Stafanie Taylor's 75; West Indies register a convincing win

Stafanie Taylor's blistering 75 and Afy Fletcher's 4-wicket haul guided West Indies to register an easy win over Ireland in their first T20I at YMCA Cricket Club, Dublin on Sunday, May 26.

Electing to bat first, West Indies made a slow start as the openers Hayley Matthews and Britney Cooper failed to provide a flying start which they are accustomed to. They managed to put up mere 5 runs in the first 3 overs before Martiz's throw sent Matthews in the dugout for 3. Her dismissal came as a blessing for the visitors as the captain Stafanie Taylor walked in to join Cooper. Both tried to resurrect the innings where Taylor took the charge.

The first boundary came from captain's bat and they put up 20 runs after the powerplay. A couple of boundaries from Taylor took them to 50 within 10 overs. However, Britney Cooper's struggle with the bat came to an end in the 11th over when she was trying to hit through the leg side but ended up giving a catch to Lara Martiz at mid-wicket.

Then, Taylor and Shemaine Campbelle steadied the ship where the former took the aggressive approach and Campbelle supported well. Taylor scored her half-century off 41 deliveries in the 16th over. She smashed three boundaries more and a six before fell for 75 off 53, including 11 fours and a six. Campbelle soon followed her captain after scoring 20. However, two boundaries from Chinelle Henry helped them to put up 139 on board after 20 overs.

While chasing, Ireland got a big blow as they lost their opener Gaby Lewis for a golden duck. They also got a slow start and managed to put up mere 6 runs in the first 3 overs. Their first boundary came from the bat of Kim Garth in the 4th over while the economical spells from the bowlers didn't allow them to free their hands as they put up 19 runs in the powerplay.

Both the batters started playing cautiously but later, Garth took the charge. Waldron, however, fell for 6 off 21 due to direct throw. Chinelle Henry struck twice in the 10th over when she picked up Shauna Kavanagh and Una Raymond-Hoey for 1 and 0 respectively which left Ireland struggling at 34/4 after 9.3 overs. The wickets started falling at a regular interval while Garth held the chase from the other end.

Garth scored 46 off 55, including 6 boundaries while no other batters were able to reach the double-digit. Afy Fletcher bagged 4 wickets while Chinelle Henry picked up 2. Shakera Selman and Shamilia Connell took 1 each and bundled them within 75, claiming a 64-run win.

The second game will be played at Pembroke Cricket Club, Dublin on Tuesday (May 28).