Matthews praises WI Women for rebounding after opening-round defeat

DUBAI, UAE (CMC):

West Indies Women’s captain Hayley Matthews has commended the Caribbean side for showing character after suffering a deflating 10-wicket loss to South Africa in their opening match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup here.

Since that defeat, the West Indies have registered emphatic victories over Scotland and Bangladesh and currently sit atop Group B.

Speaking at a post-match press conference on Thursday after their eight-wicket win over Bangladesh at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Matthews said she was impressed with the way the team had recovered.

“After that first defeat, we did speak a lot about how we wanted to come back and how we wanted to do it as a team, and I think everyone was up for the challenge from that moment.

“Obviously, in a World Cup, you lose one game early on, it does put the pressure on, but I think the team has been wonderful with the way they have handled the pressure,” Matthews said.

“Everyone is in a good mood, everyone is in good spirits, and everyone is up for the challenge. That’s been the biggest thing.

“I think ,a lot of the time when you do get into trouble situations, players and the team can sometimes shy from it, but I think the way the girls have stepped up and really tried to put in performances and take the attack to the other team, it has been great to see,” the skipper added.

Matthews said there had been a complete shift in the mindset of the team and it could be seen in their performances on the field.

“Just our attitude at the crease, wanting to play fearlessly and wanting to take the game to the other teams.

“We could have been stuck on the backfoot after that first match, but we just wanted to throw the attack and come back at the other teams ... ,” Matthews maintained.

“I think the girls have done a great job of being able to bounce back and really have that attitude and that fight within them, and we’re obviously going to try to take that into the next match against England.

“We know how crucial that is and how big of a match that is, but we want to try to have the same attitude even against better teams,” she added.

Matthews also defended the decision to continue to keep Stafanie Taylor in the line-up, despite the veteran battling a leg injury.

She said Taylor, who became the first West Indian woman to score 1000 runs in T20 World Cups in the match against Bangladesh before retiring hurt, was invaluable to the team.

“The doctors and the physios have been managing it along with her, of course, and I think there was a conversation at half-time more around what she wanted to do and if she was comfortable going out to bat,” Matthews said.

“I think she’s been fantastic with that the whole tournament, wanting to get out on the park and do the job even though she’s struggling a bit with an injury. She’s obviously very, very important to the team and what we do as a group, so it’s great to have her out there.”