Barbados Women complete double with Blaze T20 success

Barbados completed the elusive double, copping the Blaze T20 title to go with their success in the Super50 competition in the 2019 Cricket West Indies Regional Women’s competition, which concluded on Wednesday evening at the National Stadium, Providence.

The Bajans inflicted an eight-wicket thumping on hosts Guyana in the final round to finish top of the points table. Guyana had a chance to spoil the Bajans party, but needed to win to tie on points, and possibly secure the title on net-run rate.

However, such a scenario was thrown out the window even before half of the match was completed, with Guyana closing their innings on 85-7.

Barbados took only 16.1 overs to achieve the target, compliments of Player-of-the-Match Deandra Dottin’s robust stroke-play.

The Windies all-rounder made an unbeaten 37 from 27 balls, smashing six fours and a humongous six into the Red Stand. Kycia Knight supported with a 28-ball 30* (2x4s; 1×6).

Captain Shemaine Campbell top-scored with 18 (28b) followed by Cherry-Ann Fraser 15 (23b) for Guyana, and from a reasonably well-placed position of 43-3 in the ninth over, the innings fell away during the latter half.

Hayley Matthews (2-13) and Shakera Selman (2-16) delivered their full allotment of overs which stymied Guyana’s progress.

Earlier in the day, Windward Islands got their first win of the tournament when they defeated the Leeward Islands by 11 runs. Afy Fletcher and Swayline Williams with 24 runs each, ensured their team posted a defendable 115-8 from 20 overs.

The Leeward Islands had a late charge at victory, but the overs ran out as they ended on 104-9.

In the first match of the day, Jamaica defeated Trinidad and Tobago by seven wickets, to open up the race for second place in the tournament. Trinidad and Tobago posted 145-6 in 20 overs, but Chedean Nation and Chinelle Henry tore apart the T&T bowling.

In a 90-run partnership, the pair targeted T&T’s Karishma Ramharack to keep well ahead of the required run-rate. The win resulted in Jamaica leapfrogging Guyana and T&T to finish the tournament in second place via a better net run-rate.

Matthews followed up her Player-of-the-Tournament in the Super50, with the T20 identical.  She made 163 runs and took 11 wickets (the most by any player).

Dottin’s 222 was the most accumulated by a batter and Leeward Islands’ Perez Parker had the most dismissals (five) by a keeper.