West Indies Women

Dottin top-scored with 73 from 87 balls to help the Windies chase down their target of 160 to defeat Ireland by six wickets.

After captain Stafanie Taylor won the toss and elected to field first, the West Indies bowled out Ireland for 159 in 43 overs.

Anissa Mohammed was the pick of the bowlers for the Caribbean side, taking 3-40 from her 10 overs.

She was supported by Hayley Matthews who took 2-20 from her 10.

Shamilia Connell took 2-33 from her 10 and Taylor took 2-15 from her 3 overs.

Gaby Lewis top-scored for the Irish with 36 from 58 balls.

The Windies Women then needed only 39.3 overs to chase their target with Dottin getting 73 and Taylor finishing not out on 41.

The West Indies and Sri Lanka both have two points, having won their first game, with the Windies at the top of the group due to a superior net run rate.

Those two will face off next on Saturday.

For the third time in four tosses, England won and elected to bat first against the West Indies. Shamilia Connell set up the opening over of the first match, with Aaliyah Alleyne making the breakthrough in the second over when she had Danni Wyatt caught behind for a duck.

Connell bowled the third over, once again setting up the tense situation for Alleyne to capitalize. Alleyne did not waste it as she once again teamed up with wicketkeeper Shemaine Cambelle to have England’s top scorer from the last match Nat Sciver caught behind for 6.

Karishma Ramharack playing in her first match of the series had opener Tammy Beaumont trapped LBW, while attempting a reverse sweep. For the first time in the series, England had less than 70 runs on the board after ten overs.

However, a bit of sloppy fielding and bad line and length allowed England to claw their way back to a demanding total. Amy Jones top-scored for the hosts with 55 after being dropped on 2 by Lee Ann Kirby, followed by her captain Heather Knight with 42 as England finished their innings on 166 for 6. Aaliyah Alleyne was the best West Indies bowler, taking 2 for 25 from her four overs.

For the first time in this series, Deandra Dottin was dismissed for single digits in the first over of the match, when she was bowled by Katherine Brunt for 4. Shemaine Campbelle joined Lee Ann Kirby and the pair started a cautious rebuild of the innings despite a required run-rate of 8.36 per over.

Kirby was bowled by Sciver for 4 with the score on 26 in the third over. Aaliyah Alleyne and Chedean Nation held a sixth-wicket record partnership of 38 runs for the West Indies against England Women, surpassing the previous record of 30 between Shanel Daly and Britney Cooper, which stood since 2010.

However, this partnership was not enough to sustain the innings. It was soon over when the West Indies finished their innings on 122 for 9. Nation was the highest runs-scorer with 30, followed by Alleyne with 15. Bowling for England, Sarah Glenn finished with 2 for 15 from three overs, while Katherine Brunt had 2 for 21 from her allotted four overs.

England scored 166 for 6 from their 20 overs and the West Indies Women made 122 for 9 from their 20 overs.

Batting first, England was led by Natalie Sciver, who scored a game-high 90 from 96 balls, amassed 307-7 from their 50 overs. Sciver and Dani Wyatt shared in a fifth-wicket partnership of 103 in just under 17 overs that took the match beyond the reach of the West Indies Women. Wyatt contributed 68 to the mammoth total.

Tammy Beaumont (33) and Amy Jones (30) also made useful contributions.

Chinelle Henry was the best of the West Indies bowlers taking 3-59. Afy Fletcher took 2-66.

The West Indies Women were never able to cope with the demand of scoring more than six runs an over and unable to form useful partnerships, were bowled out for 165 in 40.3 overs. The exception was a 70-run second wicket partnership between Kycia Knight and Rashada Williams that produced a respectable 70 runs. Both were dismissed for 39 and 34, respectively.

Captain Hayley Matthews, who retired hurt early on, returned to score 34 for the home side.

Charlie Dean took 4-35 and Kate Cross 2-27 for the victors.

Matthews lamented her team’s inability to stick to the game plan.

"Both facets of the game (batting and bowling) we didn't do what we wanted on a decent and England was able to capitalize on it,” the captain said.

“We're going back to the drawing board and see what we can improve on in the next game. Our power play was pretty good but we let a little too many runs go by in the middle overs. It was good to see the partnership between Kycia and Rashada and I hope we can get a few more of those.”

