West Indies Women’s captain Hayley Matthews has vowed that her side will go “guns blazing” when they take on Sri Lanka in Bristol today, with a coveted spot in the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup within touching distance.
A victory would place the Caribbean side in a commanding position in Group Two, but Matthews insists her team is taking nothing for granted against a Sri Lankan side that has shown tremendous improvement and confidence throughout the tournament.
“We’re in a pretty good space right now,” Matthews said ahead of the encounter. “What’s important for us is taking it one match at a time and trying not to think too far ahead about qualifying just yet.”
The Windies enter the contest in high spirits after stunning defending champions New Zealand and then edging Scotland by seven runs in a thrilling encounter. However, Matthews said the narrow escape against Scotland served as a timely reminder that every team in the tournament is capable of causing an upset.
Nigel French
“Our last match against Scotland showed that you can’t take any team lightly in this tournament,” she explained. “We’re going to have to play every game very hard and be close to our best.”
While West Indies are favourites on paper, Matthews identified Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu as a major threat.
“She can take a game away from you at any point in time,” Matthews noted. “We’ll have a lot of focus on getting her wicket really early.”
The West Indies skipper, however, was quick to point out that Sri Lanka’s batting strength extends beyond Athapaththu. She highlighted the aggressive Nilakshika Silva as another player capable of changing the course of the match.
“We know she’s a very aggressive player. She likes to get going from the jump, but we’ll see what we can do to keep her as quiet as possible,” Matthews said.
The all-rounder revealed that her team plans to place Sri Lanka’s relatively inexperienced bowling attack under pressure from the outset.
“We’re going to want to get on top of the game early and try to put them under as much pressure as possible. It’s going to be super important that we go there guns blazing.”
Matthews also spoke about the energy and enthusiasm that have become hallmarks of the West Indies campaign.
“World Cups are the pinnacle of your cricketing experience. We’re really passionate about doing well, really passionate about winning, and we’ve put in a lot of hard work and made a lot of sacrifices to be playing the way we are,” she said.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka is equally optimistic after recording a historic victory over New Zealand, their first ever against the White Ferns at an ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
Sri Lankan batter Hasini Perera acknowledged the importance of today’s encounter but said her team is determined to remain calm under pressure.
“That will be a crucial match to reach the semi-finals,” Perera said. “We thought of taking it lightly without letting the pressure get to our heads.”
She added that the team’s management has encouraged the players to focus on one game at a time.
“Everyone has big hopes about getting to the semi-finals, but we always get advice from the management and the captain to plan the matches one by one and move forward.”
Perera disclosed that Sri Lanka has spent the last three days fine-tuning strategies for every member of the West Indies batting line-up, including Matthews.
“We discussed the plans with the coaches. We also had a chance to practice those plans. I hope they will be executed well in the match as well,” she said.
With a semi-final berth potentially at stake and two of the world’s premier all-rounders — Hayley Matthews and Chamari Athapaththu — set to lead their respective teams, today’s contest promises to be one of the most exciting matches of the tournament.