Limacol WCPL…GAW Women into play-off after thumping Tridents

The Guyana Amazon Warriors G(AW) Women have assured themselves of a spot in Wednesday’s Limacol Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) play-off following a dominant five-wicket victory over the hosts Barbados Tridents on Sunday afternoon.
The Amazon Warriors won the toss and elected to field first, going on to contain the Tridents’ Women to 158 and chasing it with an over to spare.

Recovery job
Hayley Matthews was the lifeline of the Tridents’ innings, hitting a brisk 50 that got the home side off to a rapid start. Her ability to bat fluently was bolstered by an equally-aggressive Kiran Navgire at the other end, who ensured that her Captain never had to worry about the scoring rate.
Navgire started the hitting in the sixth over, following Qiana Joseph’s premature departure for 15 off 14 in the fourth.

Matthews and Navgire went on to hit six fours and four sixes between them for a healthy 63-run partnership off 42 balls, as the Tridents raced to 83 in 10.3 overs.
After chopping and changing the bowlers in search of an answer, Chloe Tryon’s sixth bowling option in Shenetta Grimmond finally had the solution, sending Matthews back to the dugout for 50 off 37, brilliantly caught and bowled.
Navgire did not shift gears after the wicket, going on to form an equally-valuable partnership with Maddy Green (14 off 11), costing the Amazon Warriors Women 36 runs off 20 deliveries.
To the Amazon Warriors’ relief, Navgire finally had to walk back at the end of the 16th over after a well- played 38 from 29, including three fours and two sixes.
Suzie Bates tried to hold the Tridents’ innings together with a belligerent 22 off 11 balls, but it was not enough to stop the flow of wickets in the death overs as the Amazon Warriors slowed their opponents down.
Eventually, the Tridents posted a competitive 158-7 in their 20 overs. Grimmond was the pick of the bowlers, snaring 3-28 from four overs while Erin Burns picked up 2-19 from three.

Bossing the chase
At some point, the Amazon Warriors innings with the bat became eerily similar to the Tridents’.
The early wicket after a fluent start in this case was Eboni Brathwaite who slammed three sixes in her 22 off 15 balls before hitting one too many and being caught at long-on, off Joseph’s bowling.
The second-wicket partnership flourished though, with Tazmin Brits and Burns putting up 34 off 28 deliveries. However, come the 11th over, when the Amazon Warriors Women were cruising at 81-1, Mandy Mangru’s quickness behind the stumps paid off for the Tridents, catching Burns millimetres short of her ground.
The third-umpire decision was lengthy, but Burns eventually had to depart for 11 off 15 balls.
Shemaine Campbelle was the next batter in and got off to a rapid start off Joseph’s bowling. Surviving a sticky dot for her first delivery faced, Campbelle creamed Joseph for a boundary and a maximum.
Another bump in the Amazon Warriors’ momentum when Mangru replicated her brilliance behind the stumps to get rid of Brits after a composed innings of 46 off 41 deliveries, comprising five fours and one six.
However, Campbelle brought her experience to the fore in an almost match-winning innings. Dropped on 16 off 9 by compatriot Cherry-Ann Fraser, who pulled off a full dive to her right, but could only get fingertips to Campbelle’s shot, the Berbician went on to craft an important 36 off 28 deliveries. But Fraser would get her revenge, removing Campbelle with a bouncer after being sent over the ropes twice in that over.
The wicket boiled down to a mere consolation as Realeanna Grimmond came in with her team requiring 7 off 7.
An ensuing wide ball brought the requirement down to six and then Grimmond slammed Fraser over deep midwicket to end the game in 19 overs with five wickets to spare.
For the Tridents’ bowlers, Afy Fletcher claimed 2-23 off four overs while Matthews, Fraser, and Joseph had one scalp each.
In the end, the victory did not change the equation much for the Amazon Warriors Women as they will go on to face the Tridents again on Wednesday from 10:00h as they compete for the other spot in Thursday’s final.
By virtue of net run-rate, defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders Women had taken the automatic qualification spot in the final.