Joseph stars in rain-shortened chase to put West Indies 1-0 up

A half-century from Qiana Joseph and solid support acts from the experienced duo of Hayley Matthews and Stafanie Taylor helped West Indies chase down a rain-reduced target in Barbados to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series against South Africa.

Earlier, Tazmin Brits made a brisk half-century that made her the second-fastest South Africa woman to make 1,000 ODI runs.

However, it wasn’t enough as West Indies followed up a good bowling effort with a comfortable chase.

Set a target of 233, Joseph and Matthews got West Indies off to a strong start.

Matthews hit four fours and a six as she moved along to a 44-ball 40 before medium pacer Ayanda Hlubi broke the 88-run opening partnership.

Joseph kept West Indies’ momentum up before Hlubi struck again to dismiss Joseph for 60 off 58 balls, with 10 fours and a six.

Joseph’s dismissal opened a window of opportunity for South Africa, as West Indies lost two more wickets for the addition of 21 runs to go to 127-4. But then came the rain, and the long delay led to the target being revised to 180 from 34 overs.

After the game resumed, Taylor took charge of the chase with an unbeaten 30 off 34, and despite South Africa claiming two more wickets, she got West Indies over the line with two overs to spare.

South Africa, after winning the toss, also had a good start, with Brits and captain Laura Wolvaardt sharing a 73-run opening stand.

However, wickets from spinners Karishma Ramharack and Afy Fletcher, combined with a couple of run-outs, pushed South Africa from 73-0 to 104-5.

Sune Luus and Sinalo Jafta steadied the ship with a 40-run stand that was broken by Matthews. That dismissal sparked another mini-collapse, with South Africa losing three wickets for 23 runs.

But Nadine de Klerk made 42 off 38 balls from number eight to take South Africa to a decent total, which might have tested West Indies had it not been for the revision.

Ramharack and Aaliyah Alleyne finished with two wickets each while Matthews, Fletcher and Jannillea Glasgow took one apiece. (ESPNcricinfo)