Stafanie Taylor scored her 3000th run today but West Indies Women lost to England by 47 runs at Derby in the second of their five-match T20 Vitality Series.
They also lost the first match on Monday by a similar margin. However, this time the loss unfolded differently.
Chasing 152 for victory, the West Indies Women, with the score at 11, lost Hayley Matthews for three in the third over, caught off a leading edge by Heather Knight from a Katherine Brunt delivery.
However, the West Indies had a glimmer of hope when Deandra Dottin and Taylor put together a partnership of 61 in nine overs to have the West Indies well-positioned at 71 for one in the 12th over.
That was also when things began to unravel for the West Indies as their next seven wickets fell for 32 runs to close at 104 for eight.
It began with the last ball of the 12th over when Dottin was adjudged leg before wicket for 38 to Sarah Glenn’s quicker and fuller leg-break.
Six balls later, wicketkeeper Amy Jones, stumped Lee-Ann Kirby for one from a Mady Villiers delivery. 75 for three.
Six balls later, Jones was again in action, stumping Captain Stafanie Taylor for 28 from a Glen delivery wide of the off-stump. 79 for four.
Shermaine Campbelle was the next wicket to fall, for five, after swinging Anya Shrubsole’s delivery to deep square leg where Fran Wilson held on to a running catch. It was then 89 for five.
Six balls later, Chinelle Henry was out lbw to Villiers for seven. 89 for six.
By the time Sophie Ecclestone bowled Britney Cooper for a duck to leave the West Indies 91 for seven, the Caribbean side had lost six wickets for 19 runs from 33 balls and still needed 61 from the last 16 balls.
Shortly thereafter, Aaliyah Alleyne was trapped lbw by Ecclestone for five at 96 for eight.
It was left to Selman, who remained unbeaten on 6 and Afy Fletcher, 4, to get the West Indies past the 100-run mark as the innings came to a close.
Villiers was the pick of the England bowlers taking 2 for 10 from three overs. Ecclestone (2 for 19) and Glenn (2 for 24) did their part in dismantling the West Indies batting line-up.
Earlier, England had smashed 52 runs off their last five overs to wrest control of the match from the West Indies, who had up to then, kept England’s batters reined in.
Having had England at 96 for six in the 15th over, Sarah Glen and Katherine Brunt attacked the bowling with great success. Together the pair added 46 runs before Selman bowled Brunt for 18 in the final over.
England had already taken full advantage of Shamilia Connell, whose last over, the 19th, went for 19 runs. Glenn slapped her for four over deep backward point and then followed up with a shot over the covers for three.
Brunt followed suit the next ball that yielded two runs. She then smashed the flustered Connell out to the deep extra cover boundary for four.
By the time Glen was run out for 26 off the last ball of the innings, the damage had already been done with England once again getting beyond 150 runs that once again proved to be more than enough.
It was a welcome fightback from England, who after 15 overs didn’t look likely to score 150.
As they did in the first match on Monday, England had a good start scoring 34 from the first four overs before Selman had Tammy Beaumont caught by Chinelle Henry for 21.
At 44 for one Danni Wyatt was run out for 14.
By then Stafanie Taylor (2 for 12) and Selman (2 for 32) had begun to squeeze the life out of the England batting.
However, Jones who scored 25 from just 20 balls sparked England’s revival that ultimately proved to be too much for the West Indies.
Taylor now has 3,020 runs at an average of 36 runs per innings. She is also the leading West Indies woman in One-Day Internationals with 4,724 runs at an average at over 44.
Later, Cricket West Indies’ (CWI) director of cricket Jimmy Adams lauded Taylor for her brilliance over a career that started back in 2008 against Ireland in Dublin.
He said the 29-year-old has again etched her name in history’s pages and continues to be a role model and leader in West Indies cricket.
“Congratulations to Stafanie from all at CWI, and indeed the wider Caribbean, on achieving this outstanding milestone in what is truly a remarkable cricket career,” Adams said.
“She has set the benchmark for women’s cricket and continues to demonstrate why she is rated as one of the greats of the game.
“She continues to be an ambassador for women’s sports and for the game of cricket in the West Indies. Given her youth and undoubted ability, we continue to wish her all the success possible in the years ahead.” (SportsMax)
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