Devine century in vain as all-round Hayley Matthews stars in West Indies win

West Indies kicked off the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2022 with a thrilling win against hosts New Zealand by three runs at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Friday (March 4). The match went down to the last over but West Indies had just about enough runs on the board. It was a fantastic last over from Deandra Dottin which helped West Indies get the win in the end. Hayley Matthews was adjudged the Player of the Match for her all-round brilliance.



Chasing 260, New Zealand lost Suzie Bates to a run-out in the fourth over when she backed up a little too far from the crease. A shot by Sophie Devine ricocheted off Chinelle Henry’s hand and hit the stumps. Though the White Ferns didn’t get off to the flying start that their opposition had got earlier in the day, they did manage to keep the scorecard ticking. New Zealand managed 41 for 1 in the powerplay. 



Right after the field spread out, Amelia Kerr got out to a Hayley Matthews delivery which came back in and found her dismissed leg before wicket for just 13. Amy Satterthwaite joined Devine in the middle as the two began a rebuilding phase. West Indies’ ground fielding wasn’t commendable through the game as both the experienced players were dropped. 



To the left-handed Satterthwaite, West Indies bowled a very tight line as she struggled a bit to rotate the strike. Devine, on the other hand, was quite calm in her approach, moving the scoreboard nicely. Anisa Mohammed eventually managed to break the partnership by getting Satterthwaite trapped in front of the stumps while she tried to sweep. That also brought an end to a stand of 76 runs. Mohammed became the first spinner to pick 300 wickets in international cricket.



It was surprising to see Lea Tahuhu sent in at no. 5 as a pinch-hitter and the plan didn’t work as she was removed by Mohammed. In the next few overs, West Indies tightened their grip on the match as Shakera Selman dismissed Maddy Green, while Matthews returned to get rid of Brooke Halliday. All the three batters lost their wicket for single digit scores.



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From 123 for 2, New Zealand slipped to 162 for 6. Devine kept ticking away with some important runs. She kept the innings together as Katey Martin joined her in the middle. Devine reached her sixth century and then went on to equal the highest-score by a New Zealand captain at the World Cup. Meanwhile, Martin chipped in with singles and doubles, making sure the equation never went out of reach. 



But just after reaching her ton, Devine lost her wicket for 108 to a blinder of a caught and bowled effort by Henry. At this time, New Zealand needed 45 runs from 35 balls, as Jess Kerr walked to the middle to join Martin. Together, they started building another partnership. Kerr played a wonderful hand, hitting a couple of timely boundaries. 



Kerr’s little cameo saw the equation coming down to New Zealand needing 20 runs off the last two overs. Martin smashed back-to-back boundaries in the penultimate over, which meant the hosts needed just six off the last over. Stafanie Taylor pulled a trick from her bag to introduce Deandra Dottin for the last over and she was immediately effective as she dismissed Martin with a yorker for 44. She further got the wicket of Kerr for 25 to shift the pendulum. A run out off the next ball meant West Indies got home by just about enough. 



Earlier in the day, New Zealand captain Devine won the toss and elected to field first. West Indies started off the innings with a bang, with Dottin hitting three fours in the very first over of Lea Tahuhu. However, she couldn’t get a move on as Tahuhu struck back in her second over. In the same over, Matthews got into the act, smashing three more boundaries, adding to the boundary she got in the previous over. 



In the first 19 deliveries of the innings, West Indies got eight boundaries to get off to a fantastic start. However, that start was hampered by the wicket of Dottin and further put into trouble when Jess Kerr struck to get rid of Kycia Knight for just five runs. West Indies had 33 runs on the board in just 3.1 overs, but the run rate slowly kept coming down due to the loss of wickets.



 







However, Taylor got together with Matthews, put on a crucial stand in the middle. The pair was quite smart in rotating the strike from time to time as they managed to keep the runs flowing. Matthews, especially, was quite impressive, having started her knock with some boundaries, but then settled well in order to build an innings for her team. She reached her first World Cup fifty in the 18th over of the innings, while Taylor kept chipping away with some vital runs. 



However, the West Indies skipper lost her wicket when she tried to get one fine down the leg side. She was dismissed for 30 by Tahuhu. The runs dried up further in the next stand between Matthews and Shemaine Campbelle. But Matthews was batting brilliantly, taking on the spinners from time to time. She was calm in her approach and played along the ground or in the gaps, making it difficult for bowlers to contain her. 



After a 60-run stand, Campbelle was eventually dismissed for 20, falling to a wrong-un by Amelia Kerr. Chedean Nation joined Matthews in the middle next. This is when Matthews decided to up the ante as she moved closer to her century. She reached the milestone in the 42nd over off 118 deliveries. In the very same over, she took on Devine and smashed her for a six, announcing her intentions very clearly. The 23-year-old came up with a fair bit of innovation as well, scooping Tahuhu for a four behind the wicket and then going over the top of cow corner. 



But, it was her wicket which stopped the run flow. Matthews scored 19 off eight deliveries after getting her century, but was dismissed for 119 in the 45th over by Jess Kerr. Her dismissal forced West Indies to slow down as Nation was joined by Chinelle Henry, who stayed in the middle for only a brief period for eight runs. Nation also departed after that for 36. A couple of boundaries in the final over by Anisa Mohammed helped West Indies finish with 259 for 9. For New Zealand, Tahuhu was the pick of the bowlers, ending with three scalps, while Jess Kerr got two. 



Brief scores: West Indies 259/9 in 50 overs (Hayley Matthews 119; Lea Tahuhu 3/57) beat New Zealand 256/10 in 49.5 overs (Sophie Devine 108; Deandra Dottin 2/2, Hayley Matthews 2/41) by three runs.