1 week ago
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West Indies finally brought some fight in the third T20 international at Chelmsford on Monday, led by their captain, Hayley Matthews, who took three wickets and scored 71 as she unsuccessfully battled the elements in an attempt to overhaul England’s under-par total of 144 for five.
During a West Indies run-chase in which both teams were nervously eyeing up the DLS par, and was disrupted by a 15-minute rain shower midway through the 16th over, England put down three consecutive catches off the bat of Realeanna Grimmond, sparking unwelcome memories of their horror exit from the World Cup at the hands of West Indies last October.
But Danni Wyatt-Hodge ran in from deep midwicket and held on to the fourth attempt. While Matthews went down swinging – caught at long-on off Lauren Bell – her wicket was the third to fall in four balls immediately after the resumption following the rain, as England snatched a 17-run win and a series clean sweep.
Earlier, West Indies had restricted England to 21 for two and 111 for four, leaving the hosts to be bailed out of trouble by a half-century from Heather Knight, her first ever T20 international fifty on home soil.
Knight’s innings – struck just two months after she was demoted from the captaincy – was deft and innovative, interspersed with reverse ramps and scoops. It was a knock made all the more impressive by the fact that the former England captain spent the last four overs of the innings hobbling due to a hamstring problem, and was unable to take to the field when West Indies batted.
Put in to bat, England had found themselves under early pressure: Wyatt-Hodge had to trudge off for a second consecutive first-ball duck – bowled, again, by left-armer Zaida James – while Matthews sent down a beauty to the in-form Sophia Dunkley, whose attempted cut ended in the gloves of the wicktkeeper Mandy Mangru.
Matthews struck twice in the middle overs, having Nat Sciver-Brunt caught on the deep midwicket boundary and firing one in full and straight to Amy Jones which took out middle stump. The 19-year-old seamer Jahzara Claxton also chipped in with a wicket on debut, as Alice Capsey holed out to deep cover in the penultimate over – but Knight’s effort ensured that England came out on top.
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