Zaida James shone with bat and ball to lead West Indies Under-19 Women to an eight-run victory in their opening match of the ICC Women’s U19 T20 World Cup 2023 at the Senwes Sporte Park in Potchefstroom, South Africa, on Sunday.
With a Player of the Match performance against Ireland Under-19 Women, James scored 52 and took four wickets for 20 runs.
Despite having wickets in hand, West Indies could only post 125-3 in their 20 overs, scoring at 6.25 per over, as their struggles against spin bowlers continued. Likewise, Ireland had no answers for James’ slow left arm orthodox bowling, limping to 118-7 in 20 overs.
Sent into bat, West Indies got off to a solid start with openers Shunelle Sawh and James putting on 61 runs for the first wicket. James hit eight boundaries in her composed 52.
In reply, wickets fell at key periods for Ireland when it seemed like they had a partnership capable of knocking off the paltry total. Seventeen-year-old Annabel Squires top scored for the Irish with 42 runs, navigating the field well as she ran hard between the wickets for her score. Bar captain Amy Hunter’s 21, there was little else in terms of noteworthy contributions, and Freya Sargent’s enterprising 15 down at the bottom was not enough to win the game.
James was Player of the match with her 52 and four for 20.
Both teams are back in action on Tuesday. West Indies will Indonesia while Ireland will be looking for their first win of the competition when they take on New Zealand.
Summarised Scores:
West Indies U19 Women 125-3 in 20 overs (Zaida James 52, Naijanni Cumberbatch 21*; Freya Sargeant 2-9). Ireland U19 Women 118-7 in 20 overs (Annabel Squires 42, Amy Hunter 21; Zaida James 4-20). West Indies U19 Women won by eight runs.
Indonesia U19 Women 74-7 in 20 overs (Desi Wulandari 16*, Kadek Kurniartini 13; Tash Wakelin 3-14, Anna Browning 2-12). New Zealand U19 Women 77-0 in 9.3 overs (Anna Browning 38*, Antonia Hamiliton 26*). New Zealand U19 Women won by ten wickets with 63 balls to spare.
Rwanda U19 Women 106-8 in 20 overs (Gisele Ishimwe 40, Cynthia Tuyizere 21*; Areesha Noor 2-19). Pakistan U19 Women 108-2 in 17.5 overs (Eyman Fatima 65*, Syeda Aroob Shah 20). Pakistan U19 Women won by eight wickets with 13 balls to spare.
England U19 Women 199-4 in 20 overs (Niamh Holland 59, Charis Pavely 45; Olinder Chare 2-34). Zimbabwe U19 Women 25 in 12 overs (Grace Scrivens 4-2, Josie Groves 2-5). England U19 Women win by 174 runs. (JC/SAT)