Mathews major doubt for 3rd ODI after shoulder injury risks absence of star player as they seek to avoid whitewash.
Mathews major doubt for participation in West Indies’ 3rd ODI vs England owing to a shoulder injury.
Matthews’ left shoulder issue, which she exacerbated during a tumble in the field during the first ODI in Derby last Friday, will be seen by a specialist in London on Thursday.
After winning the first ODI by 108 runs and clinching the T20I series 3-0, England may complete the tour with a victory in the third and final match on Saturday in Taunton.
Even though her team didn’t win a single match, Matthews was named the T20Is’ player of the series. With 177 runs at an average of 88.50 and a strike rate of 137.20, including an undefeated century in the series opener at Canterbury, she was the top run scorer overall. She took 3 for 32 with the ball to go along with her 71-run innings in the third game at Chelmsford.
“She’s going to London tomorrow morning, so we’ll know more then,” Shane Deitz, West Indies Women’s head coach, said after his side’s 143-run defeat in Leicester on Wednesday night. “Hopefully we’ll get some good news tomorrow.”
“I was hoping she’d be okay today, but she got on the team bus and looked terrible so we sent her back to bed,” Deitz said. “Hopefully she’ll come good in a couple of days. She played really good the other day. She’s getting better as time goes on in the team so fingers crossed. I’m pretty sure she’ll be right for the next game.”
In the absence of both openers, 20-year-old all-rounder Realeanna Grimmond opened alongside regular No. 3 Zaida James and scored a 72-ball 53 to lead her team in their ODI debut.
“She’s an up-and-coming talent and I’m really proud of her,” Deitz said of Grimmond. “That’s the confidence she needed to go through the scenarios of being out in the middle against the best players in the world and feeling that you belong – and she’s definitely proved that she does belong. Now it’s about keeping the work ethic up and improving on different areas of her game over time. She’s going to have a really long, good, successful career ahead of her if she does all the right things.”