Matthews and Gajnabi dig deep, but South Africa win big
Tournament: Women’s Tri-nation Series
Opponent: South Africa Women
Venue: Buffalo Park, East London
Result: South Africa won by 10 wickets
Scorecard: http://bit.ly/sawvwiw
A 61-run seventh wicket partnership between captain Hayley Matthews and Shabika Gajnabi was the only bright spot for the West Indies as they were outplayed by the South Africa Women in their third match of the Tri-nation T20I Series. The powerplay was a batting was extremely challenging for West Indies as they limped to just 6-2 and reached 29-3 after 10 overs.
Gajnabi was injected with courage batting with her skipper at the other end. She lifted the South African bowlers over the inner ring of fields as she smashed four boundaries on the way to a career high 33 off 34 balls which included four boundaries. Matthews once again showed her grit and determination playing through a stomach bug as she carried the team's batting, scoring 33 runs from 26 balls, with five fours. Her efforts helped the West Indies post 97-6 in their 20 overs. Tumi Sekhukhune was the pick of the South African bowlers, finishing with figures of 4-0-21-2 followed by Nonkululeko Mlaba with 4-2-7-1.
In the second half the South African openers Laura Wolvaardt (42 not out) and Tazmin Brits(50 not out) made quick work of chasing down the target. Brits scored a breezy half off 43 balls and thumped a six and seven fours. She also hit the winning run and received the Player-of-the-Match award as South Africa sped to 98-0 in 13.4 overs.
Head Coach Courtney Walsh after the match said:
“It was not a good performance today, we did not get the target we would’ve wanted today. We had a very slow start and did not pick up any momentum and that set the tone for the match. Only when the skipper and Gajnabi were there in the middle did we get any scoring opening. The team is disappointed, but we have a few days to regroup before we play India in the last match.”
He added:
“We have Stafanie Taylor, Chinelle Henry and Aaliyah Alleyne who are injured and are missing out on this series, then Shakera Selman and Chedean Nation got injured during the series, so we are working against time to have them fit enough to pick from a strong pool for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which is our main focus.”
The West Indies play India Women in their final preliminary match of the Tri-Series at the same venue on Monday 30, January at 3pm local time (9am Eastern Caribbean/8am Jamaica time).
T20I Tri-Series Match Schedule
(all matches to be played at Buffalo Park, East London)
21 January: vs South Africa – South Africa won by 44 runs
23 January: vs India – India won by 56 runs
25 January: vs South Africa – South Africa won by 10 wickets
30 January: vs India, 3pm local time (9am Eastern Caribbean/8am Jamaica)
2 February: Tri-Series Final, 3pm local time (9am Eastern Caribbean/8am Jamaica)
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