India, Group A toppers, will face England before Australia take on South Africa, the Group B toppers, in semi-finals starting at 3 pm and 7 pm respectively on Thursday at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The line-up was confirmed when both the Proteas and West Indies were awarded a point after no play was possible due to rain in the group stage’s final game at Sydney Showground.

India were the only team to emerge from the groups with a perfect record and their clash with England is a re-run of the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup final at Lord’s and the 2018 Women's T20 World Cup semi-final in Antigua, both of which were won by Heather Knight’s side.

The winners will go into the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 final, to be played on 8 March, International Women’s Day, at the MCG.

Australia have won the tournament four times and England won the inaugural edition back in 2009.

South Africa won the toss and put the West Indies in to bat and at the time of the first rain delay, West Indies women were 234-3 from 45.3 overs.

Deandra Dottin was not out on a mammoth 150 off 158 balls, with 18 fours and four sixes, and Shemaine Campbelle was the other not-out batter with 7.

Earlier, Hayley Matthews made 51 from 63 balls.

Dottin’s 150 is her third ODI hundred and the second-highest individual score by a West Indian, in Women’s ODIs, after Stafanie Taylor’s 171 off 137 balls against Sri Lanka Women in Mumbai in 2013.

Due to lack of time, the West Indies innings was declared at the same score meaning South Africa had a target of 204 off 29 overs based on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.

The South Africans got to 87-5 off 17.4 overs before the skies opened up once again and caused the match to be abandoned before 20 overs could be completed.

Tazmin Brits got 32 off 37 balls to top score for the South Africans.

The second ODI takes place on Monday.

Matthews was named as the new West Indies Women captain last week, taking over from Taylor who led the team since 2015, winning the Women’s T20 World Cup a year later in India.

“I want to say congratulations to Hayley, an amazing player and person that I have watched grow and improve through the years,” Taylor said in the post.

“I know you will do great in this new role. I have enjoyed playing with you and learning from you over the years and look forward to continued teamwork under your leadership,” she added.

Taylor, who also led the team to semi-final berths in the 2018 World T20 and the 2022 World Cup, reflected on her time as leader.

“I am grateful for the opportunity I have had to lead this incredible team and all that we have accomplished together. It has been seven years of learning and navigating the uncertainties of the game. I’m thankful for the support I have received from my teammates and the management staff through my tenure as captain who have been encouraging and eager to help in carrying out my duties,” she said.

“I’m looking forward to passing the torch and continuing on and doing my best for the team,” Taylor added.

At the ceremony held at the Marriott Hotel in Hartford, the 57-year-old Gregg was inducted in acknowledgment of her outstanding contributions to cricket including her input towards growth and development, her service to the community and the many lives she impacted both as a player and administrator.

Gregg, a right-arm medium-fast bowler and right-handed batter, was the first St Lucian to represent the West Indies Women and appeared in 10 One Day Internationals between 1993 and 1997. She was captain of the St Lucia Women’s team.

She made her ODI debut for the West Indies at the 1993 World Cup in England. At the World Cup, Gregg played in six of her team's seven matches, taking three wickets.

 She was retained in the squad for the 1997 World Cup in India, and appeared in every match at the tournament and took a career best 3-35 from seven overs against Denmark.

She and Patricia Felicien were the only Saint Lucians in the squad, and the first Saint Lucians to be selected in any West Indies squad.

Gregg was named St Lucia’s Women’s Cricketer of the Year in 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993 and in 1997 when she was named St Lucia’s Sportswoman of the Year.

In 2006, she was elected President of the South Castries Cricket Association. Two years later she won the Ministry of Youth Development Award for outstanding administrative roles and contributions to the development of cricket in St Lucia.

She was named manager of St Lucia’s  Women’s Junior and Senior Cricket teams and between 2017 and 2019 was the manager of the West Indies Women’s team.

Munisar, Millington and Gajnabi were among the leading performers in the recent CWI Women's Super50 and T20 Blaze tournaments, either with bat, ball or both, but were somehow overlooked ahead of the Pakistan tour.

CWI released their 15-member squad ahead of the upcoming eight-match Series which bowls off April 6 in Pakistan, with Guyana skipper Shemaine Campbelle being named vice-captain and all-rounder Cherry-Ann Fraser, the only Guyanese in the team.

