West Indies Women’s captain Hayley Matthews is adamant that the team must find a way to put more runs on the board after another disappointing showing at the crease, this time against South Africa in the tri-series on Saturday.

The loss marked the 9th match in a row for the regional team, who last tasted victory in a win over New Zealand in September.  Against South Africa, the team’s now familiar struggles at the crease came to the fore.

After holding the South Africans to 141 on a slow pitch, the West Indies could not get to triple digits as they were dismissed for 97.  Perhaps even more concerning was the team’s collapse from 32 without loss to 67 for 6.

“It’s clear we don’t score enough runs.  Not being able to put it together with big enough partnerships and get enough big scores, which is something we definitely need to win the big games that are crucial,” Matthews, who top scored for the team with 23 from 35 balls, said.  

“At the same time we have a lot of injuries, at the moment, with a lot of our key batters out but we are hoping we can get some more runs on the board in future games with the team that we have,” she added.

Ahead of the World Cup the team could be bolstered in the batting department by the return of star all-rounder Stafanie Taylor.  Taylor is close to returning from injury but not yet available for selection.