An impressive all-round bowling performance and ice-veined innings from captain Hayley Matthews saw Barbados Royals defeat Guyana Amazon Warriors by one wicket with a solitary delivery remaining in a thrilling opening match of the 2024 Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL).
Matthews won the toss and chose to field first at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, Trinidad and her side restricted the Warriors to what was thought to be a below-par score of 118-9 off their 20 overs. The wickets were shared around between Royals’ seam and spin bowlers, Aaliyah Alleyne taking 3-21 from her four overs including the crucial wicket of a well-set Stafanie Taylor for 38.
It was far from a comfortable chase for the Royals, the 2023 champions found themselves 44-3 and 50-4 during their innings but Matthews kept her head with wickets falling all around her, finishing unbeaten on 61 not out off 58 deliveries having batted through the innings to secure victory for her side and get the defence of their trophy off to a winning start.
An undulating match began with the Warriors struggling to get any momentum with the bat after losing both openers inside the PowerPlay. Captain Lauren Winford-Hill was bowled by a fast delivery from Alleyne that zipped off the floodlit wicket and Natasha McLean fended off Qiana Joseph to be well caught inside the inner circle by a diving Cherry-Ann Fraser.
At 59-2 after 10 overs the Warriors then lost wickets regularly in the second half of their innings which duly served to stifle their run scoring.
Stafanie Taylor played a typically classy knock, hitting four fours and a six to anchor the innings for the Warriors before Alleyne made the crucial breakthrough by bowling her with the second ball of the 17th over. Amanda-Jade Wellington found turn and a kept a tight line for the Royals, the Australian leg-spinner finishing impressively with 2-19 off her four overs to set up a seemingly straightforward chase.
The Royals also lost regular wickets in their reply, Shabnim Isamil the pick of bowlers for the Warriors, picking 4-16 from her four overs and looking threatening with almost every delivery she sent down.
Erin Burns pulled off an early contender for catch of the competition, a flashing drive by Georgia Redmayne seeing Burns produce a wonderfully athletic diving grab at point. Definitely one for the highlights reel and the repeat button.
Chloe Tryon ensured the game went down to the wire by stitching together five consecutive dots to Shabika Gajnabi in a penultimate over that went for just one run.
With seven needed off the final six balls, Winford-Hill entrusted 19-year-old leg-spinner Nyia Latchman with the final over. The teenager kept her nerve impressively but it wasn’t enough to stop Matthews using all her skill and experience to find the gaps in the outfield and get her side over the line at the last.
The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Women’s Selection Panel has announced the 15-member squad for the tour to Australia in October. The six-match Series comprises three (3) T20 Internationals (T20Is) and three (3) One Day Internationals (ODIs).
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
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
The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Selection Panel announced on Tuesday that seam bowler Shanika Bruce will join the team in South Africa for the upcoming T20 International (T20I) Tri-Nation Series against hosts South Africa and India. She comes in as a replacement for Cherry Ann Fraser who has been ruled out due to injury.
Bruce represented the West Indies Women’s ‘A’ Team in 2021 when Pakistan toured the Caribbean. She has played three T20Is for Barbados at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England last year. The Tri-Series will be played from 19 to 30 January and forms part of the preparations for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup which will also be played in South Africa.
Lead Selector Ann Browne-John said, “It’s unfortunate that Cherry Ann Fraser has been ruled out of the Tri-Series and ICC Women’s T20 World Cup due to injury. Fraser has shown improvement during the recent series against England and would have provided another fast-bowling option for the skipper. Shanika Bruce will replace Fraser in the Tri-Series squad. Bruce had a successful regional tournament last year and was one of the top bowlers, so as a result we believe she is the right fit for the team at this time.”
The West Indies Women will play at least four matches, playing two matches each against hosts South Africa and India. The two leading teams will then play each other in the Tri-Series Final on 2 February. West Indies will also play a warm-up match against South Africa ahead of the Tri-Series at Beacon Bay on 16 January.
