SYLHET, Bangladesh, CMC – Captain Merissa Aguilleira has praised the heroics of all-rounder Deandra Dottin, after she bowled West Indies Women to victory in their opening game of the Women’s World Twenty20 here Monday.
With England coasting at 80 for two in the 12thover towards their target of 134, Dottin intervened with a destructive spell of four for 12 from four overs, to turn the game on its head.
England finished on 124 for nine, losing by runs.
“It was a really fantastic bowling performance from Deandra. She did not do a lot with the bat earlier today but when we went onto the field she looked at me and said ‘captain, give me the ball’,” Aguilleira said.
“I could see in her eyes that it was her day and she was totally focussed on winning the match for us. This was a really big performance from her and I want to congratulate her on bowling the team to victory today.”
West Indies Women needed a decisive effort in the field, especially after their batsmen only managed 133 for seven at the Sylhet Stadium.
Stafanie Taylor top scored with 56 from 45 balls and Kycia Knight got 43 from 42 deliveries, in an opening stand of 87 before the innings tailed away badly in the end.
England then crashed from 80 for two to 97 for seven, losing five wickets for 17 runs as Dottin took a wicket in every over to inspire the Windies in the field.
“We came out with a plan. England were on top of their game and started really well but we had faith that we could pull it back. Deandra came in at the right time and finished them off for us. Everyone else chipped in and it was a good team effort,” said Aguilleira
“We were looking at more runs when we batted. We got a great start from the openers – Stafanie continues to show why she’s best in the world, and Kycia played some big shots to get us going.
“We faltered a bit in the middle but we made up for that in the field. It wasn’t the perfect start to the tournament – we know we can play even better – but we wanted a win at the start and that is exactly what we got.”
West Indies had a full training session yesterday at the Sylhet District Stadium ahead of their next match today against host nation Bangladesh.