Stafanie Taylor's brilliant innings of 73 runs guided the West Indies Women to a nerve-wracking two-wicket win over Pakistan Women in the second ODI of their series at the National Stadium in Karachi on Sunday.

Chasing a challenging target of 223 set by Pakistan, the West Indies found themselves in a tense battle, eventually reaching 225-8 off the final ball of the match to secure an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

Player of the Match Taylor was the linchpin of the West Indies' chase, anchoring the innings with crucial partnerships. Taylor's stand with Shemaine Campbell, who contributed a valuable 52 runs, proved pivotal as they shared an 88-run partnership for the third wicket. Captain Hayley Matthews also made a significant contribution with 44 runs before departing.

The West Indies Women looked poised for victory but encountered late drama, losing quick wickets that put the match on a knife's edge. Nida Dar's exceptional bowling effort (4-52) created tension in the dying moments, but the Caribbean side managed to hold their nerve.

In a thrilling finish, with the West Indies needing three runs off the final delivery, Karishma Ramharack smashed a boundary off Fatima Sana to seal the victory in dramatic fashion.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan Women won the toss and opted to bat first, posting a competitive total of 222 runs. Sidra Ameen's half-century (50) and Bismah Maroof's valuable 65 laid a solid foundation for Pakistan, with the pair stitching together an 80-run partnership for the second wicket.

However, the West Indies bowlers fought back strongly, led by Chinelle Henry (3-37) and Ramharack (3-48), who inflicted crucial blows to derail Pakistan's innings. Afy Fletcher also contributed with the ball, taking 2-46 to restrict Pakistan's scoring.

Despite the loss, Pakistan Women showed resilience and fought hard throughout the match, setting up an enthralling contest with the West Indies Women.

The West Indies Women's cricket team suffered an embarrassing eight-wicket defeat to Australia in the first One Day International (ODI) at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane.

The Caribbean women were ignominiously bowled out for 83 runs in 27.3 overs, one of their lowest-ever ODI scores. Amidst the carnage, Aaliyah Alleyne showed promise, standing tall amidst the falling wickets.

She managed to score an impressive 35 runs from just 39 deliveries, including seven boundaries. Her innings was a lone bright spot in what was otherwise a gloomy day for the West Indies Women.

The Australians, however, were on top of their game with Kim Garth leading the bowling attack. Her outstanding figures of 5.3-2-8-3 made her a major headache for the West Indies batting line-up. Not far behind, Ash Gardner also showcased her talent by taking two wickets for just 17 runs in her 5 overs.

Chasing a low score, the Australian team made quick work of the target.

Player of the Match, Captain Alyssa Healy, took charge and scored a brisk 38 off 36 balls, inclusive of seven boundaries. Veteran player Ellyse Perry provided a steady hand with 20 not out, while Beth Mooney added six runs not out to the tally.

The West Indies bowlers found little success, but Karishma Ramharack managed to shine with figures of 3-0-13-1, followed closely by Cherry-Ann Fraser who claimed a wicket at the expense of 28 runs in her 5 overs.

Head Coach Shane Deitz acknowledged the team's shortcomings, but he emphasized the learning curve the youngsters are on.

"We sent some youngsters out to give them the opportunity and they did their best," said Deitz, "They’re learning international cricket, but they’ve got a lot to learn. I'm confident that with time and exposure against world-class teams like Australia, they'll mature into formidable players."

Deitz also touched upon the team's strategy and expressed satisfaction with some aspects of their game. He appreciated how the players "moved into the ball and attacked it."

The absence of star player Hayley Matthews was felt during the match, but Deitz reassured fans, saying, "We decided to give her the time to heal and be ready for the next game. We'll monitor her closely."

With this game in the rearview, the focus now shifts to Melbourne's Junction Oval, which is all set to host the remaining two ODIs on Thursday, October 12, and Saturday, October 14.