Final squads for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa must be submitted by 2 February. The eighth edition of the marquee ICC Women’s event will begin on 10 February with hosts South Africa taking on Sri Lanka. West Indies have been drawn in Group 2 alongside England, India, Pakistan and Ireland.
FULL SQUAD
FULL MATCH SCHEDULE
16 January: warm-up match vs South Africa XI at Beacon Bay (start time TBC)
T20I Tri-Series Match Schedule
(all matches to be played at Buffalo Park, East London)
21 January: vs South Africa, 3pm local time (9am Eastern Caribbean/8am Jamaica)
23 January: vs India, 7pm local time (1pm Eastern Caribbean/12noon Jamaica)
25 January: vs South Africa, 3pm local time (9am Eastern Caribbean/8am Jamaica)
30 January: vs India, 3pm local time (9am Eastern Caribbean/8am Jamaica)
2 February: Tri-Series Final, 3pm local time (9am Eastern Caribbean/8am Jamaica)
Cricket West Indies (CWI) has confirmed the international retainer contracts for the West Indies Men’s and Women’s players for the 2022-2023 season. A total of 36 players have been offered contracts for the period – which runs from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023.
This is in addition to 90 players across the region who are contracted to Territorial Board Franchise Squads.
The West Indies Men’s contracted player list sees fast bowler Jayden Seales, left-arm seamer Obed McCoy and allrounder Odean Smith awarded international retainer contracts for the first time. The West Indies Women’s contracted player list sees allrounders Mandy Mangru and Jannillea Glasgow along with batter Rashada Williams awarded international retainer contracts for the first time, all of which are development contracts.
For 2022-23, CWI has changed the Men’s retainer contract structure to offer player contracts across all formats of cricket, compared to specific red or white-ball contracts in previous years. The offer of retainer contracts to all players follows an Evaluation Period of performances from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022, which is also supported by statistics from the previous 2019 -2020 Evaluation Period. This allows for all players to be appraised immediately after the Evaluation Period and provides a notice period before new contracts start on 1 July 2022. The system is designed to reward hard work and performance results.
“Congratulations to all the players who have been offered contracts. We think this is a dynamic group, with the right mixture of experience and youthfulness to properly represent the people of the Caribbean. With general retainer contracts, it gives us a pool of talented and dedicated cricketers, who can take West Indies cricket forward in years to come,” said West Indies Men’s Lead Selector the Hon. Desmond Haynes.
West Indies Women’s Lead Selector, Ann Browne-John also offered her congratulations.
“The selectors have placed a great focus on the young developing players because these are the ones who will help to build the team as we look towards the future. The panel believes that the combination of experienced players and the emerging players will give a good base as we continue to prepare teams for international matches and the T20 World Cup early next year,” she said.
“I am delighted for all the players who have been offered retainers for the upcoming period. This represents a significant investment in the ongoing development of our international players whilst also ensuring our best players are available for selection,” said CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams.
Full list of contracted players:
West Indies Men
Jermaine Blackwood
Nkrumah Bonner
Kraigg Brathwaite
Joshua Da Silva
Jason Holder
Shai Hope
Akeal Hosein
Alzarri Joseph
Brandon King
Kyle Mayers
Obed McCoy
Nicholas Pooran
Rovman Powell
Kemar Roach
Jayden Seales
Romario Shepherd
Odean Smith
Hayden Walsh Jr.
West Indies Women
*Denotes developmental contract
Aaliyah Alleyne
Shemaine Campbelle
Shamilia Connell
Deandra Dottin
Afy Fletcher
Cherry Ann Fraser *
Shabika Gajnabi *
Jannillea Glasgow *
Chinelle Henry
Mandy Mangru *
Hayley Matthews
Anisa Mohammed
Chedean Nation
Karishma Ramharack
Kaysia Schultz *
Shakera Selman
Stafanie Taylor
Rashada Williams*
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