DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — West Indies captain Hayley Matthews has surged again into the worldwide highlight, re-entering the highest 5 of the ICC Ladies’s ODI Batting Rankings following a jaw-dropping efficiency that underscored her standing as one of many world’s most formidable white-ball batters.
In a must-win ICC Ladies’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier match in Lahore, Matthews detonated with the bat, hammering a searing 70 runs off simply 29 deliveries in a Participant-of-the-Match-winning effort that noticed the West Indies demolish Thailand by six wickets, with a breath-taking 235 balls to spare.
Her fireworks on the crease lifted her two spots to fifth within the rankings, simply shy of her career-best place of fourth, reaffirming her place among the many elite within the girls’s sport.
“A press release innings”: Matthews leads from the entrance
Matthews’ innings wasn’t only a show of energy—it was a convincing declaration of her leadershFip and batting prowess. With scientific aggression and impeccable timing, she dismantled the Thai bowling assault, setting the tone for a dominant West Indies victory.
“She performed a press release innings,” remarked an ICC analyst. “It was the type of knock that sends shockwaves by way of opposition camps and ignites perception in a squad.”
– Commercial –
Regardless of the emphatic nature of the win, the West Indies have been heartbreakingly edged out of qualification for the 2025 ICC Ladies’s Cricket World Cup in India. Ending degree on factors with Bangladesh, the Caribbean aspect missed out by the narrowest of margins — simply 0.013 in internet run charge.
Unbeaten Pakistan claimed the highest spot within the qualification group, whereas Bangladesh clinched the ultimate ticket to the showpiece occasion.
Spin stars rise within the rankings
Although the marketing campaign led to disappointment, there have been brilliant spots past the batting heroics. The West Indies’ spin duo of Afy Fletcher and Karishma Ramharack made important leaps within the ICC Bowling Rankings, additional showcasing the crew’s depth.
Fletcher, the wily leg-spinner, rose to twenty first, equaling her career-best rating after a harmful 4-20 in opposition to Thailand and a tidy 2-43 in opposition to Bangladesh.
Ramharack, the artful off-spinner, jumped 5 locations to twenty fifth, reflecting her rising affect and consistency on the worldwide stage.
A warning shot to the world
Whereas the highway to the World Cup might have closed—for now—the West Indies have fired a transparent warning shot to the cricketing world. Matthews’ rise within the rankings, bolstered by the emergence of a potent spin assault, is a potent signal of what’s to come back.
With renewed focus and rising stars of their ranks, the Caribbean aspect might have stumbled on the ultimate hurdle—however they’re removed from completed.
The world ought to take observe: Hayley Matthews and the West Indies are usually not completed but.