West Indies Women’s captain Hayley Matthews bagged a three-for but could not prevent 16 run loss to England who took an overall 2-0 lead in the ongoing T20 series on Wednesday.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat, England Women put up an average 141 for 6 in their stint at the crease.  The team was led by an enterprising 43 runs from 43 deliveries from opener Sophia Dunkley, who gave England a solid start with partner Danni Wyatt.

Dunkley and Wyatt put 36 on the board before Afy Fletcher broke the partnership, after bowling Wyatt for 20.  Following the dismissal of Lauren Winfield-Hill, Heather Knight became the first of Matthew’s wickets.  She was caught by Karishma Ramharack on 4. 

Matthews then also accounted for Dunkley, who was stumped by Knight.  A new-look England line-up then struggled to put together solid partnerships after that managing just 31 off the last five overs.

In pursuit of the target, the West Indies started out at 21 without loss but Lauren Bell and Charlie Dean were then introduced to the attack with great success. 

Davies got the breakthrough when she removed Aaliyah Alleyne, who made 16 from 14. Dean then the important wicket of Matthews to leave the team struggling at 23 for 2 after the first 4 over.  The Windies never recovered and eventually fell short at 125 for 8.  Dean ended with figures of 3 for 22, while Bell claimed 2 for 21.

West Indies Women head coach Courtney Walsh has expressed disappointment with an overall tepid batting display in a 3-0 One Day International series loss to England Women.

After losing the first two matches by margin of 142 runs, things did not get better for the Caribbean team as England closed out the series with another dominant display in 151 run win margin on Friday.

At the crease for the series, overall, while England averaged 274, the Windies could only manage 131, producing their lowest total of in the final game, avter limping to 105.  On the back of a battling display against New Zealand Women, in September, Walsh admits that he was expecting a better performance from the team.

“I thought that it was a poor series by us.  We did not play the type of cricket that we wanted to play.  England outplayed us,” Walsh said.

“The bowling was not bad and the fielding was not bad but in all three games the batting wasn’t what we expected, wanted or were looking for,” he added.

“It was a lot of disappointment because I know we can play better cricket than that and we did not show that.”

Rashada Williams was the team’s highest scorer over the 3 matches, making a combined total 93 after scoring a half century in the first match.  The team will now turn its attention to the T20 series, which bowls off on Sunday.

West Indies Women all-rounder Deandra Dottin has been signed by Lancashire Thunder ahead of the start of the team’s T20 competition for the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.

Dottin recently missed out on taking part in the CG Insurance Regional Super50 championship, for Barbados, after taking time to recover from an injury.  The player, however, left for England earlier this week and is expected to be available for the team’s first match against Northern Diamonds on Sunday.

The all-rounder will be available for the team’s first four matches in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy before joining up with Manchester Originals for The Hundred at the beginning of August.  For her part, the player is looking forward to joining the team for the inaugural competition.

“I am really excited to be in Manchester and ready to play in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for the first time with the Thunder,” Dottin said.

“I already know a few members of the squad following my time in the KSL six years ago and it will be a good opportunity to reunite with them and have some more fun playing cricket here.

“I am looking forward to playing at Emirates Old Trafford again, one of my favourite grounds in cricket.”

 Newly appointed West Indies women’s team captain Hayley Matthews admits her new role will require plenty of learning on the job.

The 24-year-old all-rounder was named as captain of the Caribbean team last week, taking over from Stafanie Taylor who took charge of the team in 2015.

Matthews has been a rising star for the team over the last two years and was the most outstanding player for the West Indies women during the last ODI World Cup.  However, leading a squad that still has quite a few veteran players, will be an entirely new experience.

“I’m still trying to balance being player and captain.  As a player, I am still trying to perform as best as I can and lead by example. That’s something a captain needs to do, lead by example, 100 percent,” Matthews told the Mason and Guest show.

“I know my success as a player is very important to the team.  Obviously going forward at the same time I am captain as well.  It’s a lot to take on, it’s obviously a team first mentality and I have a lot of learning to do on the job.”

