Martin, Satterthwaite set up Windies rout

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The second Twenty20 International between New Zealand Women and Windies Women went the way of all the international fixtures of the tour so far, with the home side running out 106-run victors in Mount Maunganui on Friday to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

Batting first after losing the toss, New Zealand rode on half-centuries from Katey Martin and Amy Satterthwaite to put up a solid 185/3 on the board. Sophie Devine led the way with a three-wicket haul after that as the Windies reply finished on 79/8, the chase not taking flight at any stage.

The Windies chase never really looked up. By the third over, Anna Peterson, the off-spinner opening the bowling, and Lea Tahuhu, the right-arm pacer, had sent back Hayley Matthews (5) and Stafanie Taylor (1) to leave Windies at 14/2.

There was a spot of resistance on the part of Merissa Aguilleira and Deandra Dottin, the experienced batters, but it didn’t last too long. They added 16 before Dottin fell, trapped lbw by the medium pace of Devine, for 13, and after Devine had sent back Reniece Boyce for a duck, Laigh Kasperek, the off-spinner, had Aguilleira’s number, with the former captain walking back for 16.

That left Windies on 42/5, and the chase was completely off the rails. There was no real attempt to reach the target after that, and when Kyshona Knight, the top scorer of the innings with 20 from 35 balls, became Devine’s third victim, the scoreboard read 69/7 in 16.2 overs, still 116 runs behind.

From there to the end was a matter of the Windies lower-order batters doing their best to protect their wickets and the New Zealand bowlers trying to find a way through. Interestingly, Windies scored just 34 runs in the last 10 overs and 13 in the last five.

Apart from Devine’s 3/12 from three overs, Kasperek had a successful day with 2/13 from three.

In the first half, the experienced opening pair of Devine and Suzie Bates gave New Zealand a quick start, putting together 33 runs. By the end of the seventh over, though, both of them were back in the dugout with 52 runs on the board. Bates, the captain, fell first when Shamilia Connell, the right-arm pacer, bowled her for 14. Devine followed, left-arm medium pacer Akeira Peters sending her back for 27, scored in 21 balls.

But that was it from Windies’ point of view, as Martin, who scored a match-winning 54 in the first game, and Satterthwaite batted together for the next 15 overs, adding 124 runs in the process at over eight runs an over. Anisa Mohammed, the off-spinner, and Afy Fletcher, the leg-spinner, bore the brunt, but none of the Windies bowlers were spared as Martin and Satterthwaite matched each other stroke for stroke and steadily put the match beyond the visiting side.

Finally, off the first ball of the final over, Dottin managed to dismiss Martin, caught by captain Taylor, but by then Martin had hit 65 in 42 balls, with 11 fours.

Satterthwaite, however, found the rope one more time in the over, off the last ball, to get to 71 not out, also off 42 balls, with nine fours and two sixes – it was by far her best T20I effort, topping the 45 she had scored on two occasions in the past.

The third match of the series, which Windies must win to stay in contention and to prevent another New Zealand sweep – they won the ODIs 3-0 – will take place on 20 March in New Plymouth.