“The non-inclusion of Munisar, Millington and Gajnabi comes as a shock, as the trio played outstanding cricket throughout,” the board expressed in a statement on social media on Thursday.

In the batting department, Guyana had 3 players in the top five run scorers for the T20 Blaze, with Gajnabi, Campbell and Mandy Mangru occupying spots 2, 3 and 5 respectively.

Gajnabi, a regular face in the Windies Women's team, finished as the second leading run-scorer overall in the T20 Blaze and top run-getter for Guyana, with 138 runs at an average of 34 and a top score of 52.

Campbell, who was selected for Pakistan, ended as the 3rd leading scorer behind Gajnabi, with an aggregate of 128 runs, also ended with the most dismissals by a wicket-keeper (6).

In Women's Super50 Cup, Munisar finished as the leading wicket-taker with 12 victims and a best of 5-15, which was also the best figures of the Super50 by any bowler.

She was followed by countrywoman Niya Latchman who was the next best wicket-taker in the 50-Overs with 11 wickets, as the latter also had a selection-warranted season with the ball.

The Guyanese trio statistically outplayed almost all of the other selectees for the upcoming tour, with the non-selection of three premier performers in both the T20 and Super50 now being questioned by the GCB.

After being put into bat, Sri Lanka started strongly with an opening partnership of 93 runs between Athapaththu and Vishmi Gunaratne. Gunaratne fell just six runs short of her half-century, miscuing a lofted shot to Aaliyah Alleyne at mid-off. Despite losing two more quick wickets, Sri Lanka's captain Athapaththu steadied the innings with a vital 57-run partnership with Nilakshika Silva.

Athapaththu's innings came to an end at 91 off 106 balls when Afy Fletcher spun one through her bat and pad, leaving Sri Lanka at 156 for 4. However, any hopes West Indies had of restricting the hosts were dashed by Silva and Sanjeewani. The duo added 117 runs for the fifth wicket, propelling Sri Lanka to a formidable total. Silva scored 63 off 78 balls, while Sanjeewani contributed a quick-fire 55 off 46 balls. The pair's efforts saw Sri Lanka plunder 93 runs in the final 10 overs, ensuring a challenging target for the visitors.

In response, the West Indies struggled from the outset, losing both Rashada Williams and skipper Shemaine Campbell within the first six overs. The only resistance came from Chedean Nation and Stafanie Taylor, who put together a 57-run partnership off 82 deliveries. However, Taylor's dismissal, edging behind off Oshadi Ranasinghe, left the West Indies in dire straits.

Nation, who top-scored with 46 off 57 balls, was bowled by Athapaththu, reducing the West Indies to 69 for 4. From there, Nisansala took over, exploiting the grip and turn of the surface with her slow left-arm orthodox deliveries. She trapped Zaida James leg before and accounted for Chinelle Henry, Afy Fletcher, and Qiana Joseph, all of whom fell attempting aggressive shots.

Nisansala completed her five-for by dismissing Aaliyah Alleyne, who chipped a return catch after a brief cameo of 27 off 27 balls. The West Indies' innings folded for 115, with Nisansala finishing with figures of 5 for 28, marking her first five-wicket haul in ODIs.

This victory marks Sri Lanka's second series whitewash against the West Indies and highlights the stark difference in form and execution between the two sides. The West Indies will need to reassess and regroup after a disheartening series, while Sri Lanka can take confidence from their dominant performances as they look ahead to future challenges.

Matthews showcased her all-round prowess by first starring with the ball, taking an impressive 3 wickets for just 25 runs to restrict Pakistan Women to 121-7 in their allotted 20 overs. Despite a resilient 55 from Muneeba Ali, the hosts struggled against the visitors’ bowling attack, with Matthews leading the charge. She received support from Chinelle Henry, Karishma Ramharack, and Afy Fletcher, each claiming a wicket to stifle Pakistan’s batting efforts. Matthews also contributed to a crucial run-out that ended Pakistan’s innings.

With a manageable target of 122 for victory, Matthews continued her dominance, opening the batting for West Indies Women. She began her innings aggressively, smashing 10 boundaries on her way to a match-high 58 runs off just 43 balls. Her attacking display laid a solid foundation for the run chase.

Supported by contributions from Shemaine Campbelle (21) and Chedean Nation (unbeaten 17), Matthews guided her team to victory in emphatic fashion, sealing the win with 10 balls to spare.

