IRE-W vs WI-W: Matthews, Fletcher help West Indies go 1-0 up with dominating 9-wicket win

West Indies women took a 1-0 lead in the ODI series against Ireland women with a dominating 9-wicket win in the first match on Friday, July 10, at Bready Cricket Club, Bready, Northern Ireland. After being put in to bat first, Ireland got all out for 269 in their allotted 50 overs, with Amy Hunter top-scoring with a brilliant innings of 96 (90).

Captain Gaby Lewis (39 off 48) and Orla Prendergast (30 off 33) also made valuable contributions. Afy Fletcher was the pick of the bowlers for West Indies with a four-wicket haul, while captain Hayley Matthews also scalped three wickets (3/52).

In reply, West Indies chased down the target without breaking a sweat, getting over the line in just 38.4 overs. Hayley Matthews led from the front with her career-best innings and had full support from Realeanna Grimmond (91 off 107).

As a result, West Indies completed their highest run chase in ODIs and took an early lead in the series, with the second match set to be played on Sunday, July 12.

Top run-scorer of the Match

Top wicket-taker of the Match

Player of the Match

Hayley Matthews was deservedly adjudged Player of the Match for her stunning all-round show. She first dismissed Gaby Lewis, Rebecca Stokell and Leah Paul to register figures of 3/52 in ten overs. Later, she played a breathtaking innings of 159 (123), smashing 24 fours and two sixes to complete a dominating victory for her side. She stitched a massive 258-run opening stand alongside Realeanna Grimmond off just 224 balls for the first wicket, which put West Indies in the driver’s seat.

Turning Point

Ireland were in a good position after 34.1 overs on 196/3 with Amy Hunter (96 off 90) and Rebecca Stokell (20 off 26) at the crease. However, captain Hayley Matthews broke their 50-run stand by dismissing Stokell. Following the end of their partnership, Ireland suffered a dramatic collapse, losing their last seven wickets for 73 runs in 89 balls.

What did the captains say:

Winning Captain, Hayley Matthews (West Indies): 

(On the wicket) I felt that the wickt was a bit slow in the first half so I came early on. It was important to the first wicket early on and glad that I did it. (On Afy Fletcher) She is a great bowler and she came back really well to pick up four wickets and showed her class. (On her innings) I wanted to take them on early on and played the ball on its merit. We had a lot of time at the crease. (On Realeanna Grimmond) Grimmond eased the pressure on me and it helped us. She is a free spirited girl and plays every ball on its merit. Its an advantage having young players like her. 

Losing Captain, Gaby Lewis (Ireland): 

[Did they leave a few runs out there with the bat?] Yeah, definitely I think coming off the midway point we left a few runs out there. After the start we got, we should have scored more than 300. In the second innings we just didn't bowl well enough and missed our chances. [What would have been a good total?] I think anything over 300 and taking our chances when they came would have been pretty good. There was obviously a little bit of advantage with the toss and that is part of it. But yeah, we were not at our best today. Still, we have positives to take. Amy Hunter batted brilliantly. A couple of other players chipped in.