MELBOURNE, Australia, CMC – West Indies captain Hayley Matthews is hoping for a solid finish to the Women’s Big Bash League after failing to get among the runs for Melbourne Renegades in the first ten games of the season.
The right-hander, who is also leading Renegades for the campaign, has gathered only 139 runs from ten innings at an average of just under 13, with a highest score of 32 – coming on Sunday in a painful four-run loss to cross-town rivals Melbourne Stars.
In the outing at Junction Oval, Matthews slipped the order to number four from her usual opening position and now hopes the move can also pay dividends.
“It was nice to get out there and have a bit of space and time in the middle of the innings,” said the 26-year-old.
“It would’ve been great if I’d been able to take it home in the end, but at the same time, it’s a good start for me late on in the tournament.
“Hopefully, I can kick on from here and bring a lot more to the Renegades throughout the end of the season.”
Matthews’ struggles have mirrored those of the Renegades, the franchise having now lost eight straight games and nine of ten for the season.
They lie rock bottom of the eight-team league with two points, and with only four games remaining in their campaign, have already been eliminated from qualifying for the championship game.
With their latest defeat coming at the hands of the Stars, Matthews said that result had been harrowing.
“Playing with the Renegades for two years, playing against the Stars is a big rivalry, and it’s a bit disappointing not to get over the [line] in a close game,” she said.
“But at the same time, we’ve got another opportunity in a week-and-a-half or so to look at what we didn’t do so well and come back really good against them.
“We’ve kind of got to move on quickly, get into our other round of games, and just prepare our best for that last one.”
The Stars defeat came just 24 hours following a chastening ten-wicket drubbing at the hands of Perth Scorchers, and Matthews said she was proud of how her team had responded.
“Playing [on Saturday] against the Scorchers, they would’ve had quite a convincing win with bat and ball, and obviously [it was] not our best game,” she said.
“But to be able to come back and bounce back really well – for the bowlers to bowl the way they did and restrict them to under 150 was great.
“I would’ve loved to chase it (target), but at the same time, [it was] perfect to see contributions from all over the team.”
Renegades play their next game on Friday against Brisbane Heat.
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