Tour opportunity for redemption says Matthews

Hayley Matthews is taking the positives out of the pandemic
Hayley Matthews is taking the positives out of the pandemic

West Indies women’s team all-rounder, Hayley Matthews is taking the positives of a five-month down time, one being a much needed mental break.

As West Indies Women prepare to take on their English counterparts in five T20Is, in what would be the first Women’s tournament since the Women’s T20 World Cup in March due to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic. Matthews spoke to the media recently on this down time.

“I think coming back from the World Cup we obviously had a break for a while and I think it was kind of good that everyone got that mental break and got away from the game and had a little break because we weren’t doing so well probably over the last couple of months,” she said. She admitted that the World Cup campaign was not their best outing and did not represent a true indication of the team’s ability. As such, she said, this series will provide them an avenue for redemption and show the world their worth.

“I think as a team we are going to want to come out here, redeem ourselves after the World Cup and show that we are not the team played the World Cup, we are a lot better than that and we have seen it in the 2016 World Cup and 2018 World Cup and I just think it’s a case of proving we are a lot better,” she stated.

The Barbadian all-rounder indicated that the break was refreshing but preparations had begun soon after in her home when the country was reopened and allowed her to work on some key technical areas of her game.

“Personally after that little break I was able to get back in the nets when Barbados opened back a bit and work really hard on my game and sort out some stuff that I saw technically going wrong with my game and hopefully for me I am able to go out there and execute on those areas I have been working on,” Matthews pointed out.

The series is set to begin September 21.