GROS ISLET, St Lucia – Chinelle Henry has come in for praise from captain Hayley Matthews following her second straight fifty which sealed West Indies Women’s 2-0 series win over Ireland Women here Saturday.
West Indies Women’s Chinelle Henry.A 27-year-old right-hander, Henry followed up her unbeaten 53 in the opening One-Day International last week with another 53 not out in the series finale, helping to steer the hosts to an all-important six-wicket victory at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground.
“We all knew the potential that she has and what we were expecting from her for a while now so I think the break has been really good for her, just getting away from cricket,” Matthews said.
“And it seems like now she’s back and within the setup, she’s really coming into her own. We all knew she had the potential to do it so great to see her getting out there and scoring some runs, and I know she will be pretty pleased with the performance as well.”
The fifties for Henry were her first-ever in international cricket, having made her debut a decade ago but playing only 29 One-Day Internationals and 41 Twenty20 Internationals during that time.
Matthews also hailed the presence of 18-year-old stroke-maker Zaida James with whom she opened the batting during the series.
James, who made her ODI debut in the series, failed to get among the runs but Matthews said the series would have been an excellent “stepping stone” for the Under-19 World Cup star.
“It was really good to go out there and open the batting with her, obviously great to see her spending some time at the crease,” Matthews said.
“I knew she probably would’ve wanted to get some more runs under her belt but I think this is a really good stepping stone in her career obviously debuting this series. And with some important series coming up, I think this was a great place to start.
“It’s just good to see her getting out there, especially in front of her home crowd here in St Lucia and just getting some experience under her belt.”
West Indies Women won the opener by 58 runs last Monday before rain ruined the second game on Thursday, allowing only 52 balls.
The right-handed Matthews, who gathered her fourth ODI hundred in the opening game, said the series result had been crucial for the Caribbean side.
“I’m just happy we were able to get out there and get over the line,” said the 24-year-old.
“We knew it was a really important series for us, trying to pick up some points for the Championship table but [knowing it was] also a series that we were hoping to come out and dominate.
“There are a lot of positives to take from the series and a lot of things to smile about.”
