‘A 3-0 win will be great’: Windies captain Matthews hopes to improve and win ODI series against Bangladesh

West Indies Women captain Hayley Matthews is optimistic about her team’s preparedness as she stressed that the focus is on improvement and a desire to record a dominant 3-0 win in the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh -to achieve victory.

Matthews pointed out that the series, which begins on Sunday at Warner Park, St. Kitts, represents a fresh start after a disappointing performance in India.

In fact, both teams are looking to hone their skills for upcoming ICC events as this series marks Bangladesh’s first bilateral tour of the Caribbean and the first bilateral encounter between the two sides.

With that in mind, Matthews emphasized the importance of spending time in the middle when batting, which she said was a key focus in the team’s preparation.

“The preparation was pretty good. Obviously we had some free time over the New Year holidays to reorient ourselves after the India series. Everyone worked pretty hard to get started. Batting is something we’ve paid a lot of attention to and we know it’s going to be really crucial in this series,” Matthews said in a pre-match interview.

“We also worked hard in the bowling department. “Obviously wicket opportunities and wicket balls is something from the last series that we felt we could have improved on, so the coaches and everyone involved have definitely made a lot more plans to hopefully get even more early wickets,” she added .

Matthews is well aware that it will be a huge challenge for her side to face Bangladesh’s formidable spin attack and believes the key to success lies in being aggressive early on.

“They have a very strong spin attack so it will probably be a matter of staying on them early and keeping them out of the game as much as possible. Their spinners will be the ones trying to take wickets so hopefully we can keep them out of the game as much as possible,” she noted.

Matthews explained that the Caribbean team, which has a mix of experienced players and emerging talent, has found a harmonious balance and every player is ready to perform well.

“We already have a really good mix. That experience and youthfulness makes camp kind of fun, but we still take very seriously what we have to do out on the field. No matter who you are on the team – a young player coming in or someone who has been there for a while – everyone is hungry to go out and perform well every time,” Matthews explained.

While playing at home in familiar conditions is a significant advantage, Matthews is aware that efficient execution is required to take advantage of the conditions, as she is clear about their ambitions.

“We have a lot of experience playing here at Warner Park. The girls definitely know the ground very well, which should be an advantage for us. Hopefully this will allow us to utilize areas of the ground and the wicket as well,” Matthews said.

“As a higher ranked team, we want to go out and dominate. It (series) still plays a role in the position we will have in qualifying and that is why we want to focus a lot on what we can do. We know we have a quality team and hopefully We will be able to prove that because a 3-0 win will be great,” she said.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana Joty is equally determined as she also sees the series as crucial to her World Cup qualification hopes.

“This is a very important series and we really want to win to qualify for the ODI World Cup. That’s why we have some plans that we want to implement on this day. We have a very good bowling attack and some very good top players so we are looking forward to seeing their performance,” said Joty.