West Indies Women’s national cricket team will enter the decisive third One Day International (ODI) against Ireland at Bready on Wednesday with a clear goal: lock in a full series sweep. Leading the charge is captain Hayley Matthews, who recently etched her name into West Indies women’s cricket history over the weekend at the same ground.
In the second ODI on Sunday, Matthews put on a masterclass with the bat, smashing a 94-ball century to secure back-to-back hundreds — a first for any West Indies Women’s player in ODI history. She was joined at the crease by star all-rounder Stafanie Taylor, who notched an unbeaten century of her own. The pair’s historic batting partnership guided the Caribbean side to a six-wicket series-clinching win, putting the visitors 2-0 up in the three-match series ahead of Wednesday’s decider.
Speaking after the victory, Matthews expressed that while the series win was a critical early milestone, the team remains focused on collecting full points to climb the ICC ODI rankings. “Series win, obviously super important, so I’m glad we could get that out of the way. At the same time, I think we came here and the points were definitely a priority,” she said. “It’s really good that we were able to get four so far with the first two wins, but there are still really important points to play for in our last match. Hopefully we can get two more on the board, and get ourselves climbing up that ladder.”
Despite her red-hot form with both bat and ball, Matthews emphasized that team success takes priority over personal milestones ahead of the third match. When asked about the prospect of chasing a third consecutive century, the captain said she is focused on process rather than individual results. “Hopefully, look I try not to focus on the result too much, but just go through the process once again. I’m doing what I need to do and hopefully the result at the end of the day is something good,” she stated.
Taylor, who delivered the match-winning knock in the second ODI, echoed her captain’s team-first mindset and opened up about the camaraderie that has powered the side’s early success. “I always enjoy batting with Hayley. We both understand each other when we’re out there and we support each other, because we know how each other plays. It’s always easy to bat with her,” Taylor said.
During her unbeaten century, Taylor quietly passed a personal milestone: she became the first player to surpass 500 ODI runs against Ireland, a milestone she did not even realize she had hit until after the match. She also recalled the lighthearted moment that led to her pushing for a century in the final overs of the run chase, when West Indies needed just 11 runs to win and Taylor was stuck on 90.
“Well for me with 11 runs (for victory) and I needed ten, I just, I said to Minnie, I don’t care about 100, I just don’t want to train tomorrow. I need a break from training, so as long as we get over the line, it means that we’re not gonna train,” Taylor explained. “But she said to me, no, you have to get your 100… I said, all right, I’m gonna try and then I, I heard the players in the dugout, they were cheering and backing me to have a go. I said, all right, I’m just gonna have a go and if it comes off, it comes off. And yeah, it did.”
With momentum firmly on their side, the West Indies side will look to cap off their successful tour with a third straight win on Wednesday.