Women’s World Cup: Urge to fight every single time kept us going, says Hayley

Mount Maunganui, March 18 (SocialNews.XYZ) Hayley Matthews revealed that the urge to fight for every single time in the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup was all they needed to beat Bangladesh by just four runs and pick up two crucial points in the tournament.

At the venue where they defeated hosts New Zealand by three runs in the tournament opener two weeks ago, West Indies rallied around to defend a paltry 140 against Bangladesh for their third win in four matches and be on third place in the points table with six points, ahead of India, New Zealand and England.

Matthews was one of the main architects of the win, but with the ball. After contributing with 18 runs as an opener, Matthews changed the scenario in favour of the West Indies, taking career-best figures of four for 15 in ten overs and was adjudged 'Player of the Match' for her efforts with the ball.

"I think going out there you know that it's not just going to be a walk in the park, you have got to fight every single time. But that's the spirit that we've shown every time we've gone out to play this entire tournament," said Matthews after the match.

"Every one of our games has been close and we just try not to think about the result at the end of the day, just take it one ball at a time, one over at a time. It's just really good that we're able to get over the line again, it just shows the fight that we have within the team and the courage and the experience within the team as well," added Matthews, who is the highest run-getter as well as wicket-taker for West Indies in the ongoing tournament.

Matthews was in praise of wicketkeeper-batter Shemaine Campbelle's crucial, unbeaten knock of 53 off 107 balls, which ensured West Indies completed their full quota of 50 overs, giving the bowlers something to defend in a low-scoring game.

"I think at that point, we really needed our batters to just stand up and I think she did that really well. She's the type of player that can definitely catch up in the end and get the runs towards the end of her innings. I think she realised what was most important and that was her spending some time at the crease and she did exactly that.

"Of course, some people will say the strike rate was a bit low, but at the same time, we were in a bit of a troubled position. She just did what we needed to do and the other players could have helped her out there."

Matthews also gave a positive update on the health of fast bowler Shamilia Connell, who collapsed on the pitch while fielding at mid-wicket towards the end of the Bangladesh innings before receiving treatment and being helped to an ambulance cart.

"We are not really exactly sure why she went down. But at the same time, we know she's a strong girl and we're expecting her to obviously make a recovery. We're just keeping our fingers crossed for the best."

Source: IANS