The West Indies are top of the Group B table in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, after a comprehensive win over Scotland on Sunday morning.
Saint Lucia’s Qiana Joseph played a major role with bat and ball as the regional team got their first win in the United Arab Emirates.
The Maroon Warriors, who lost their opening match against South Africa on Friday, bounced back with a six-wicket victory, with 50 balls to spare at the Dubai International Stadium.
Chedean Nation and Ashmini Munisar replaced Shamilia Connell and Zaida James for the West Indies, the Saint Lucian teenager not yet fully recovered from being struck in the face in the previous game. Scotland won the toss and opted to bat.
They got off to a brisk start against Chinelle Henry, taking eight runs off her first over. In the second over, however, captain Hayley Matthews had Saskia Horley caught for 11, her 100th T20I wicket. Henry then followed with a wicket maiden.
A second maiden from Henry had the Scottish lasses limping to the end of the powerplay just 25-2 after six overs. The 29-year-old Jamaican fast bowler ended her spell with an amazing return of just 10 runs conceded from her four overs.
At the halfway stage, Scotland were 45-2. Afy Fletcher came in to take 3-22 in her four overs, reducing the opposition to 76-5 after 15 overs.
With Joseph bowling, Lorna Jack-Brown was then run out, and the 23-year-old from Gros Islet gave up just two runs from her one over.
A run-out and a last-ball dismissal gave West Indies a target of exactly 100. The Maroon Warriors got to that total in a mere 11.4 overs, boosting their net run rate to 1.154.
Promoted to the top of the order after her star turn in the opening match, Stafanie Taylor was out to the fourth ball of the innings, bringing Joseph to the crease.
A graduate of Corinth Secondary School, she faced just 18 of the next 46 balls, but contributed 31 of the 55 runs produced while she was on the pitch.
Joseph’s game-high 31 included three fours and a six, a 172.22 strike rate. She hit 18 off 10 balls to dominate her second-wicket stand of 27 from 28 balls with Matthews. Joseph guided West Indies to a powerplay platform of 46-2.
But once Deandra Dottin came in with Henry, they built on that solid foundation, hitting an unbeaten partnership of 42. Dottin was not out 28 off just 15 balls, clearing the boundary twice to make her the most prolific six-hitter (24) in WT20WC history.
Player of the match Henry faced just 10 balls, but hit two fours and a six to end on 18. The pair took 28 from the last 10 balls, propelling the Maroon Warriors to 101-4 and the win.
“100 per cent, we were able to go out as a group, restricting them to 99. Qiana Joseph was positive and Dottin finishing it off,” Matthews explained. “We did pretty well with the ball, limited the boundary balls. If we got ourselves in a secure position and then we think about the net run rate and we did it. Take it one game at a time, next we have Bangladesh, if we win that, and then against England to get into the semifinals.”
PHOTO: Qiana Joseph goes for a big hit (ICC)
