Matthews lauds Munisar as West Indies eye semis 

Hayley Matthews’ West Indies Women side are three wins from three matches at the T20 World Cup in England.
Captain Matthews said her team was high on confidence heading into the next match against England. She also spoke about the decision to play Guyana’s Ashmini Munisar in the Sri Lanka fixture.
“I think a bit of the tactical awareness against a team like Sri Lanka, but also certainly feel like we have enough batters down the line. And I guess having that extra spinner could have really made a difference, which sure today,” Matthews said about Munisar, who claimed 1-16 from her four overs.
Despite defeating Sri Lanka by five wickets, West Indies Women lost wickets at crucial intervals.

“We were at 36 after six overs. We’re right on top of the game. Stafanie at the crease and we had players like Alleyne still to come in as well. So, I don’t think we had any nerves at any point in time. Probably would have liked to chase it down a bit more convincingly, but I think chasing totals like that can always be a bit tricky. But at the same time, like I said earlier, I certainly feel like our batters are going to have opportunities to peak at the right time. And what’s really important is that we’re winning matches right now,” Matthews said.
Matthews, who is ranked number one in T20 as an all-rounder, produced 3-15 from her four overs, her best at the T20 World Cup. She said her aim was to make early inroads.
“It was really crucial for us to get some early wickets. We know Sri Lanka’s really big batters are the ones at the top of the order with their two left-handers at Chamari and the other one as well. So, yeah, I think for us, we just really wanted to get some early wickets and it gave me the flexibility to be able to go hard in the power play and bowl a few overs with Munisar coming in as well.
“It puts us in a really good place. You know, going into the next match against England, I think we’ve got high confidence. But yeah, I certainly feel like if we can win one more game here, it gets us into the semifinals. So, yeah, a lot of confidence going into the next two matches, but still just want to take it one game at a time,” Matthews explained.
West Indies will play hosts England on Wednesday, June 24 at 13:30h local time.