In the opening T20I of the series, in Canterbury, the hosts England Women (ENG-W) easily defeated the West Indies Women (WI-W) by eight wickets. Despite Hayley Matthews’ knock as a lone warrior, the home team’s run pursuit was dominated by Sophia Dunkley and Heather Knight. England Women were the rightful winners since they were superior than the visiting team overall in every aspect of the match.
On a batting surface that was decent, England Women chose to bowl first after winning the toss. Because of their poor batting performance, the West Indies women continued taking wickets from one end. Zaida James and Qiana Joseph were dismissed by Lauren Bell, who got off to a strong start with the new ball. Aaliyah Alleyne and Shabika Gajnabi were removed by Issy Wong and Em Arlott, respectively, adding their voices to the celebration.
Despite a few run-outs and the dismissal of Mandy Mangru by Linsey Smith, Hayley Matthews fought tirelessly for her team. The West Indian Women’s captain hit 16 fours and a six in her undefeated 100*(67). Adding up all of the extras, she was responsible for 71.42% of the team’s runs, which was the cumulative total.
England Women had a strong start, thanks to Sophia Dunkley, as they chased a total of just 147. At the other end, her opening partner had trouble getting going early in the game, while the star hitter routinely hit boundaries for fun. Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Nat Sciver-Brunt’s consecutive wickets were only able to marginally slow down Dunkley.
But Heather Knight, who was more seasoned, joined the group and pursued the bowlers. Due to their refusal to discard their wickets, the pair made sure there were no further disruptions. Knight assumed responsibility and played a forceful knock, but the English opener anchored the chase from there. As a result of their third-wicket partnership, England Women won handily.
Knight hit an undefeated 43*(27), which featured six fours and a lot of running between the wickets, while Dunkley scored an undefeated 81*(56), which included 12 fours. Ultimately, the home team defeated the visiting team by eight wickets with twenty-one balls remaining. Even though they lost, the West Indies captain received the Player of the Match award.
Who Said What?
Losing captain and Player of the Match, Hayley Matthews said:
A good day for myself but unfortunate not to get the win. Felt we were 15-20 runs short. We weren’t able to build as many partnerships. Hard to defend 150, on the wrong end today. Always good when you can hit a few well. Hope to carry the form through the series.
[Bowling] Was going to be hard, plans were solid but we missed out on execution. About picking ourselves up and starting again [in Hove]. Still some positives to take from this game. [Youngsters] Good when girls get an opportunity, like Grimmond making her debut today. Hopefully we have Staf and Campbell back for the next game.
Winning captain Nat Sciver-Brunt said:
Happy days, didn’t have to do anything. Important thing was taking wickets through the innings. Hayley is such a big player for them but stemming the runs by taking wickets was our method. The chase looked calm and calculated and brilliant to watch. [Captaining] Pretty good, sometimes feels quite muddled and everything going quickly, but I just enjoyed it.
[Matthews] If we bowl our best ball more often, we can put more pressure on her, but she played well. The wicket was good with a quick outfield, happy with that total in the end. [One-Day Cup form] That was an important part of preparation, to get cricket under our belts, and that showed today. [Keep momentum] Absolutely, down to Hove, new surface, new day. Hopefully adapt and have another good game.
India
