West Indies captain Hayley Matthews continued to be an outlier as the visitors went down against England monumentally in the three-match T20 series in Chelmsford. Despite restricting England to just 144 after bowling first, Matthews did everything from talking three wickets to scoring a 54-ball 71 in order to help the Windies women get past the finishing line but the non-existent middle-order waster another herculean effort from the captain as England won the series 3-0.
Matthews, who scored a century in the series opener, scored 177 runs at an average of 88.50 while striking at 137.51 and took three wickets and was deservedly named the Player of the Series as well as for the match despite the drubbing her side had to incur. This was Matthews' sixth Player of the Series award and the West Indies captain is now second on the list, only after her compatriot Deandra Dottin with seven series awards. Matthews surpassed the Australian skipper Alyssa Healy on the list.
Most player of the series awards in women's T20Is
7 - Deandra Dottin (West Indies)
6 - Hayley Matthews (West Indies)
5 - Alyssa Healy (Australia)
4 - Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka), Suzie Bates (New Zealand), Ash Gardner (Australia), Sarah Taylor (England), Stefanie Taylor (West Indies)
West Indies had England two down early in the powerplay and hence, the recovery was a bit slow. Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight made sure that England had a platform to launch in the final few overs before the West Indies bowlers came back again to restrict the hosts to under 150, but the visitors' batting unit imploded again, with Matthews being the only one offering something of note.
The series marked the winning start for Charlotte Edwards and Nat Sciver-Brunt as coach and captain for England after the Ashes debacle, which followed multiple resignations and new appointments, including a new chief selector in Lydia Greenway. The performances of former skipper Heather Knight, Sophia Dunkley, Sciver-Brunt herself and Lauren Bell and Em Arlott with the ball will keep England in good stead as they build up towards the Women's World Cup.
The two teams have a few days' gap before going into three ODIs, set to kick off on May 30 in Derby.