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.
Dottin is in line for her first international appearance since her 2022 retirement when the West Indies take on South Africa in their first group match on October 4.
The best cricketer in the world right now, Hayley Matthews, will once again lead the side that also sees the inclusion of regulars like Stafanie Taylor, Afy Fletcher, Chinelle Henry, Chedean Nation, Shamilia Connell, Aaliyah Alleyne, Shemaine Campbelle and Karishma Ramharack.
The squad also boasts a fine mixture of youth and experience with the presence of 19-year-old Zaida James and 20-year-old Ashmini Munisar, who both represented the West Indies at the most recent ICC Under-19 Women’s World Cup.
St. Lucian Nerissa Crafton is the only member of the squad with no international experience while this will be the first T20 World Cup for Qiana Joseph and Mandy Mangru.
In addition to South Africa, the West Indies will take on Bangladesh, England and Scotland in Group B of the tournament.
After facing South Africa on October 4, they will Scotland on October 6, Bangladesh on October 10 and England on October 15.
The top two teams from the group will advance to the semi-finals.
Full Squad: Hayley Matthews (C), Shemaine Campbelle, Aaliyah Alleyne, Afy Fletcher, Ashmini Munisar, Chedean Nation, Chinelle Henry, Deandra Dottin, Karishma Ramharack, Mandy Mangru, Nerissa Crafton, Shamilia Connell, Stafanie Taylor, Zaida James, Qiana Joseph
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
Asked to bat first, West Indies posted a paltry 97-6 from their allotment and that was easily knocked off by Pakistan, who got to 99-2 with 25 balls to spare.
Scores: West Indies Women's A 97-6 (20 overs); Pakistan Women's A 99-2 (15.5 overs)
West Indies suffered and early setback as opener Shabika Gajnabi retired hurt with just eight runs on the board.
That brough captain Rashada Williams to the middle earlier than she would have hoped, but together with Qiana Joseph, added 51 to the board. Joseph, who topscored with a 39-ball 35, which included five fours, fell soon after with the Caribbean side at 59-1 in the 11th over.
Gajnabi returned but added only two runs to the board before she was bowled by Saima Malik for 10.
Williams (18) followed shortly after, and from there it was a downward spiral, as they lost wickets at regular intervals, with Zaida James (12), the only other batter to get into double figures.
Rameen Shamim and Omaima Sohail, both ended with identical figures of 2-17 from four overs to lead Pakistan's bowling.
Much like West Indies, Pakistan's run chase started shakily, as Cherry-Ann Fraser combined with Williams behind the stumps to remove Eyman Fatima (5) with the score at 10-1.
However, Shawaal Zulfiqar and Gull Feroza, steadied the innings with a 43-run second wicket stand that pushed the host closer to their target.
So, even when Feroza went leg-before-wicket to Joseph for a run-a-ball 23, which included three boundaries, Pakistan were in no real danger at 53-2 in the ninth over.
From there, it was left for Zulfiqar, with an unbeaten 39 off 38 balls, and Sohail, with an unbeaten 23-ball 20, to see off the remaining runs. Zulfiqar's knock had four boundaries, while Sohail had a solitary four in her innings.
The Windwards, after winning the toss and batting first, posted 117-5 from their 20 overs.
Openers Qiana Joseph and Jannilea Glasgow were the chief scorers with 56 and 37, respectively, while Chedean Nation led the Jamaica bowling with 3-19 from her three overs.
Jamaica then needed only 16 overs to reach 118-3 thanks to a 35-ball 52 from Rashada Williams. Her opening partner Natasha McLean contributed 19 while Captain Stafanie Taylor and Chinelle Henry were the not out batters with 16 and 13, respectively.
Zaida James took 2-16 from her four overs for the Windwards.
West Indies Women will have to play catch up in their three-match T20 International series against India as they fell to a 49-run defeat in the first encounter at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai, on Sunday.
The match, which featured a record aggregate of 341 runs between the two teams, saw the visitors unable to chase down India’s imposing total of 195-4, as they only mustered 146-7 in their 20 overs.
