West Indies’ Qiana Joseph, Aaliyah Alleyne and skipper Hayley Matthews starred for the home side as they clinched the rain-curtailed 1st ODI by 4 wickets to go 1-0 up in the three-match ODI series against South Africa. The veteran South African all-rounder Marizanne Kapp’s return, playing her 150th ODI for the Proteas, bolstered the confidence of the visitors in a must-win encounter at the Three Ws Oval, Cave Hill, Barbados.
The home side retained the same XI that took the field in the 1st ODI, while Ayabonga Khakha made way for Marizanne Kapp for South Africa.
Sune Luus 76, Nondumiso’s maiden fifty powers South Africa to 309
The South African openers Tazmin Brits and skipper Laura Wolvaardt got their side off to a solid start with a 51-run opening partnership, after skipper Hayley Matthews won the toss and inserted the visitors to bat first. Skipper Hayley Matthews got the better of her opposite number, Laura Wolvaardt (28 off 47 balls), in the 16th over of the innings to provide the first breakthrough for the home side. Tazmin Brits soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 2nd breakthrough for the West Indies in the 19th over of the innings.
Sune Luus joined Nondumiso Shangase at the crease, and the duo led the recovery with a massive 85-run partnership for the 3rd wicket, taking them closer to the 150-run mark. Nondumiso Shangase completed her maiden ODI half-century (55 off 48 balls) before skipper Hayley Matthews returned and broke the stand to provide the much-needed 3rd breakthrough for her side in the 30th over of the innings.
Marizanne Kapp joined Sune Luus at the crease, and the pair solidified the visitors’ position in the contest with another vital, run-a-ball 49-run partnership for the 4th wicket, which also took them closer to the 200-run mark. Karishma Ramharack picked up the wicket of an ominous Marizanne Kapp to provide the 4th breakthrough for the West Indies.
South Africa posted a massive total of 309/9 in their quota of 50 overs, on the back of a power-packed 40-run partnership for the 6th wicket between Annerie Dercksen and Sune Luus (76 off 65 balls), followed by another counter-attacking 57-run partnership for the 7th wicket between Annerie Dercksen (37 off 24 balls) and Chloe Tryon (28 off 19 balls), providing the finishing touches for South Africa.
Afy Fletcher (10-0-64-4), skipper Hayley Matthews (10-1-47-2), and Zaida James (7-0-28-0) were the top performers with the ball for the West Indies, while Aaliyah Alleyne (8-0-62-1), Karishma Ramharack (7-0-56-1), and Jannillea Glasgow (7-0-38-0) played their part with the ball for their side.
Fifties from Shemaine Campbelle and Hayley Matthews in vain as West Indies fall short
Chasing a massive target of 310, the West Indian openers Qiana Joseph and skipper Hayley Matthews got their side off to a positive start with a 40-run opening partnership. Marizanne Kapp broke the stand, by sending Qiana Joseph (17 off 19 balls) back to the pavilion to provide the first breakthrough for South Africa in the 7th over of the run chase.
Realeanna Grimmond joined skipper Hayley Matthews at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 40-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to set some sort of a platform for the massive run chase. Nadine de Klerk broke the stand, by sending Realeanna Grimmond (15 off 20 balls) back to the pavilion in the 14th over of the run chase to provide the 2nd breakthrough for the visitors.
West Indies failed to generate momentum as they lost a couple of big wickets in the form of skipper Hayley Matthews (56 off 58 balls) and Stafanie Taylor (17 off 33 balls) in quick succession, reducing the home side to 120/4 in the 24th over of the run chase. The middle order, consisting of the likes of Chinelle Henry (39 off 39 balls) stitching a much-needed 58-run partnership alongside the wicket-keeper batter Shemaine Campbelle for the 5th wicket, followed by another brisk 44-run partnership between Shemaine Campbelle (53 off 58 balls) and Jannillea Glasgow, showed great character and determination to keep the home side in the hunt in the run chase.
However, despite encouraging partnerships of 29 for the 9th wicket between Afy Fletcher and Zaida James (18 off 23 balls), followed by a 15-run partnership for the 10th wicket between Afy Fletcher and Karishma Ramharack, it wasn’t enough for the West Indies to get over the line, as they were restricted to 269 in their quota of 50 overs. As a result, they fell 40 runs short of the target.
Nonkululeko Mlaba (10-0-33-4) and Marizanne Kapp (6-0-42-2) were the standout performers with the ball for South Africa, while Nondumiso Shangase (4-0-21-1), Chloe Tryon (6-1-35-1), and Ayanda Hlubi (8-1-47-1) played their part with the ball for their side. Sune Luus was awarded the Player of the Match for her all-round impact, scoring a vital 76 (65 balls) with the bat and returning with match figures of 7-0-32-0 in her spell with the ball for her side, playing a pivotal role in helping South Africa level the three-match ODI series.
