In the realm of women's cricket, the year 2023 witnessed a parade of spectacular performances and breathtaking moments, with one player standing out prominently in the T20 International format – West Indies Women's captain, Hayley Matthews. Her outstanding consistency with both bat and ball has earned her the esteemed title of ICC Women's T20I Cricketer of the Year 2023, a well-deserved accolade for a player of her caliber.
The year unfolded as a saga of dominance for Matthews, marked by phenomenal performances that went beyond mere statistics. Her impact on turning games around and rising to the occasion when her team needed her most defined a remarkable year.
Matthews' batting prowess in 2023 showcased her technical brilliance and mental fortitude. Accumulating a historic 700 runs at a striking rate of 132.32, she became the first women's player to reach this figure in a single calendar year. The highlight of her innings was a staggering 132 runs in the historic 213-run chase against Australia in the second T20I at the North Sydney Oval, preceded by an unbeaten 99 in the first match. In the third T20I, she added 79 more to her tally, amassing 310 runs in the series. Employing a blend of traditional and innovative shots, she proved to be one of the most formidable batters in the T20I circuit, anchoring the innings and accelerating as needed.
Equally impressive in her bowling, Matthews, with her right-arm off-spin deliveries featuring flight and turn, perplexed top-order batters from various teams, claiming 19 wickets with an economy rate of 6.84.
Beyond being a personal achievement, Matthews' recognition as the ICC Women's T20I Cricketer of the Year 2023 is a significant boost for West Indies women's cricket. It underscores the talent and potential within the team and the region, serving as inspiration for aspiring young players in the Caribbean islands.
Expressing her gratitude, Matthews stated, “It’s nice to see all the hard work paying off. It’s been a long two or three years to get to this point, it’s been really nice to have a good time with the bat and the ball in the last year to help the team as best as I can. I am very grateful for this award, and it’s something that growing up I saw my role models achieving, so to win one myself definitely means a lot.”
As Hayley Matthews continues her journey in international cricket, her focus remains on securing more victories and accolades. With the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh and other international fixtures on the horizon this year, Matthews is undoubtedly poised to continue her impressive form and lead West Indies Women to greater heights.
Matthews, Molineux propel Renegades to WBBL summit after dominant nine-wicket win over Thunder
West Indies captain Hayley Matthews put on a batting masterclass, smashing an unbeaten 60 off just 37 balls to power the Melbourne Renegades to a commanding nine-wicket victory over the Sydney Thunder at Melbourne's Junction Oval on Friday.
The win catapulted the Renegades to the top of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) standings and once again highlighted their title ambitions as they continue to enjoy fairly decent form. In fact, they required only 14.2 overs to easily get to 137-1, surpassing the Thunders modest total of 133.
Another West Indies star, Deandra Dottin, also played a pivotal role in the victory, chipping in with a tidy spell of 2-24 in 3.1 overs to help restrict the Thunder, with Renegades spinner Sophie Molineux delivering a standout performance by claiming 4-23. Georgia Wareham (2-20) also shared in the wickets.
Scores: Melbourne Renegades 137-1 (14.2 overs); Sydney Thunder 133 (19.1 overs)
Chasing 134 for victory, the Renegades’ duo of Matthews and Molineux made light work of the target. Matthews, who was in imperious form, smashed seven boundaries and two sixes in her unbeaten knock, which displayed her full array of strokes against a Thunder attack that had no answers.
Molineux capped her all-round brilliance with an unbeaten 29-ball 42, including seven boundaries and one six, as she added a steadying hand to Matthews’ aggression.
The pair took the hapless Thunder bowlers to task in an unbroken 95-run second wicket stand that ensured the Renegades raced to victory with 34 balls to spare.
Matthews’ dazzling innings, after losing opening partner Courtney Webb (24), marked yet another high point in her WBBL campaign, demonstrating why she is considered one of the best in the world.
Earlier, the Thunder’s innings never gained sustained momentum, as they lost openers Georgia Voll (11) and Chamari Athapaththu (11) with a mere 26 runs on the board.
