Women’s World T20: All-round Matthews guides West Indies to thrilling win in warm-up

West Indies defeated Sri Lanka by four wickets in a low-scoring thriller at the Western Province Cricket Club in Cape Town on Wednesday.

Skipper Hayley Matthews top-scored for the West Indies with a sweetly timed 46 off 48 deliveries, which included four fours and a six, as the team looked set on overhauling the 108-run target.

Matthews shared an opening stand of 45 with Guyanese Shabika Gajnabi (17)

Just as in the last game, it was Chinelle Henry who powered the team to the end. Henry lashed 16 not out off 14 balls to lift the tempo as the victory came with two balls to spare.

Bowling for Sri Lanka Kaveesha Dilhari finished with figures of 3-0-11-1 and Malsha Shehani with 2-0-11-1.

In the first innings, Aaliyah Alleyne had Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu trapped leg-before in the second over.

Sri Lanka then got a 32-run partnership from Nilakshi Silva and Anushka Sanjeewani as they took their team to 107 all out in 20 overs.

Matthews feasted on the final over, picking up two quick wickets and a runout to finish with figures of 4-0-17-3 followed by leg-spinner Afy Fletcher with 4-0-12-2.

Speaking after the match Matthews told CWI Media: “It was good to have a decent all-round performance today from a personal perspective.

From a team aspect, I think the bowlers did a fantastic job to restrict them to 107, as we know they’ve got a couple of batters who can really fire up.

We still have areas to improve on, but the win will no doubt give us a boost heading into our first official match against England on Saturday.”

West Indies will take on England Women on February 11 at Boland Park in Paarl.

The first ball is at 3 pm (9 am Eastern Caribbean/8 am Jamaica).

The two teams are drawn in Group 2 alongside India, Pakistan, and Ireland.

The eighth edition of the marquee event will begin on February 10 with hosts South Africa taking on Sri Lanka. (CWI)

FULL SQUAD: Hayley Matthews  (Captain), Shemaine Campbelle (Vice Captain), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Afy Fletcher, Shabika Gajnabi, Chinelle Henry, Trishan Holder, Zaida James, Djenaba Joseph, Chedean Nation, Karishma Ramharack, Shakera Selman, Stafanie Taylor, Rashada Williams.

T20 World Cup Match Schedule: 

Monday, 13 February: West Indies vs England, Boland Park, Paarl, 3 pm (9 am Eastern Caribbean/8 am Jamaica)

Wednesday, 15 February: West Indies vs India, Newlands, Cape Town, 3 pm (9 am Eastern Caribbean/8 am Jamaica)

Friday, 17 February: West Indies vs Ireland, Newlands, Cape Town, 7 pm (1 pm Eastern Caribbean/12noon Jamaica)

Sunday, 19 February: West Indies vs Pakistan, Boland Park, Paarl, 3 pm (9 am Eastern Caribbean/8 am Jamaica)