BRISBANE, Australia – West Indies Women captain Hayley Matthews says she exceeded her own expectations, following her sublime form which saw her plunder 310 runs in the Twenty20 International series which wrapped up on Thursday.
West Indies Women captain Hayley Matthews poses with her Player-of-the-Match and Player-of-the-Series awards. (Photo courtesy CWI Media)The 25-year-old struck an unbeaten 99 in the opening game, followed up with a magnificent 132 before hitting 79 in the finale.
Matthews was adjudged Player-of-the-Match in every game and was ultimately named Player-of-the-Series, averaging 155.
“Obviously being able to notch up 300 runs in a three-game T20 series is something unbelievable,” said Matthews.
“I set targets coming down here and I can tell you it definitely wasn’t getting 300 runs in the T20 series. I’m very grateful for it.
“I think when you get opportunities like this you’ve just got to keep scoring runs as often as you can. Hopefully I can go into that ODI series and continue my form.”
West Indies Women lost the first T20 International of the doubleheader in Sydney by eight wickets before staging a record run chase to overhaul a mammoth 213 to win the second game by seven wickets.
In Thursday’s finale, they failed to chase down 191 and went down by 47 runs.
The Caribbean side will now face the Aussies in a three-match One-Day International series beginning here Sunday, and Matthews is hoping she can transfer her form into the longer version.
“I feel like how I’ve been batting here in the T20, a lot of the time I’ve just been trying to bat and play really, really good cricket shots,” she explained.
“And that’s my exact plan going into the 50-over series as well, just continue playing good cricket shots all around the ground and play each ball on its merit and if I get going, I’ll be pretty happy with that but it’s definitely a lot less pressure to score quickly.”
She added: “I’m just going to go out there and play each ball on its merit. Cricket is a game that’s played on the day, and you’ve got to come out and start from zero each time.
“But I’m definitely in some form and seeing them well at the crease.
“I know I have a big impact on the way the game goes and sometimes it can be stressful but I think as a leader, those are the kind of things you have to put on your shoulders and go forward with.”
