Batting first, West Indies fell into early trouble slipping to 38-4 after eight overs. Rashada Williams scored 23 and Chinelle Henry 21 helped the WIW get past the 100-run mark in the face of incisive bowling from Player of the Match Lauren Bell, who took 3-26.
Heather Knight, Nat Sciver, and Katherine Brunt each claimed a wicket against the hosts who limped to 105-7 from their allotment of 20 overs.
Bell then scored an unbeaten 59 from 34 balls as England raced to victory scoring 106-2 in just 12.4 overs. No West Indies bowler managed to claim a wicket as opener Sophia Dunkley and Lauren Winfield-Hill were dismissed by runout for 25 and 15, respectively.
A distraught Henry was critical of her side’s batting after yet another poor showing against their English rivals.
"To be three, four wickets down in the first 10 overs with no kind of runs on the board, that is where we fell short, since the ODI series we've been struggling with the bat,” she said.
“We just have to pick ourselves up and keep going. A couple of us got short partnerships going to get us to 100 but it wasn't enough. It was really good to see little Djenaba Joseph standing up against Katherine Brunt, facing her head on, and to have an Under-19 player in our squad so fearless is a move in a good direction for us."
The series now moves to the Kensington Oval, where the teams will meet for the remaining four matches on December 14, 17, 18 and 22. All matches start at 6:00pm Eastern Caribbean/ 5:00pm Jamaica time.
Following the West Indies Women’s clean sweep against Ireland Women in the CG United ODI Series and the T20I Series in Saint Lucia earlier in the summer, the panel has named an unchanged squad for the Australia tour under the leadership of Captain Hayley Matthews. The tour will be the first for new Head Coach Shane Deitz who arrived in the West Indies at the end of August.
The inclusion of the ‘Rising Stars’ quartet of Ashmini Munisar, Djenaba Joseph, Zaida James, and Jannillea Glasgow will see some of our youngest talent in the team having their first opportunity to test their skills against the current T20I and 50-Over World Champions Australia.
Lead Selector for Women’s cricket Ann Browne-John said “The selection panel has chosen to maintain most of the players who were victorious in the home series against Ireland. Jannillea Glasgow, after having an outstanding Rising Stars Women’s Under 19 tournament, has been included in the 15-member squad and we see the return of Karishma Ramharack.”
Browne-John added, “This team is one we believe will continue to build and develop as our game evolves in the rapidly growing landscape and high-performance setting of women’s cricket. We have continued to place confidence in some of the developing players. Several of the players are coming off title-winning performances in the Massy Caribbean Premier League so we are expecting them to continue their good run of form. This is a team we believe can produce competitive cricket against a top team like Australia, under the guidance of the new Head Coach and led by the captain Hayley Matthews who’s enjoying a very productive 2023 thus far.”
The ODI series against Australia is West Indies’ fourth fixture in the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-2025 after playing New Zealand, England and Ireland. Each match provides West Indies with opportunity to win valuable points to climb the Championship table where they currently lie 9th out of ten teams. Following the Australia Series, West Indies Women will have four further three-match ODI series to play over the next two years. At the end of the cycle, the top five teams in the ICC Women’s Championship and will book a berth for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2025 as well as hosts India. The remaining teams will have to go through the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier.
Full Squad
- Hayley Matthews (captain)
- Shemaine Campbelle (vice-captain)
- Aaliyah Alleyne
- Shamilia Connell
- Afy Fletcher
- Cherry Ann Fraser
- Shabika Gajnabi
- Jannillea Glasgow
- Chinelle Henry
- Zaida James
- Djenaba Joseph
- Ashmini Munisar
- Karishma Ramharack
- Stafanie Taylor
- Rashada Williams
Match Schedule
1 October: 1st T20I at North Sydney Oval, Sydney
2 October: 2nd T20I at North Sydney Oval, Sydney (night)
5 October: 3rd T20I at Allan Border Field, Brisbane (night)
8 October: 1st ODI at Allan Border Field, Brisbane
12 October: 2nd ODI at Junction Oval, Melbourne
14 October: 3rd ODI at Junction Oval, Melbourne
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.
The match then went to the one-over eliminator and the home team scored 7-1 after the visitors made 6-0.
West Indies made their highest score of the series, thanks to a career-best knock from Rashada Williams – playing her fifth match.
The opening batter, top-scored with 78 not out off 138 balls as she batted through the innings. Then, off-spinner Sheneta Grimmond took a career-best 4-33 off her 10 overs in her sixth match, as South Africa slipped from 111-0 to 143-6 in the space of 13 overs.
