Windies’ Women T20 World Cup title quest continues in semis vs New Zealand

WEST Indies women resume their quest for a potential second Women’s T20 World Cup title when they square off against New Zealand in the second semi-final at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, United Arab Emirates, on October 18, from 10am (TT time).

After South Africa confirmed their place in the October 20 final courtesy a surprising eight-wicket victory over defending champions Australia on October 16, West Indies must bring their A-game against the White Ferns if they are to remain on course for a possible second World Cup trophy.

Windies women’s skipper Hayley Matthews, who delivered a player of the match performance as an 18-year old for the 2016 title-winning team, wants her youth-filled squad to play as a fearless, cohesive unit.

Both nations enter the semi-final carrying three wins and one loss each after the group stage. West Indies women lost their opener against South Africa but rebounded to notch three crucial wins over Scotland, Bangladesh and England.

Likewise, New Zealand began their campaign with victory over India, a loss to the Aussies and then two wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan to seal a semi-final spot.

Matthews, 26, said she is “proud” of how the team has adapted after their first loss, and have directed all focus on the anticipated semi.

However, Matthews has her eyes set on the top prize.

“I think we’re all pretty happy that we’ve made it here. But, like I keep saying, the job’s not finished yet. We’ve definitely got our eyes locked on the game and are ready for New Zealand.

“(We’re) ready to play a big game because we do want to win. We don’t want to just come to their World Cup to say we made the semi-finals and are happy with that. We want to take it even further,” she said at the pre-match press conference on October 16.

Matthews has faith in her team’s youthful talents and believes they have what it takes to get past New Zealand, and meet South Africa for a second time in this competition.

Only Matthews, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher and injured Stafanie Taylor were part of the 2016 T20 World Cup winning-team.

It’s been a process, Matthews confirmed, to guide and inspire these younger players to bolster their talents over the years, to now compete at such an elite level. She welcomed their aggression to the maroon attack.

“They’ve (newer players) sacrificed a lot and have been training really hard. You see the results and performances coming out now. That has so much to do with all the hard work they’ve put in.

“Seeing players like Qiana Joseph, Aaliyah Alleyne, the way she’s been bowling, and Karishma Ramharack; she’s someone else who kinda came into the spotlight last year at the World Cup and she’s been able to play some massive roles for us again this year.

“That makes us even more dangerous, having that extra ammunition that does lift some pressure off our shoulders.”

When asked what contributed to the team’s turnaround after the opening loss, Matthews said teamwork always makes the dream work. Each player has their individual roles to play and it’s been working so far.

She also credited Australian-born West Indies women coach Shane Deitz for helping get the best out of each player on the day.

“As a team everyone is more specific with their roles, and understand it really clearly and I think that ’s where our head coach came in and made a massive difference. Learning was probably a bit overwhelming sometimes, thinking that to make a difference or impact in a team you had score 50 or 60 runs in order to do that.

“We actually think that playing T20 cricket you can make such a massive impact if you make 20 off 12 balls. From the last match, Qiana had one job to do and it worked out pretty well. Things like that make my life easier.

“As we look throughout our line up and people have their specific roles, we’ve just been able to mend it together to put together more team performance by doing so.”

On the venue, Matthews hoped for a well-balanced pitch at Sharjah. They’ve only played one of their matches (against Bangladesh) on the surface but cruised to an eight-wicket triumph over Bangladesh by scoring 104/2 inside 13 overs.

However, they pitch has had contrasting results and reviews so far, and Matthews is hoping for a tidy surface.

“Watching the games, we have seen wickets (at Sharjah) where the ball has turned massively and kept really low, and then, when we played there it kinda slid on a bit and was a pretty good wicket to bat on.

“It probably will come down to tomorrow (October 18) and what the wicket looks like when we do get there. Hopefully there’s a good one lined up for us like there was last time.”

Additionally, all-rounder Stafanie Joseph’s inclusion in the starting 11 remains uncertain after she retired hurt in their last match owing to a knee injury. Matthews said Joseph’s is still awaiting medical clearance to see if she would feature against the White Ferns.