Top all-rounders set to clash in Sri Lanka-WI series

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CMC):

Two of the world’s top women’s all-rounders will come face to face when Sri Lanka Women host West Indies Women for a six-match white-ball series next month.

West Indies Women’s captain Hayley Matthews, the current No. 1, will confront her opposite Chamari Athapaththu, the current No. 5, when the two sides meet in three One-day and three Twenty20 Internationals between June 15 and 28.

Sri Lanka Cricket, the organising body for the sport in the island, announced the schedule yesterday indicating that all three T20Is on June 15, 18, and 21 will be played in Galle, and all three ODIs on June 24, 26, and 28 will be played in Hambantota.

Both white-ball series will be crucial to the two sides because the ODIs will form part of the ICC Women’s Championship, which results in direct qualification for the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup next year in India, and the T20Is will be preparation for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup this September-October in Bangladesh.

West Indies Women returned home earlier this month from a Tour of Pakistan, where they won all but one of eight matches, sweeping the hosts in three ICC Women’s Championship ODIs, and prevailing 4-1 in a subsequent series of five T20Is.

The ODI result meant that the Caribbean side earned six points in the 10-team Women’s Championship table towards direct qualification for next year’s ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup to be staged in India.

PLENTY OF WORK

Her side have won six of their 15 matches (two were no-results) and have 14 points, and they are seventh in the standings with plenty of work to do to try to become one of the five teams that directly qualify for the World Cup along with the hosts.

Matthews, the ICC Women’s T20I Player of the Year for 2023, underlined her status as one of the leading all-rounders in the world during the Tour of Pakistan and earned the ICC Player of the Month award for April.

Athapaththu was also in contention for the award after a successful Tour of South Africa, where her side drew 1-1 in a three-match Women’s Championship ODI series (the other match was abandoned due to rain) and beat the hosts 2-1 in a three-match T20I series, and she was the leading performer.

The ODI result meant that the Sri Lankans earned three points towards the Women’s Championship table, and they have now won five of their 18 matches (four have been no-results), also have 14 points, and they are eighth in the standings.

The last time West Indies Women and Sri Lanka Women met in a bilateral series was back seven years ago when the Caribbean side swept their opponents across both T20Is and ODIs in a home series.

West Indies Women have dominated matches against Sri Lanka Women in T20Is with a head-to-head record of 18-4, but it has been much closer with in the ODIs with the Caribbean side winning 18 and the Sri Lankans 14.