Matthews’ all-round power clean sweeps Ireland 3-0 in T20Is
West Indies 120 for 2 (Alleyne 49*, Matthews 48, Dempsey 1-21) beat Ireland 116 for 9 (Hunter 44, Prendergast 40, Matthews 4-14) by eight wickets
West Indies captain Hayley Matthews continued her rich and dominating form against Ireland with both bat and ball, and sent the visitors back home without a win on the entire tour after whitewashing them 3-0 in the T20I series.
West Indies had won the three-match ODI series 2-0 after the second ODI had been washed out.
On Saturday, Matthews first took 4 for 14 – including a hat-trick – to restrict Ireland to 116 for 9, and then hammered a 34-ball 48 to set up a commanding eight-wicket win with 11 balls to spare.
She finished as the Player of the Match in all three T20Is, the Player of the T20I Series, and had started the ODI series too in similar fashion, having scored a hundred and taken three wickets.
Put into bat, Ireland was propelled by a rapid second-wicket stand of 66 in 62 balls between Amy Hunter and Orla Prendergast after Matthews had trapped Gaby Lewis with her first ball.
However, Ireland stuttered as soon as that partnership was broken with Hunter’s run-out at the non-striker’s end after a deflection off the bowler’s hand, for 44, and only one other batter – captain Laura Delany – scored in double digits after Hunter and Prendergast.
Once Prendergast holed out off Afy Fletcher for 40, Matthews wiped the middle and lower orders out with a hat-trick in the 18th over that reduced Ireland to 110 for 7. Delany was left unbeaten on 14 off 18 as she saw wickets fall around her, and stretched the team score to 116.
West Indies, too, lost an early wicket and were led by a second-wicket stand between Matthews and Aaliyah Alleyne worth 80 off 61 balls, as it crushed Ireland’s chances.
Matthews struck eight fours, and fell just short of fifty when she was bowled by Georgina Dempsey in the 12th over. But Chinelle Henry sealed the chase with a boundary, and Alleyne remained unbeaten on 49 off 51, her joint-highest T20I score.
“I’m just happy I was able to contribute to the team win,” Matthews told CWI Media after the game.
“It was great to see some of the younger players getting the opportunity this series and coming into their own. We’ve had debutant players perform really well. We’ve had Chinelle Henry get her maiden ODI half-century then back it up with a second one (in the series), then two not outs in the T20 series.
“I just want to thank all the girls who have supported me since I’ve become captain. Thank you for backing me up out on the field, we have bigger challenges ahead and I look forward to their support.”
