Taylor pleased with Windies Women’s batting

West Indies Women captain Stafanie Taylor praised the efforts of her team for their 10-run win over Pakistan Women in Antigua yesterday.

Taylor was especially thankful to the opening batswomen, who helped the regional side to go one up in the three-match Twenty20 series.

The West Indies asked to bat first, posted 136 for six in their allotted 20 overs, with openers Hayley Matthews scoring 32 from 28 balls and Deandra Dottin getting a brisk 31 from 26 balls.

The duo set the foundation for their total, after an opening partnership of 65 runs which came off 8.5 overs.

The Knight sisters, Kyshona and Kycia, chipped in with 23 and 15 runs, respectively, in the middle order, along with 14 runs from Jamaican Chedean Nation.

"I thought that Hayley and Dottin batted really well and they gave us a good start at the top, which was good," Taylor said. "That gave the lower order the momentum to post a 130 plus score for the bowlers to go out and defend."

The West Indies Women defended the total despite a late charge by Ayesha Naseem and Fatima Sana, who took the Pakistanis within 21 runs in the last over of the contest.

Shakera Selman conceded only 10 runs in the final over as Naseem was left unbeaten on 45, and Sana 24 not out, with Player of the Match Shamilia Connell finishing with three wickets for 21 runs with Aaliyah Alleyne bagging two for 23.

Connell, who knocked the stuffing out of the Pakistan response by bowling the first three batswomen, says she was pleased with her first outing in over nine months.

International series

"Coming off the England tour, I was player of the match in the last game I played in England, so being able to start back my international series with a player of the match award is a great feeling," she said.

The West Indies Women 'A' team weren't so lucky in their opening fixture against their Pakistan counterparts.

The Reniece Boyce-captained team went down by seven runs after posting 96 for eight, after which Pakistan replied with 98 for three.

Jamaica's Rashada Williams starred with the bat, making 33 from 39 balls, while vice-captain Shakibi Gajnabi made an unbeaten 20.

Ayesha Zafar top-scored for Pakistan with an unbeaten 40 in their victory chase.

The second match in the series will be played on Friday at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.