It was another proud moment for West Indian cricket as skipper Hayley Matthews smashed a fine 182 (156) in the opening ODI against Zimbabwe Women, which is the best ever by a Windies batter in Women’s ODIs.
There is a reason why she is named the ‘Hayle-storm’. Once she gets a start, as in, by the time she reaches 30, more often than not, Hayley Matthews makes it count with a decently big score. She has got 21 scores of 50 or more in WODIs – 13 of those being centuries – showing her penchant for scoring big.
Thursday was another such day. West Indies Women are on a 6-match tour of Zimbabwe consisting of 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is. Without a doubt, the team from the Caribbean stands out as distinct favourites, with this tour staged more as an opportunity for Zimbabwe to improve themselves. But Matthews did not want to miss out on the opportunity of making a statement.
Matthews wasted no time in choosing to bat in a morning game in Harare. She started cautiously, sizing up the conditions with her opening partner Realeanna Grimmond. However, with time, she eased into her innings and started to pick up the scoring rate.
The 42nd over bowled by Beloved Biza seemed to be the accelerating point. Matthews was on 115 (126) and that over went for 16 runs, with Hayley smashing a four and a six. The West Indian captain eventually finished on a mammoth 182 (156) as the Team In Maroon clobbered 94 runs in the last 9 overs, finishing on 299/6 – their second-highest WODI total.
The first ball of the match was faced by Hayley Matthews. She was dismissed on the first ball of the 50th over of the innings. Her knock was studded with 28 hits to the fence, of which 2 were biggies. This is not only the best score by a Windies batter in WODIs, but also the 6th highest score in a Women’s ODI. The previous best for West Indies was 171 by Stafanie Taylor, against Sri Lanka, during the 2013 Women’s ODI World Cup.
This knock put Matthews in another league as well. Hayley Matthews has now become the first player to register multiple knocks of 150 or more in the same calendar year in WODIs. She had made a fine unbeaten 159 against Ireland in July earlier this year. Additionally, if we combine both Men’s and Women’s ODIs, this is just the 14th instance of a player registering a score of 150 or more in the same year.
We have more. Since March 2026, this is the 5th instance of a player scoring in excess of 150 in a Women’s ODI. While the world goes ga ga with the Men hitting the ball to all parts with blistering speed, Women’s cricket too is making heads turn. This match might go down as a one-sided contest, with West Indies always expected to win, but still, the performance of Matthews the individual cannot be ignored. If only she could get a couple more like her, the Caribbean can become a force to reckon with in Women’s cricket as well.
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