The best women’s cricketers in the West Indies will be back in action as Cricket West Indies (CWI) hosts the CG Insurance Super50 Cup and the T20 Blaze regional tournaments in Guyana.

The CG Insurance Super50 Cup matches will be played at three venues – Everest Cricket Club, Enmore Cricket Ground and the Guyana National Stadium from June 7 to 17.

The T20 Blaze event will feature five full days of entertainment for the fans from June 19 to 25. There will be three matches per day – starting at 10 am 2:30 pm and 7 pm under lights at the Guyana National Stadium.

For this year’s CG Insurance Super50 and the T20 Blaze, several world-class players will be representing their home territories in what promises to be a keenly contested three weeks of action. Barbados are defending champions in both formats.

This will mark a significant return as the women’s tournaments were not played in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During that period CWI continued its investment in the development of women’s players and organized several high-performance camps at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua and also hosted international series, including an inaugural Women’s “A” Team series, while the West Indies Women’s team also toured England, Pakistan and South Africa.

“We are delighted to see the return of the women’s regional tournament on our annual calendar as it is a crucial component of our cricket in the region. We are also pleased to have our international players in action on home soil playing with our regional players,” said Jimmy Adams, CWI’s Director of Cricket.

“Our women’s game is showing improvement, as was demonstrated with some good performances during the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year. Ideally, we want to see a further demonstration of that progress as we look to upcoming bilateral series and international events. Very importantly, the regional tournament will serve to identify players who could potentially graduate to our international squads in the near future.”

West Indies all-rounder Hayley Matthews insists the team remains aware of the strong form of South Africa Women heading into Wednesday's crucial encounter but insists the unit can take encouragement based on recent head-to-head performances.

Finding themselves plagued with issues of inconsistency all tournament, the West Indies Women will face South Africa in a must-win encounter at Basin Reserve.  On the back of a devastating loss to previously winless Pakistan, the team currently finds itself in the last semi-final spot and must hope for other results to go their way.  The team has played one more game than England.

The South Africans have on the other hand been in solid form, with their only loss so far coming against top-ranked Australia, who are yet to lose a match.

“They’ve obviously been playing very good cricket.  The only team that has beaten them is Australia, but at the same time we have played a lot of cricket against South Africa over the last few months,” Matthews told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“We played them at home in a series last year and before coming here (World Cup) we had a pretty good series as well, unfortunately, we lost the series but if a few things had gone our way, the rain-affected it and stuff like that, it would have looked like a different result,” she added.

“We know they have some dangerous players and we know all of them really well, we know what we need to do in this match as well.  What’s going to be really important against them is getting some runs on the board.”

West Indies all-rounder, Hayley Matthews, was pleased with the team’s narrow win over Bangladesh on Friday but admits they must find a way to produce more with the bat to have a real chance of competing for the ICC Women's World Cup.

On Friday, the Caribbean team managed to secure their third win of the campaign with a narrow four-wicket victory over Bangladesh, but the team’s performance at the crease made it far from a straightforward affair.

Batting first, the Windies Women could only put up 140 for 9 on the board, but that was in large part due to wicketkeeper Shemaine Campbelle’s staunch 53 in the middle order.  At one point, the team found itself at 70 for 7 before gritty middle and lower order resistance presented a defendable target.

In fact, despite being third in the table, the West Indies have the second-worst run net run rate in the standings, just ahead of last place Pakistan.  Ahead of the Pakistan encounter, Matthews knows the team needs to improve, even after the euphoria of the much-needed win over Bangladesh.

“Just looking at it everyone knew we didn’t get enough runs on the board.  We definitely need to be doing better in that aspect.  At the same time, we knew we could have gone out there and defended the runs by bowling in the right areas.  Keeping the stumps in play was very, very important," Matthews told members of the media.

“We managed to do that well today, but at the same time we definitely need to do better with the bat if we’re going to have any chance at this World Cup.”

The West Indies Women did very little with the bat but came up trumps with the ball to successfully defend a measle total against Bangladesh for a four-run win, in a thrilling final over at the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup on Friday.

