NORTH SOUND, Antigua, CMC – West Indies Women’s woes seeped into the Twenty20 International series, the hosts going down by eight wickets in the opening game of the five-match series here Sunday night.
Fresh from a whitewash in the three-match ODI series last week, West Indies Women’s batting issues continued as they mustered only 105 for seven from their 20 overs.
Rashada Williams (23) and Chinelle Henry (21 not out) were two of only three batsmen to reach double figures as 21-year-old seamer Lauren Bell ran through the order with three for 26 from her four overs.
In reply, Danni Wyatt lashed an unbeaten 59 from 34 deliveries as England Women hardly broke a sweat in overhauling their target with a whopping 44 deliveries remaining.
The victory was underpinned by Wyatt’s knock, the right-hander striking seven fours and two sixes in a 40-run first-wicket stand with Sophia Dunkley (25) and then in a 45-run, second-wicket partnership with Lauren Winfield-Hill (15).
“To be three, four wickets down in the first 10 overs with no kind of runs on the board, that is where we fell short,” Henry said afterwards.
“Since the ODI series we’ve been struggling with the bat. We just have to pick ourselves up and keep going.”
Sent in at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, West Indies Women endured a nightmare start, slumping to 19 for three in the fifth over with Aaliyah Alleyne (2), Kycia Knight (0) and captain Hayley Matthews (7) all perishing cheaply.
Alleyne missed a drive at Bell and had her stumps rattled in the second over, Knight backed away and hoisted seamer Nat Sciver to mid-on in the next over while Matthews’ search for a score continued when she bungled a scoop off new-ball pacer Katherine Brunt and lost her off-stump in the fifth over.
When debutant Djenaba Joseph was stumped for eight off off-spinner Heather Knight at the end of the eighth over, the hosts were declining even further at 38 for four.
The home side were then bailed out by two small partnerships – Williams putting on 22 with Shemaine Campbelle (10) for the fifth wicket and Henry adding 29 for the seventh wicket with Shabika Gajnabi (13).
The series will now head to Barbados with the second T20 International scheduled for Kensington Oval tomorrow.