Matthews’ outstanding performance with both bat and ball underscores her invaluable role as a leader and key player for the West Indies Women’s team. Her contributions have been instrumental in securing consecutive victories against Pakistan Women, setting a strong foundation for the remainder of the series.

The West Indies Women will look to build on this momentum as they aim to maintain their winning streak and clinch the series against Pakistan Women in the upcoming matches.

The 24-year-old Barbadian was the best of the West Indies Women with 260 runs including a match-winning century of 119 against New Zealand. She also took 10 wickets with her off-spin and had her best figures of 4-15 against Bangladesh.

Her performances played a major role in helping the West Indies Women advance to the semi-finals for the first time since 2013. As such, Cricket West Indies (CWI) congratulated Matthews on making the Most Valuable Team of the tournament.

Anne Brown-John, Lead Selector for Women’s Cricket also praised the team for their showing at the tournament and the strides made to finish among the top four and climb up the ICC Women’s ODIs standings.

“I will like to congratulate the team on reaching the World Cup semi-final. The team went into the competition in the lower half of the standings and ended in the top four,” she said.

“For this, the players and staff must be complimented. The selectors put together what we considered to be the best 18 available players for the World Cup and we are confident that they did their best. Everyone would like to get to the final but it did not happen this time.

“Despite this, there were some really remarkable performances and Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin were beacons resulting in Hayley being named to the ICC team of the World Cup. This is well deserved since she was one of the outstanding players of the tournament both with the bat and the ball. For this, she must be commended.”

Matthews, meanwhile, said her success at the World Cup was due mainly to hard work on her part.

“I’ve put a lot of hard work leading up to the tournament and to be selected to the Best XI is a reward for that,” she said.

“I must admit that it’s bittersweet because we didn’t make it to the final but the fight we’ve shown throughout the tournament signifies the growth we’ve had as a team.

“Getting a century is always a momentous occasion but getting a World Cup hundred was, I think, just a bit more special for me and definitely up there in being quite memorable. The opportunity to contribute with the ball as well has been really pleasing, knowing that if it doesn’t go my way with the bat on that day, I can still contribute otherwise.”

Meg Lanning was named captain of the Most Valuable Team after guiding her side to the title and scoring 394 runs during the tournament.

Four Australians were selected to the team, including Player-of-the-Tournament Alyssa Healy. The wicket-keeper-batter made two centuries in the knockout stages, including 170 in the final against England.

Most Valuable Team: Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa), Alyssa Healy (Australia) – wicket-keeper, Meg Lanning (Australia) – captain, Rachael Haynes (Australia), Nat Sciver (England), Beth Mooney (Australia), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Marizanne Kapp (South Africa), Sophie Ecclestone (England), Shabnim Ismail (South Africa), Salma Khatun (Bangladesh) and 12^th-woman Charlie Dean (England).

Matthews, who is one of the leading all-rounders in world cricket, will assume the leadership role from Stafanie Taylor ahead of the next West Indies Women’s Series, expected to be played later this year.

Taylor, the most successful female player in West Indies history and ranked among the all-time greats, has led the team for over seven years since 2015. She was at the helm when West Indies won the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2016 and earlier this year when they reached the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.

CWI Women’s Selection Panel recommendation was ratified at the CWI Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, 24 June.

“The selection panel has done a review of the team including the leadership. After this review the panel took the decision to recommend that Hayley Matthews takes over the role as captain,” said Lead Selector for Women’s cricket Ann Browne-John, who thanked Stafanie for her years in the role.

“Hayley has made notable progress over the years, serving as vice-captain of the West Indies Women’s Team and is the current Captain of her National Team, Barbados. She has matured as a player and is one of the leading players worldwide with a good grasp of the game. Given the experience that she would have gained in both roles, we are confident this is the ideal time for her to step into the role of captain.

“We recognize that leading the team for seven years is a considerable achievement to which Stafanie has given huge levels of commitment and energy. We believe Stafanie is a world-class performer who will no doubt continue to add tremendous value to the team as one of the top all-rounders in the game.”

West Indies Women Head Coach Courtney Walsh endorsed the change in leadership.

“The selection panel felt that it was time to make the change. We figured the timing was right with the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup coming up early next year, if we were thinking of making any changes now would be the best time so that we give the new captain a couple of series under her belt before she enters into a World Cup,” Walsh said.