“It was a great finish and I’m happy I played my part in today’s win. We really wanted to win, and we gave it all we had. The end was amazing with the run out off the last ball. We didn’t panic, we were focused, we kept our nerve in the ‘super over’ and it felt great to win,” said Grimmond, who was named CG Insurance Player-of-the-Match.
Match Summary: West Indies Women 192-5 off 50 overs (Rashada Williams 78 not out, Hayley Matthews 48; Nadine de Klerk 3-33) South Africa Women 192-7 off 50 overs (Lizelle Lee 61, Tazmin Brits 48, Mignon du Preez 46; Sheneta Grimmond 4-33, Qiana Joseph 2-29)
It was a good night for England’s skipper Heather Knight who batted superbly to lead them to their third successive victory.
With a number of well-timed strokes on both sides of the wicket, she made 43 off 27 balls. Earlier opener Sophia Dunkley set the platform with the top score with 44 off 31 balls to lead England to 157-6 off their 20 overs.
In the second half Charlie Dean was the nemesis for the home side as she returned figures of 4-1-19-4 to put a pause on the West Indies victory charge. West Indies were at one stage 103-3 in the 14thover – with 53 needed off six overs – but Dean delivered a winning spell when she dismissed key batters and West Indies finished at 140-8 off their 20 overs.
The key wicket was skipper Hayley Mathews who played some powerful shots in 35 off 31 balls before she was stumped by Amy Jones off Dean. Matthews looked good touch much to the delight of her fans in the stands with six boundaries – which included two classic extra cover drives.
The innings was revived in the middle overs by Rashada Williams and Trishan Holder, on debut in front of her home crowd.
Williams hit five fours in a top score of 38 off 29 balls and looked capable of pulling off a remarkable win. She was, however, trapped leg-before at a crucial stage of 138-7 at the end of the 19th over. The 19-year-old Holder overcame a nervous start to blossom with some attractive shots as she made a run-a-ball 21 in a stand of 40 with Williams.
Despite the loss, West Indies Women's head coach, Courtney Walsh was pleased with the team's performance.
“The effort we've shown in the last two games, in particular this one, is very pleasing. It's also good that we've got some youngsters around who are showing the fight,” he said.
“We're trying to create a different team culture and approach and learning is taking place all the time. It's a loss in terms of the series but I am pleased with what I am seeing with the bigger picture of what lies ahead for the tri-series and World Cup.
Another action-packed match-up is expected on Sunday when the teams meet for the fourth contest on this series. West Indies will need to bounce back in their bid to get a victory over the visitors. First ball is 6pm (5pm Jamaica Time).
In just her fourth international, the 24-year-old Williams once again showed enterprise with an impressive innings of 42, but the home team were limited to 150-9 off their 50 overs chasing 185-6 made by South Africa, who were asked to take first strike
This result means the visitors have a 4-0 lead in the five-match series. The final match will be played on Sunday at the same venue.
West Indies Women were in early trouble at 19-2 in the seventh over but made a recovery through Williams who added 29 for the third wicket with Deandra Dottin (22). Williams then helped add 22 for the fourth wicket with Hayley Matthews (14) and 41 for the fifth with left-hander Kycia Knight (15).
Williams set up anchor with four fours off 90 balls and when she was run out in the 39th over, West Indies Women were 115-5 and facing a required run rate of nearly seven runs per over, which proved to be too much in the end.
South Africa captain and leg-spinner Dane van Niekerk finished with 3-23 to be named the CG Insurance Player-of-the-Match.
Earlier in the day, sent in after an early morning shower, South Africa Women stumbled initially but recovered to reach their eventual target thanks to an unbeaten 65 with five fours from Mignon du Preez, 30 from Tazmin Brits and 28 from keeper Sinalo Jafta.
They lost the in-form Laura Wolvaardt for one with as many on the board in the second over but rebuilt through Brits who put on 35 for the second wicket with Lara Goodall (8) and a further 21 for the third wicket with skipper van Niekerk (20).
Brits, who struck four fours, perished in the 20th over with South Africa Women on 57-3 but the experienced du Preez anchored three key stands to frustrate the home side.
Firstly, she posted 31 for the fourth wicket with van Niekerk, then added 30 for the fifth with Chloe Tryon (12) before putting on 63 for the seventh with Jafta.
West Indies bowlers again did a good job with Captain Anisa Mohammed taking two wickets, while seamer Cherry-Ann Fraser was steady, taking her first wicket on debut.
