Taylor steals Ismail’s thunder, Windies clinch thrilling win
- Stafanie Taylor’s 4-12 outshines Shabnim Ismail’s three-wicket haul as the Windies beat South Africa in low-scoring thriller
After scoring just 106 in their opening game against Bangladesh, the batting woes continued for the Windies as they were restricted to 107 for seven against South Africa. But they provided brilliance in the field to compensate for that, snatching a dramatic 31-run win to top Group A.
In the closest match of the tournament, the home crowd were treated to a jailbreak win. The Windies captain Stafanie Taylor made up for a duck with the bat to take her best ever figures with the ball.
South Africa were well placed at 41 for one in 10 overs chasing the Windies total, when the brilliant chaos began. Two outstanding pieces of fielding brought the holders back into the game: First, Britney Cooper at the cover boundary hung on to a Lizelle Lee rocket that seemed destined for six; Lee was well set on 24 (34b, 1x4, 1x6). In the next over, Deandra Dottin executed a brilliant run out from point, her one-handed pick up and direct hit finding South Africa captain Dane van Neikerk short of her ground.
Then Taylor got into the act, and South Africa had slid from 48 for one to 53 for four.
Needing 49 in the last six overs, South Africa lost half their side for 64 as Taylor’s off-spin proved hard to get away and finished with a career best four for twelve. She took a wicket in every over she bowled, the third bowling the big hitting Chloe Tryon, South Africa’s best bet to counter the rising run-rate. South Africa eventually lost nine wickets for 28 runs and subsided to 76 all out in 18.4 overs.
The batting collapse undid the brilliance of Shabnim Ismail, who took three wickets in the innings for the second consecutive game. Those three wickets all came inside the Powerplay and were prize scalps.
First was the in-form Hayley Matthews, caught at slip in the first over. Off the next ball came the wicket of the captain, Stafanie Taylor edging the perfect ball to the ‘keeper. In the fourth over, Ismail got Deandra Dottin to miscue a length ball to cover.
The Windies found a much needed partnership, Natasha McLean and Kycia Knight adding 45 for the fifth wicket. McLean (28, 24b, 3x4) benefitted from a dropped chance when she was on 16, and for a while outscored Knight despite coming in later. But once she was dismissed, Knight (32, 36b, 2x4, 2x6) accelerated, hitting a four and a six in the 18th over to score 14 off it, taking the Windies close to a hundred.
South Africa now play England on Friday (16 November) and the Windies take on Sri Lanka the same day.
Scores in brief:
Windies defeated South Africa by 31 runs at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium at Gros Islet, St. Lucia
Windies: 107-7, 20 overs (Kycia Knight 32, Natasha McLean 28; Shabnim Ismail 3-12, Dane van Neikerk 2-8)
South Africa: 76 all out, 18.4 overs (Marizanne Kapp 26, Lizelle Lee 24; Stafanie Taylor 4-12)