“Hayley Matthews is young, she has longevity in the game, and she can lead the team for a longer time to get the experience and we are here to support her. For us it’s a win-win as we will have Stafanie to concentrate on her best cricket and passing on guidance to Hayley as she grows in the role of taking the team forward.”

Hayley Matthews expressed her pride and gratitude in the appointment.

“I am both humbled and honored to be given the opportunity to Captain the West Indies Women’s Team. It is definitely an exhilarating feeling and I welcome the experience to lead and learn with open arms,” she said.

“This team has been very close to my heart from the beginning of my professional career eight years ago and the influence of Stafanie’s leadership throughout those eight years has played a major role in the player I am today. I eagerly anticipate working with the players to continue building on the progress in which the team has made thus far.

“I would like to thank Stafanie for her astounding leadership of the team over the years. We’ve accomplished some of our biggest milestones with her at the forefront and I look forward to continuing playing alongside her.”

Matthews and Taylor have both been among the best players for West Indies. In her career, Taylor has scored 5,298 runs in 145 One-Day Internationals and 3,121 runs in 111 T20 Internationals. She has also taken 152 wickets in ODIs and 98 in T20Is. Matthews, like Taylor is a right-handed top-order batter and off-break bowler. She has an impressive international record with 1,764 runs and 78 wickets in 69 ODIs, and 1,055 runs and 58 wickets in 61 T20Is.

Matthews played a pivotal role in setting up the win, first with the bat and then with the ball. She showcased her batting prowess by scoring an impressive unbeaten 140 runs, anchoring the West Indies' innings to a challenging total of 269-8 in their allotted 50 overs. Matthews' innings was decorated with 15 boundaries (fours) and a well-struck six.

After losing an early wicket, Matthews combined forces with Shemaine Campbell to forge a crucial partnership of 102 runs for the second wicket. Campbell contributed a valuable 45 runs to the cause before departing.

Chinelle Henry (23) and contributions from Chedean Nation and Aaliyah Henry, who scored 17 each, further solidified the West Indies' innings as Matthews led from the front, steering her team to a formidable total.

In response, Pakistan Women struggled to build partnerships against the disciplined West Indies bowling attack. Tuba Hassan top-scored with 25 runs, while Muneeba Ali and Nahida Alvi made contributions of 22 and 20 runs, respectively.

However, it was Matthews who turned the game decisively in her team's favor with the ball, claiming three crucial wickets for just 17 runs. Afy Fletcher and Zaida James also made significant contributions with the ball, picking up two wickets each to bundle out Pakistan Women for 156 runs in 35.5 overs.

Sadia Iqbal (2-38) and Tuba Hassan (2-48) were the standout bowlers for Pakistan, but they couldn't contain Matthews' brilliance.

With this commanding victory, West Indies Women have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series against Pakistan Women, setting the stage for an exciting contest in the upcoming matches.

The Australian 47-year-old, who was appointed in July this year, believes that the West Indies will have to play a more attacking brand of cricket to compete with the best teams in the world.

“The brand of cricket I want us to play is definitely the traditional West Indian ‘calypso’ brand of attacking, taking it to the opposition and getting on the front foot. It’s the way I’ve always coached cricket around the world and that’s not going to change here,” Deitz said in a press conference on Tuesday.

“It’s a style of play that I think is effective so the players will definitely be getting the message that we’re here to win and we’re going to win by playing attacking, free-flowing cricket,” he added.

The former Vanuatu and Netherlands Women head coach believes the implementation of this new philosophy will take time, but will be worth it in the end.

“It may take a little bit of time to really adjust to or a few skillset upgrades in players but we’ll work towards that so they’ve got the ability to play that style of cricket and I think that’s the most successful brand of cricket around the world,” he said.

“Australia play it at the moment in women’s cricket and are consistently getting over 300 in ODIs and 160 to 180 in T20Is so we’re definitely going to follow that method and play that style of cricket and play the Caribbean way,” added Deitz.

Deitz will get his first opportunity to see the team in a competitive outing when they embark on a tour of Australia for three ODIs and three T20Is from September 30-October 14.

He says this will be a great opportunity to see some of the players first-hand against some world-class opposition.

“I’ve only been here for the WCPL to see them live so I think this tour to Australia will be a great opportunity for me to see the players first-hand against the world’s best and a team that has dominated women’s cricket around the world,” he said.

