Matthews confident West Indies can rebound against Scotland after opening round defeat

DUBAI – West Indies Women’s skipper Hayley Matthews says the team has assessed its mistakes in the opening loss to South Africa and will look to improve on those areas when then take on Scotland Sunday (October 6) in their second match of the Women’s ICC T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

The Caribbean side went down to the Proteas by 10 wickets on Friday in a hugely disappointing performance.

Matthews acknowledged that the West Indies failed in both the batting and bowling departments in that contest and revealed that the team had spoken about it in detail.

“We had some thorough discussions yesterday evening after the match and obviously, it’s one of those games that you want to be able to put it behind you, so we try to have those discussions as early as possible,” Matthews told reporters in a pre-match press conference on Saturday.

“We all knew we didn’t get enough runs on the board and kind of just tried to break down why that was.

“Then in the bowling department, obviously not getting to take wickets as well, but we had thorough discussions about how we could build better partnerships and also find ways to increase our strike rate,” she added.

Matthews said it was important for batters to be able to increase the scoring rate during the innings if the West Indies were to post formidable totals at the World Cup.

“At some point in the game we felt like we got to a period in the game after losing early wickets where Stafanie Taylor and Shemaine Campbelle were able to rebuild really well, but we weren’t able to kick into that second gear to get a bigger score,” she said.

Matthews, who only scored 10 in that opening game, said she was also hoping for a big score against Scotland to help give her some momentum.

“I feel like I want to score every time I go out on the pitch…and I would love to have a good go against Scotland and take that form into the rest of matches,” she said.

However, the West Indies may be without the services of veteran Stafanie Taylor, who has not fully recovered from an apparent leg injury she sustained against South Africa.

In giving an update, Matthews said Taylor was still being looked after by the medical staff and did not train with the squad on Saturday.

“They’re taking good care of her at the moment. Not sure how fit she will be for tomorrow, might be on the field or might not be,” she said.

On a more positive note, Matthew said Zaida James, who was hit in the face, should be fully recovered to go against Scotland.

“Zaida is talking a lot better today. Last night she was mumbling a few words, but I think she will be alright. She’s a tough girl,” she said.

CMC

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