Fiery Joseph spell rescues floundering WI - keeps World Cup hope alive with crucial win over Zimbabwe
An inspired spell of pace bowling from Alzarri Joseph jumpstarted a floundering ICC Men's T20 World Cup campaign for the West Indies who registered a crucial 31-run win over Zimbabwe on Wednesday.
Joseph ended the match with impressive figures of 4 for 16, but more than anything the innings will be remembered for the bowler's crucial breakthroughs when the Caribbean team’s tournament seemed destined to unravel.
Chasing a somewhat below-par total of 157, a surging Zimbabwe hammered 29 off the first two overs from the opening tandem of Kyle Mayers and Akeal Hosein. Joseph, however, struck crucially to remove Wessely Madhevere for 9 to dent Zimbabwean invulnerability and return some hope to his team, who took the initiative and battled back into the game.
Joseph’s effort was well backed up by former West Indies captain Jason Holder who claimed 3 for 12 and played a key role in ensuring the plucky African unit was restricted to 122.
In their turn at the crease, the West Indies looked set for a big score, at one point, cruising at 90 for 3, at the start of the 12th over, with a set Johnson Charles at the crease. Once again, however, the team was, however, bogged down by spin and Sikandar Raza wove a magical web to end with 3 for 19 after curtailing the Windies' momentum. At the back end of the innings, though, Rovman Powell and Hosein combined for a crucial 49 from 35 to give the Windies innings a much-needed lift. Charles had earlier given the team a strong start at the top of the innings with a purposeful 45 from 36.
Scores:
West Indies 157/7 (20)
Johnson Charles 45 (36)
Rovman Powell 28 (21)
Akeal Hosein 23* (18)
Sinkadar Razza 3 /19 (4), Blessing Muzarabani 2/38 (4)
Zimbabwe 122 (18.2)
Luke Jongwe 29 (22)
Wesley Madhevere 27 (19)
Ryan Burl 17 (19)
Alzarri Joseph 4/16 (4) Jason Holder 3/12 (3.2)
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Windies women eye vital win against Bangladesh to keep semi-final hopes alive at T20 World Cup
After an impressive six-wicket win over Scotland, West Indies women will seek to build on that momentum when they take on Bangladesh in a crucial encounter that could define their campaign at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
The Caribbean side will enter Thursday’s contest knowing that another win would keep their semi-final hopes alive, as they currently sit in third position on two points, two behind leaders South Africa and England on four points each.
The first ball is 9:00am Jamaica time.
West Indies’ victory over Scotland was a much-needed confidence boost for the team, especially after a crushing 10-wicket loss to South Africa in their opening match. The win not only lifted their spirits but also boosted their net run rate, a key factor in determining the semi-final spots should multiple teams finish level on points.
Assistant coach Ryan Austin emphasized the Hayley Matthews-led team’s readiness to handle what promises to be a tricky challenge, as Bangladesh bowlers, particularly their spinners, have proven to be formidable opponents.
“The team is pretty prepared. We obviously know that Bangladesh is basically a spin-based unit, but with our philosophies, we are more focused on what we can control. Having said that, we still have that element of power within our batting that could counter the spin as well,” Austin said in a pre-game press conference.
“If you look at the wicket, they are playing pretty slow at the moment. South Africa today (Wednesday) actually had a good total on the wicket, and if you watch how they batted, they actually used their feet a lot to the spin. So we are looking to obviously go into the game with that sort of temperament mindset with respect to their spin bowling attack as well. Sharjah has almost kind of a two-paced kind of wicket because during the day it's very low and slow, but in the evenings it kind of changes and comes alive,” he added.
Austin exuded confidence in his team’s batting prowess, with the likes of Matthews, Stafanie Taylor, Deandra Dottin, and Shemaine Campbelle expected to play pivotal roles, especially with the group being poised for a tight finish.
Though those proverbial big guns are yet to really fire, Austin believes their true potential should come to the fore in Thursday’s game, as well as the decisive fixture against England. West Indies currently have a positive net run rate of 1.154, only bettered by leaders South Africa, who have 1.527.
“If you look at how our group is set up, net run-rate is really going to be a big factor later down, especially, if we win both games against Bangladesh and England. So one of the things that we really have to look at is how we go about executing, especially in this game against Bangladesh. So our game plan is to at least probably both first and then try to get to our target as fast as possible,” Austin reasoned.