“This is a great test for us and a way for me to see the reality of where we’re at, what we need to work on and what areas we need to improve so we can formulate a long-term plan to work on players to get them up to that world class, elite level and challenge Australia, England and India who have been challenging for World Cups,” Deitz added.

As for the nucleus of his team going forward, Deitz pointed to current skipper Hayley Matthews, former captain Stafanie Taylor and all-rounder, Chinelle Henry.

“Obviously we’ve got a few players who are near the top of the world rankings with Hayley (Matthews) and Stafanie (Taylor). (Chinelle) Henry is also showing signs of being an elite level cricketer,” he said.

The match was reduced to 45 overs per team after a rain delay before the toss which the West Indies won the toss and elected to field first.

Australia’s opening pair of Alyssa Healy and Rachael Haynes got off to a slow start while assessing conditions before putting the Windies bowlers to the sword once they got comfortable.

The two ended up putting on a mammoth 216 before Healy was dismissed for a blistering 129 off just 107 balls in the 33^rd over.

Healy's innings included 17 fours and one six.

Haynes eventually got to 85 off 100 balls before she became the second wicket to fall with the score on 231 in the 36^th over.

Captain Meg Lanning (26 not out) and Beth Mooney (43 not out) then continued the attack for the Australians before the innings closed with them amassing 305-3 off their 45 overs.

Chinelle Henry was the only West Indian who had a decent showing with the ball, taking 2-51 off her nine overs.

The Windies started their reply already at a disadvantage as Anisa Mohammed and Chinelle Henry were both unable to bat after sustaining injuries in the field.

Captain Stafanie Taylor (48), Hayley Matthews (34) and Deandra Dottin (34) were the only West Indian batters to pass double figures as Australia were equally dominant with the ball, restricting the Windies to 148-8 to secure a 158-run win and advance to the final.

Jess Jonassen took 2-14 off five overs.

Australia will be looking for their seventh ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup title and first since 2013 when they play the winner of the second semi-final between South Africa and defending champions England.

The second semi-final takes place on Wednesday in Christchurch.

 The 31-year-old new ball bowler put in an impressive shift in the first T20 International against England on Monday.  The experienced seamster secured figures of 3-26 from her four overs– the second-best figures of her career – following 3-24 against New Zealand, at Invercargill, in 2014.

With a career spanning 12 years, Selman pointed to an improvement in her patience and working extra hard on mental skills as factors that have led to a recent resurgence.

“I think I’m actually peaking now at this later stage.  Funny enough, I think I have always bowled well but I never had the wickets that would quite justify that or really suggest that," Selman said in a recent interview with Windies Cricket.

"But, I’m very happy with the returns (At this stage). I think the hard work is finally paying off and I’m happy with where I am."

Additionally, she noted that increasing her discipline in exercise regimes, and maintaining appropriate nutrition have played a very important part in her continued success.  She also paid tribute to the coaches she has worked with over the years.

The opener blasted 79 off 40 balls in a 47-run loss to Australia in Brisbane's series decider on Thursday night, having already mustered an unbeaten 99 off 74 and 132 from 64 on Sunday and Monday.

She became the first player to score more than 300 runs across three women's T20I games as West Indies fell just short of a first series win against the world champions.

"I don't think so," the 25-year-old said when asked if she'd ever been in better form. "Being able to notch up 300 runs in a three-game T20 series is something unbelievable. I set targets coming down here and I can tell you it definitely wasn't getting 300 runs in three T20s."

The sides begin a three-game ODI series in Brisbane on Sunday with Matthews hopeful a quadriceps niggle won't keep her from leading an improving team who, she knows, rely on her deeply.

The captain said she felt some tightness in Monday's second game. She was troubled by it again on Thursday and will have scans to determine the severity of the injury.

"I felt my quad pulling a bit from the last game when we were in the field. I was running for a ball and felt it again so maybe a little strain there but we're going to assess it when I cool down, and have a better picture of what's going on," she said.

"Hopefully it's nothing too serious and I'm all ready to go in the first game for the ODI series," she added.

Matthews was playing for the Barbados senior women's team as a 12-year-old, debuted for her country at 16 and powered the successful chase against Australia to win a T20 World Cup when she was 18.

