‘I want to still play for WI, no doubt’: Hayley Matthews reaffirms commitment after T20 WC exit

New Delhi, July 1 (IANS) West Indies captain Hayley Matthews has dismissed any speculation over her international future following her side’s exit from the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, insisting she remains committed to representing the Caribbean nation.

Speaking after West Indies’ eight-wicket semi-final defeat to Australia at The Oval, Matthews reflected on her motivation to continue playing, backed senior teammates Stafanie Taylor and Deandra Dottin to remain involved, and assessed why the team fell short of reaching the final.

Addressing questions about whether the tournament could mark the end of her international career, Matthews made it clear that her desire to wear West Indies colours remains unchanged.

“I want to still play for West Indies, there’s no doubt about that. I always feel like West Indies has given me the opportunity to represent myself, to be a part of franchise cricket. And it might be the most stressful thing and probably one of the harder jobs around, but it’s where the passion comes from,” Matthews said during the post-match presentation

The all-rounder also pointed to the responsibility she feels as one of the leading figures in Caribbean women’s cricket, saying that her influence extends beyond her on-field performances.

“I certainly feel personally that I have a real opportunity to not only represent myself but to make a difference. I’ve seen so many young girls in the Caribbean already probably want to play cricket or take up cricket because of me, and knowing that I have that power and I guess that influence in a country and in a region where women’s cricket and women’s sports on a whole probably isn’t represented massively, hopefully if I could just inspire a few young ladies or a few more young ladies to take up the game,” she added.

Matthews also indicated that experienced campaigners Stafanie Taylor and Deandra Dottin remain motivated to continue contributing to the national side, adding that the emergence of younger players has strengthened the atmosphere within the squad.

“I haven’t necessarily heard any of (Stafanie or Deandra) talking about retirement yet, thankfully. I think there’s still a lot of passion from them to play. I think what’s most important for them is just a healthy team environment, and, I think right now the passion that we have within the group has driven a lot of them,” Matthews stated.

She continued by explaining why the senior players continue to find purpose within the setup.

“I think the fresh faces that we have within the young girls and the way that they’ve come into the team and have exhibited the want to learn definitely makes them feel like they can play a massive role, like it has made me. And hopefully that combination of the young new players alongside Stef and Deandra and Afy (Fletcher) can keep them driven to understand that their role is so much bigger than just going out and batting and bowling as well,” she said.

Reflecting on the campaign itself, Matthews admitted that West Indies struggled to produce enough match-winning individual performances throughout the tournament, despite advancing to the knockout stage. The Caribbean side reached the semi-finals before being eliminated by Australia after finishing the group stage with defeats against England and Ireland.

“For the entire tournament, I feel that we haven’t had too many individual standout performances. I think we had Shemaine (Campbelle) in that first game alongside Aaliyah (Alleyne). We had Chinelle (Henry) score 50 in that match against England. But I think when we look overall as a group, we haven’t had enough players really put their hands up and take control of a game,” the all-rounder mentioned.

Matthews concluded that the inability to produce decisive individual displays consistently proved costly in the shortest format, saying, “And in T20 cricket, you always need someone stepping up and putting down good performances. And I think that’s probably what we lack, not only today but the entire tournament.”

–IANS

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