Despite only being able to post 140/9 from their 50 overs at Bay Oval, the Caribbean side was able to use all their experience to bowl Bangladesh out for 136 in reply for their third win of the tournament.

Needing eight runs from the final six balls, with just one wicket in hand, Bangladesh were held in check by West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor who once again came up with a big-time performance as Fariha Trisna fell for a duck on the third ball of the over to hand West Indies a narrow win.

All-rounder Hayley Matthews (4/14), who received player of the match honours, and Afy Fletcher (3/29) that did the majority of the damage with the ball, but the team would have been nowhere without a strong effort at the crease from wicketkeeper Shemaine Campbelle (53*) who propped up a batting innings that had failed to spark.

Bangladesh spinners Salma Khatun (2/23) and Akter (2/23) were the top bowlers for the South Asian team, while skipper Nigar Sultana (25) was the equal top-scorer in a low-scoring innings.

The win sees West Indies jump to third on the standings with three victories from five games, while Bangladesh remain seventh.

For the Caribbean team, Campbelle's half-century was the sole highlight, as Deandra Dottin (17), Matthews (18), and Taylor (4) all fell cheaply.  With the team desperate for early wickets to defend the small total it was Matthews that took up the challenge, trapping Shamima Sultana Lbw for a duck in the opening over of the chase.

Fargana Hoque (23) and Sultana looked assured at the crease as they took the score along to 60/2, but Fletcher's three-wicket haul during the middle overs turned the game on its head as the score quickly went to 60/5.

Matthews returned to pick up two more wickets - including the key scalp of Sultana - before Taylor came through with the goods in the final over to seal the result.

West Indies Women all-rounder, Hayley Matthews, insists the team is not yet feeling any pressure despite suffering a second consecutive loss at the ICC Women’s World Cup on Monday.

Against top-ranked Australia, the Windies found very little joy and suffered a lopsided 7-wickets loss in their fourth match of the tournament.  Prior to that, the team struggled to deal with India’s powerful batting line-up in a 155-run defeat.

The results stand in sharp contrast to the Caribbean women's heady start to the tournament, which featured victories over New Zealand and England.  It is those victories, however, that Matthews believes stands the team in good stead, despite its recent patch of bad form.

“Coming into this tournament we knew our first four games were likely going to be the hardest.  We kind of said to ourselves if we can get two or three wins out of these four games we would be in a strong position and we’ve done exactly that,” Matthews told members of the media.

“Looking at the rest of the games, these are games we should expect to win and the good thing about it is that things are still in our hands. If we go out there and we can win all three of our games we will be qualifying for the semi-finals,” she added.

The West Indies will face Bangladesh, Pakistan, and South Africa in their remaining three matches.

“I don’t think there is much pressure at the moment.  We know we have the kind of team that once we go out there and play our best cricket we will get the wins.”

West Indies Women head coach Courtney Walsh insists he has been satisfied with the team’s overall performance at the ICC World Cup so far but admits they are yet to put together the perfect game.

The Windies Women have started their campaign in New Zealand in spectacular fashion with a narrow win over the hosts, followed up by a similar triumph against defending champions England.

The performances have, however, been far from spotless.  The Windies are arguably yet to see the best of stars Stafanie Taylor or Deandra Dottin with the bat and their performances in the field have vacillated between exceptional and middling.  Ahead of the team’s encounter against India at 8:00 pm, tomorrow Walsh admits a bigger margin of victory would be welcome, but it’s the team’s fighting spirit that has in his mind been the positive feature so far.

“It’s good to be winning these close games but I think the fighting spirit the ladies have been showing is what has been the most encouraging,” Walsh told members of the media on Wednesday.

“In two close games, you have to be proud of how the ladies have performed.  The beauty about it is that everyone has chipped in so far in the two games,” he added.

After two matches the Windies Women are in third position behind Australia and New Zealand, with only the top four teams advancing to the semi-finals.

