The West Indies Women’s cricket team suffered an 8-wicket defeat in the opening T20 International against England, despite a brilliant century from their captain, Hayley Matthews. The match, held at the St. Lawrence Ground in Canterbury, saw the Windies post 146 for 7 from their 20 overs, but England cruised to victory with 150 for 2, sealing the win with 21 balls to spare.

The day began with the Windies losing the toss and being asked to bat first. Matthews, who opened the innings, provided the highlight of the day with a magnificent knock. She struck 16 fours and one six, finishing on 100 not out off 67 balls. Remarkably, her century came off the final ball of the innings after hitting the previous delivery for a boundary, marking a fitting end to a dominant individual performance.

In addition to Matthews’ heroics, Mandy Mangru (17) and Shabika Gajnabi (11) were the only other batters to reach double figures, but no one could quite match Matthews’ brilliance. England’s Lauren Bell was the pick of the bowlers, taking 2 for 29 from her four overs. Issy Wong took 1 for 35, while fellow seamer Em Arlott performed admirably with 1 for 28 on her international debut.

In response, England made light work of the chase, led by an imperious knock from Sophia Dunkley. Dunkley’s unbeaten 81 from 55 balls guided her team to victory, sharing a match-winning partnership of 84 runs for the third wicket with Heather Knight, who finished 43 not out. The Windies bowlers struggled to find a breakthrough, with Afy Fletcher and Zaida James each taking one wicket.

With the opening match in the books, the series now moves to Hove for the second T20 on Friday, with two more T20s to follow, before transitioning to three one-day internationals.

Final Scores:

• West Indies Women: 146/7 (20 overs)
• England Women: 150/2 (18.3 overs)