Hayley Matthews backs Windies to top India in ODI series

WEST Indies women's team captain Hayley Matthews has given the team her full backing going into their three-match One-day International (ODI) series against India, asserting that they can beat any team on their day.

In the preceding three-match Twenty/20 series between the teams, the Windies fell to a 2-1 series defeat after going down by 60 runs in the final match on December 19. India scored a daunting total of 217 for four as they effectively batted the Windies out of the game.

Looking ahead to the ODI series which begins at the Kotambi International Cricket Stadium in Vadodara, India on December 22, Matthews is confident her team will bounce back strongly once they assess the conditions correctly.

"I think in that second T20, we showed that we're a competitive team and when we're at our best can beat anybody in the world," Matthews told the media, on December 21.

"Hopefully, we're in that kinda frame of mind and in that form of cricket throughout this ODI series to compete really well right through.

"Playing against India is always going to be tough, but we have a squad of really good players as well, who are quite capable of coming down here and being successful."

The West Indies have lost their three recent ODI series away to India, with their visit in 2016 resulting in a 3-0 defeat. In the teams most recent ODI meeting at the International Cricket Council Women's World Cup in March 2022, India defeated the Windies by 155 runs in the group stage of the competition.

Matthews said her charges are keen to learn from their mistakes in the T20 series, where she felt they left the hosts off the hook.

"I guess we'll look at what went well in the T20 series and try to take the positives out of it and reflect on the things that didn't go well and just try to sharpen up on those areas.

"We probably let ourselves down in the field in that respect. But it's about figuring out some more plans and being able to execute them on the day as well. I think we've done a lot of homework on their players. We haven't been able to execute as well as we wanted to."

In the T20 series, the West Indies appeared to be at the mercy of opening batsman Smriti Mandhana who rattled off three consecutive fifties en route to snatching the Player of the Series award.

And while Matthews said they did themselves no favours to stall Mandhana's run-spree with their sloppiness in the field, she said the Indian team carries many more threats.

"On the day, we know they've got plenty of players who can put down special performances. We've obviously had to pay attention to Smriti after the T20 series, but they've got so many players down the line.

"We've had to do just as much homework on every single one. They're all good players who can go out and make a massive mark on their day. Hopefully, we're able to negate as many of them as possible...and restrict them to a total we can chase."

Playing the first international at the 40,000-capacity venue, Matthews said the facilities are amazing and is hoping for a fair battle between bat and ball.

"I think you obviously have to wait and see what the wicket looks like. I know the nets out in the back there's a bit more on offer for the bowlers, but we could come up tomorrow (December 22) and have a completely flat pitch as well," Matthews said.

"I think what's going to be really important for us is assessing really quickly when we do get into the match and adjusting to suit.

"It's a new ground and it's very unknown so it comes to the mental side of the game and figuring out what we need to do in order to play some really good cricket."

The first ball will be bowled at 4 am TT time.