimmond, the 23-year-old right-arm off-break bowler from Guyana, played in just two matches in the ODI series but four wickets at an average of 13.00 and an economy of 3.66.
“Grimmond came into the last two games and did well in the last game from a bowling perspective, so that is also another good question answered,” he said while also singling out Trinidadian Karishma Ramharack for praise on the strength of her best bowling figures of 3-8 in the T20 series.
“Ramharack did well in the T20 in the game she played and won Player of the Match, so these are some of the positive signs, what is lacking is the consistency and that is what we have to work on and which we will keep working on,” Walsh said.
“We want them to execute more consistently and once that is happening then it will give us more chances of winning games.”
