West Indies Women Beat Scotland Women: West Indies Women open their account for points in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024, as the Hayley Matthews-led side register a 6-wicket win over Scotland Women. With the win, the Caribbean Women have handed the Kathryn Bryce-led side their second loss of the tournament, thereby, all but ending their road to semis for this year's edition.
West Indies Women were sensational with their bowling, as they restricted Scotland Women on 99/8 at the end of their innings, and went on to chase the target down at a rapid pace, as they scored 101 with 50 balls remaining.
"I want to thank my team and coaches for believing in me. When we ere batting, the intention was to back our skills and execute. Bowling first, it was about attacking the batters as the wicket was slow and we reaped our rewards. Speaking with Dottin, we had a clear plan and once we backed our skills, it was just about executing," said Chinelle Henry, who was awarded the Player of the Match.
"This has been something we have been working towards. Matthews is a world class player and the day she does not contribute we have enough batting in the arsenal to win. Credit to everyone today, and especially to Qiana, she came in and played the innings we needed, once we lost Stafanie and Matthews," she added.
Here's What Both Captains Said During Post-Match Presentation Ceremony
Hayley Matthews (West Indies Women Captain):
"Yeah, I think it does justice to our Net Run Rate, which is really good. The way we performed as a group-starting with the ball and restricting them to under 99 runs-was impressive. We probably could have kept them to an even lower score if we had fielded better, but 99 is still a solid effort."
"Also, I think Qiana Joseph's positive approach during the powerplay was crucial, and the way Chinelle Henry and Dottin finished off the innings was great. Overall, it was a really good win."
"We limited the boundary balls as much as possible, making it difficult for them to score. Overall, I'd say we did a pretty good job, but there are still many areas where we can improve. Yeah, I think the discussion centered around whether we had put ourselves in a secure enough position to push on for the win."
"With our batting order, I probably tried to be a bit too cautious and unfortunately didn't get going, but we saw the positivity from Qiana Joseph when she came in. Once we realized we were in a strong position, it was great to see Chinelle and Dottin pick up the pace and really push forward."
"We need to take it one game at a time. We have Bangladesh next in Sharjah, which is going to be a crucial match, especially considering how the wickets are playing there. At the same time, we have two important games ahead of us; if we win both, we can still reach the semifinals."
So, it's all about focusing on the Bangladesh game first. If we find success there, we'll need to come up with solid plans for the final match against England as we aim for a semifinal spot."
Kathryn Bryce (Scotland Women Captain):
"It was a good performance in the field, and getting wickets early on and putting pressure on them, we knew it was going to be a tricky pitch and with their batting firepower, I think we did well."
"You need take those half-chances, and diving forward in the key, gaining momentum as well. Getting shape on the ball early made it tricky and with the slow outfield it was difficult to bat and score runs, I reckon 120 would have been a good total out there."
"Just trying to let them play their own game and support it with knowledge, it is pretty tricky, the wickets are different from what we have been playing on, it is a big learning curve and it will give them a good experience going forward."