Matthews' wicket on Thursday at Allan Border Field triggered a collapse of 5 for 7, West Indies falling from 97 without loss to be all out for 143.

"I know that I have a big impact on the way that the game goes," she said.

In 27 T20 innings as captain Matthews averages 40, compared to an average of 18 in 61 innings without the responsibility.

"Sometimes, it can be stressful, but as a leader they're things you have to put on your shoulders," she said. "And in the second game I couldn't win that game without what Stafanie [Taylor] did. How I've been batting here is just trying to play really, really good cricket shots and that's my exact plan going into the 50-over series as well.

"If I get fluent I'll be happy with that, but there's definitely a lot less pressure to score quickly."

West Indies have won once in 15 ODI meetings against Australia, Matthews confident her inexperienced middle order will fare better with less pressure to score quickly in the longer format.

Taylor suffered a right-side groin strain in the eighth over of her side’s defeat to England at Sydney Showground on Sunday, forcing her to retire hurt on 15.

That injury has ruled her out of West Indies’ final Group B match against South Africa in Sydney on Tuesday.

No replacement player has been requested and Taylor will stay with the West Indies team until the end of their World Cup campaign.

Gus Logie’s squad has been decimated by injury, with Britney Cooper struggling with an ankle injury and Chinelle Henry missing the defeat to England due to a recurring issue.

These add to ongoing concerns over the fitness of star player Deandra Dottin, who underwent reconstructive shoulder surgery a year ago.

Ahead of their meeting with the Proteas, Logie said: “Right now we are struggling to get an XI on the field.

“We have had other players who have had issues reoccurring through the tournament, so first and foremost against South Africa we are looking to get a fit XI on the field.

“The medical team cleared Deandra to play cricket, she had a tournament in Trinidad before coming out here and did reasonably well.

“We have been nursing her along and hoping, she hadn’t been bowling but she’d been batting pretty well in the nets.

“She did well in the practice games and we felt that if she batted a few overs and gave herself a chance, she would score runs.

“Stafanie was quite shattered, it was a twist of fate. At that stage of the game it was a blow, she gives the others confidence to play.

“Once she was out there, if she was getting the balls away and you never know what could happen.

“Hopefully we can put out a fit XI, but firstly an XI that can stay out there on the park.”

The all-rounder, who has third-most runs in the history of women’s One Day International (ODI) cricket, has found scoring to be a scarce commodity at the tournament so far. 

In three matches to date, Taylor has managed just 31 runs for an average of 10.33 well below her overall tournament average of 37.  With those figures in mind, it's hardly a surprise that the player has hardly managed to spend any time at the crease.  In total, Taylor has been at the crease for just 1 hour and 11 minutes, the fifth most in the batting order.

“It’s not something that I’m worried about, yes, my form is a bit down.  But I think it happens to the best of players,” Taylor told members of the media on Saturday.

“For me, it's about going back to have a look at some footage and keep reminding myself that I am good enough to get out of any rut.  Right now, I’m just trying to stay positive because the team is doing well.  Today was probably just one of those days but I’m just trying not to pressure myself too much because I don’t have the form that I would like,” she added.

Taylor’s best performance came against New Zealand where she scored 30 runs from 47 balls.  The West Indies Women will next be in action against Australia on Monday.

The regional team just managed to avoid being on the wrong end of a sweep, after winning the final game of the series in a super over.  The 4-1 scoreline was, however, an accurate reflection of the fact that the West Indies Women had struggled to keep pace with the South Africans for the great majority of the One Day Internationals.

One of those key areas was putting runs on the board, with the Windies Women on many occasions looking bogged down by South Africa’s bowling, before being dismissed after ill-advised shots.  On four occasions the team struggled to get to one 150, a target that seemed an easy reach for South Africa.

 “It’s a concern, the rotation of the strike, it’s something we’ve been talking about since the start of the camp but it was highlighted much more against South Africa,” Walsh told members of the media.

“In terms of just hitting the fielders and not being able to find gaps, not being able to play with soft hands and we have identified that,” he added.

“It has been an ongoing discussion before the series and it was one area I was disappointed in that we did not try to show that (strike rotation) because leading up to the series we had been practicing it, but match-day when we get out in the middle it wasn’t done.  We just kept picking out the fielders.  It’s the sort of the thing you have to do in 50 over games if you want to really compete and it has to be addressed.”