“I’m very happy that we’ve had the results that we want in the first two games.  I’m hoping that it can continue for the rest of the tournament.  So, I’m really happy with how the ladies are playing, everybody has played a part in the team process, good batting, good bowling, good catching.  It’s not the perfect game as yet we still have areas to improve upon.”

West Indies Women’s captain, Stafanie Taylor, is confident the team is an improving force in One Day International cricket, ahead of the start of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup, which bowls off in under a week’s time.

The West Indies, who briefly took part in the qualifiers, will get their campaign underway against host New Zealand on Friday, with few having the team among the favourites to win the title.  For one, the West Indies have never won the tournament with their best result coming in 2013 when they finished runners-up to Australia.

Nor is the team’s record in the format particularly impressive.  Over the last five years, the team has won just 3 of the last 14 series.  In that run of games, they played 46 matches, winning 15, drawing 2, and losing 27 with 2 no results.  Taylor, however, believes the team has shown improvement in recent months, with two of those wins coming in the last year.

“I think we're making strides (in the ODI format),” Taylor told members of the media.

"For us, it is more about improving every time and getting better at that,” she added.

The team has, however, never beaten New Zealand with their last encounter ending in a chastening 205 runs defeat to close out a 3-0 series defeat in 2018.

“We’re pretty excited about that. You probably wouldn't want to play the hosts in the first game but it is what it is,” Taylor said.

“I think for us, we have to go out there and play to the best of our abilities. You can see New Zealand doing pretty well, we've had a lot of cricket to look at, so hopefully we could get one over them."

Lizelle Lee produced another match-winning performance as South Africa Women earned a comfortable victory in the opening match of the CG Insurance One-Day International Series. The powerful opener top-scored with a purposeful 91 not out as the Proteas easily reached 157-2 off 39.3 overs. This was in reply to West Indies 153 off 46.4 overs.

Lee’s innings earned her the CG Insurance Player of the Match award following up on her CG Insurance Player of the Series award in the recent T20 Internationals. The experienced opener made her 21st half-century at this level and laid the perfect platform for the run-chase as she faced 127 balls and hit 10 fours and a six. She added 88 in 22 overs with Laura Wolvaardt who again looked in good touch before she was bowled by Anisa Mohammed for 35, which came off 65 deliveries.

The West Indies had one other success when Sune Luus was trapped leg-before wicket to left-arm spinner Qiana Joseph without scoring.

In the first half of the match, West Indies found the going challenging. Left-hander Kycia Knight top-scored with 39 off 78 balls, but was run out by a superb throw from Mignon duPreez at deep square leg.

Deandra Dottin, looked set for a significant score as she raced to 38 off 36 balls, but was well caught at long-off by duPreez, which gave leg-spinner Dane van Niekerk her first wicket. The South Africa skipper ended with 2-23 off her 10 overs to put pressure on the West Indies middle and lower order.

 The two teams will return to the same venue on Friday for the second match of the five-match rubber. First ball is 10 am (9 am Jamaica Time).

Heavy rains forced the abandonment of the first CG Insurance T20 International between the West Indies Women and South Africa Women at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.

Batting first Marizanne Kapp top-scored with 36 as the visitors put 135 for three on the board.  In pursuit, the Windies Women were off to a tough start, after losing Deandra Dottin to injury and Hayley Matthews for 8 before the rain intervened.  Despite not playing the full encounter West Indies stand-in captain Anisa Mohammed took positives from the encounter.

"I’m really happy with the way the girls bowled today. I think we had them good up until the 18th over but with wickets in hand, we expected them to come hard at us. Having said that I still believe that 135 was a good total for us to chase unfortunately the rain had other plans. We now have a day to refocus and fine-tune carrying through the consistency until the end of 20 overs,” Mohammed told CWI Media.

The second and third CG Insurance T20Is take place at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground on Thursday, September 02, and Saturday, September 04 respectively. The five CG Insurance ODIs will be played from September 7 to 19, with the first three matches being played at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) and the last two at the SVRCG.