NORTH SOUND, Antigua, CMC – Deandra Dottin crafted an unbeaten 43 to help the West Indies women defeat England by five wickets in an unofficial warm-up match ahead of the start of the ICC Women’s World T20 on Thursday night.
Playing before a crowd of over 5,000 fans at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, the home side bowled out the visitors for 116 in 19.5 overs, with spinners Afy Fletcher (3-14) and Anisa Mohammed (3-24) being the main destroyers.
The bowling effort was helped by some superb fielding and catching, which saw two stunning running catches by Chinelle Henry and a brilliant dive, pick up and throw by Dottin to effect a run out.
Promoted to open the innings for the first time, Dottin then scored 43 not out off 44 balls with a four and a six, to lead the Windies to 117 for five off 19.1 overs.
She shared two important partnerships, firstly 34 for the fourth wicket with Britney Cooper, who played some classy strokes in 22 off 18 balls, with two boundaries and a six.
The key partnership was an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 45 with Kycia Knight, who ended on 16 not out off 18 balls.
Head coach Hendy Springer lauded Dottin for her responsible batting effort.
“It was a tremendous and responsible effort by her in her first opportunity at the top of the order. She batted all the overs and guided the team to victory. This is what we had in mind when we thought of moving her to the top. It was not a heavy score but a relevant score and the way she went about her business was very professional and very well timed,” Springer said.
“It was very important to start this way, with such great energy and such brilliance in the field. We produced a number of chances, most of them we held onto, and it was great to see the way we went about our business. It says a lot about the way our players are being prepared and it says a lot about their receptiveness.”
