Recap: Barbados Royals Women Defeat Guyana Amazon Warriors Women in Thrilling Opening Match of 2024 Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League

The 2024 Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) bowled off with an exciting clash, as Barbados Royals Women faced Guyana Amazon Warriors Women in the tournament’s opening match.

Both teams came in eager to make a strong start in this highly anticipated competition. A rematch of the 2023 final, which the Royals won, the opener was played at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, Trinidad & Tobago.

Some of the players involved in this competition would have come straight off flights from England, where The Hundred concluded on Sunday. The increased volume of international and franchise cricket for women is welcome, but (as is the case in the men’s game) care must be taken to balance the appetite for more tournaments, and the welfare of players.

Barbados Royals Women’s captain Hayley Matthews won the toss and elected to field first. It worked a treat, as the Amazon Warriors were held to just 118-9. It would have been the third-lowest total for a team batting first in last year’s tournament.

Leading the way for the Royals was Aaliyah Alleyne. The 29-year-old Bajan took three wickets and helped prevent the Warriors from building significant partnerships.

Alleyne, a five-year West Indies veteran, dislodged Warriors captain Lauren Winfield-Hill for 10 in the fifth over, after Saint Lucia’s Qiana Joseph had removed Natasha McLean for 11. Both bowlers finished with a shimmy. And with five overs gone, the Warriors were 28-2.

Stafanie Taylor, the former West Indies captain, came in and hit a fine 38 off 36 balls, including four fours and a six. But Alleyne sent the Jamaican star packing in the 17th over, and the Warriors were just 100-4 at that stage.

Joseph had taken the third wicket, that of Erin Burns, bowled for 15 from 19 deliveries. Joseph put the screws on the opposition with a miserly spell of four overs, 2-14, a 3.50 economy rate.

Australia’s Amanda-Jade Wellington sent down the antepenultimate over. The 27-year-old did so to great effect. She got Shemaine Campbelle stumped by Georgia for 16, the Aussie connection ending the West Indian’s stay after 21 balls.

Wellington struck again with her fourth ball, Shabnim Ismail departing leg before wicket for duck, as the over ended with two wickets and just three runs added.

Alleyne returned for the next to last over, removing Chloe Tryon for five, caught by Wellington.

And then in came Matthews to bowl the death over. Her two prior overs had gone for 15 runs all told, but here she castled Karishma Ramharack for one, then had Ashmini Munisar caught by Joseph for seven.

The Royals had a fantastic start to their run chase, getting nine runs off the first over, all from Matthews. The 26-year-old hit Tryon for a four off the first ball, repeated the trick three balls later, and then took a single off the last ball.

Matthews then took five more from Ismail, a boundary and a single. Burns kept her more in check, with just a single, whilst Redmayne got off the mark. Then Matthews hit her fourth four to advance the score to 20 without loss.

Redmayne finally got some more strikes against Ramharack, advancing her score to five. Matthews moved on to 22, and the total was 27 after four.

The Royals lost their first wicket, Redmayne, with five overs gone and 30 runs on the tins. Matthews, meanwhile, continued to find the ropes.

Rashada Williams was bowled by Latchman for two, bringing Alleyne to the crease to join the skipper. Alleyne looked in good nick, adding five runs off 10 balls. But she was unfortunately found out of her crease to begin the 10th over.

With a first-ball four of her own, Laura Harris took the Royals to 49-3 at the halfway stage. But she departed two balls later, falling to Ismail.

Joseph joined her fellow left-hander, and the two added a useful 42-run partnership in just under five overs. Joseph allowed just six dot balls from the 20 balls she faced, and hit three fours, ending with 24 before bowled by Ismail, the third wicket for the 35-year-old South African.

By then, though, only 27 runs were needed from 29 balls. Matthews was 44 not out from 43 balls, having hit six fours, well set to push the score on.

But it was Chinelle Henry facing. The 29-year-old Jamaican was gifted four leg byes by Ismail and Warriors wicketkeeper Winfield-Hill. She got four more off the bat, taking the score to an even 100. Then she became Ismail’s fourth wicket.

The tide had firmly turned in the Royals’ favour by this stage, however. It came in further still when Matthews took two runs off Selman to begin the 17th over. It was just the second over for Selman, her first yielding 11 runs.

Wellington’s run-out for nought ended up being for naught, from the Warriors perspective. Matthews brought up her 50 with the next ball, stroking it once more to the boundary. She reached the milestone off 47 balls.

After 17 overs, the Royals needed 12 from 18 to earn their fifth win in five games over the Warriors. The experienced Afy Fletcher joined her captain, and the two brought the equation down to eight needed from 12, though Fletcher was bowled by Burns.

Now came Shabika Gajnabi, whose six balls faced failed to produce a run. The Warriors were showing signs of life.

Seven runs needed. Six balls left. Two wickets in hand. Hayley Matthews on strike on 54.

Two runs from the first ball. Five needed off five. A dot ball, followed by a brilliant throw from Ismail do for Gajnabi run out. Four needed from four, and Hayley Matthews the right woman to have at bat. She found the gap twice and sealed victory by one wicket and with one ball remaining in the innings.

Matthews’ third half century in a Royals uniform, and her 10th overall in franchise cricket, takes her to 395 runs in just 10 innings in the WCPL. The queens are off to a thrilling start, as they push to retain their title in the coming days. (TF)