The West Indies Women kept their slim hopes of qualifying for this year’s ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup alive with a tense three-wicket victory over Bangladesh Women today, but now face a nervy wait and a must-win scenario in their final match.
Player of the Match Aaliyah Alleyne turned in a fiery, match-winning spell of 4 for 39 to restrict Bangladesh to 227-9 — a performance that head coach Shane Deitz hailed as one of the best he had witnessed during his time with the team.
“Double A (Alleyne) came back and bowled probably the best ball I’ve seen from anyone for the West Indies since I’ve been here,” Deitz said post-match. “It was inspirational — it was fast, it was accurate and hostile. She changed the whole game single-handedly.”
Despite losing the toss yet again — a theme throughout the tournament — the West Indies executed their plans well in the field. “We knew if we bowled good areas, we’ve got the bowling attack and the fielding expertise to restrict them,” Deitz added.
Chasing 228 for victory, the West Indies Women recovered from a few shaky moments to overhaul the target with 24 balls to spare. Captain Hayley Matthews praised her side’s ability to control the chase, highlighting Kiana Azera’s early contributions and Alleyne and Chinelle Henry’s composure in the closing stages.
“[We] probably got off to a pretty good start with Kiana at the top, and I felt like we were able to control the game throughout,” Matthews said. “Aaliyah and Chinelle brought it home with some big hitting, but also clever batting — knocking it around and striking when the ball was in their area.”
The result means West Indies must now defeat winless Thailand Women emphatically on Saturday and hope Bangladesh suffer a heavy defeat to hosts Pakistan if they are to sneak into the World Cup via net run rate.
“We’re going to just come in and show our skills, really put them to the sword and have a really good win,” Deitz said. “All we can do is win and win well, and fingers crossed, things might fall our way.”
Matthews, whose 12 wickets lead the chart in this World Cup qualifying campaign, echoed the urgency of the task ahead. “We’re taking a lot of confidence from this game, but we know the importance of the last match. Net run rate is definitely going to come into play, so hopefully we can win it convincingly.”
Pakistan have confirmed their place in the 13th edition of the Women’s 50-Over World Cup, which will be held in India between September 26 and November 2. The eight qualifying teams will play a total of 31 matches. (JC)