Captain Phoebe Litchfield, batting at number three, top-scored with a quick-fire 17-ball 30 that had six boundaries. However, their batting lineup faltered dramatically and collapsed from 95-4 in the 12th over to lose their last seven wickets for just 38 runs.
Tahlia Wilson (27) was the Thunder’s next best scorer, while Sammy-Jo Johnson offered a late cameo with 21 from 19 deliveries, leaving them with a subpar total that was always going to be a challenge for their bowlers to defend.
The Renegades now sit atop the WBBL table with 14 points, relegating Thunder (13 points) to second, with Brisbane Heat (12 points) in third, and needing a massive win against the Sydney Sixers in their final match of the regular season on Sunday to leapfrog the Renegades and secure the coveted hosting rights for the grand final.
Meanwhile, the race for fourth place remains wide open. The Perth Scorchers (nine points) will take on the fifth-placed Hobart Hurricanes (eight points) on Saturday in a must-win clash. The Sydney Sixers, in sixth place with eight points, still have a mathematical chance of advancing if they upset the Heat.
'Test cricket is something I’ve always dreamed of': Matthews eager to parade skills in longest format
Hayley Matthews has always dreamed of parading her skills in cricket's longest format. As such, the West Indies women's captain, one of the best players in the world, expressed delight about the Caribbean side's return to playing Test match cricket as they are set to face Australia in 2026.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) made the announcement recently as they unveiled the Women’s Future Tour Programme. This will mark the 50th anniversary of West Indies women’s Test cricket since the first Test between the two countries was played in Jamaica in May 1976.
West Indies women's last Test match was away to Pakistan in 2004.
“Test cricket is something I’ve always dreamed of. Wearing the whites with the badge on your chest would mean a lot. Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game, so being afforded the opportunity to wear whites and put on that ‘baggy’ maroon cap is going to be a huge honour,” Matthews said in an interview with Philip Spooner, the former Head of Media at Cricket West Indies.
“When I heard Test cricket was announced, I was very excited. Playing Test cricket has been an ambition of mine for a very long time, so to be able to get this opportunity to play a few Tests over the next few years is something I’m looking forward to,” she added from her base in Australia.
Matthews is currently on another stint with the Melbourne Renegades in the 10th edition of the Women’s Big Bash League. Her best outing so far was against the Adelaide Strikers when she took two for 28 from four overs and made a match-winning 85 not out off 54 balls in the big win.
She pointed out that there was great anticipation among the other players, and she hoped the fans would come out and embrace the longest format.
“There has obviously been a lot of talk over the last year or two about us playing Test cricket, seeing that so many of the other teams are also playing Test matches. Now that it is confirmed for us, we are very happy it has been locked into the schedule,” Matthew said.
“I hope it does excite the fans a lot. Women’s cricket has grown a lot in the West Indies in recent years, and fans have been paying a lot of attention and focusing on our games. Hopefully, we can have a lot of success before we reach that Test, specifically the ICC Women’s World Cup next year (in India), and that would entice the fans to come out and support us even more," she noted.
The ICC Future Tours Programme also shows the West Indies playing Tests against England in 2027 and in South Africa in 2028, which would mark the first contest between the two teams.
Matthews, Dottin contribute with ball to help Renegades get third consecutive win in WBBL
Captain Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin both had significant contributions with the ball to help the Melbourne Renegades secure their third win in a row in the Women’s Big Bash League on Friday.
Matthews took 2-27 from four overs while Dottin took 2-32 from her four overs to help restrict the Melbourne Stars to 161-8 from their 20 overs in pursuit of their target of 171 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Sarah Coyte also bowled well with 2-13 from her two overs.
Rhys McKenna and Marizanne Kapp were the top scorers for the Stars with 34 and 32.
Earlier, the Renegades made 170-6 from their 20 overs after winning the toss.
Nicole Faltum made a career best 66* off 42 balls while Georgia Wareham and Georgia Prestwidge provided support with 34 and 23* off nine balls, respectively.
Matthews made 11 while Dottin made nine.
Kim Garth took 2-32 from her four overs for the Stars.
The win moves the Renegades level on points with the Sydney Thunder on 10 at the top of the table with the latter having a game in hand.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
