July 29, 2022
BCA NEWS RELEASE #42/22
HISTORIC ACHIEVEMENT BY BARBADOS PRIDE WOMEN CRICKET TEAM AT THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES IN BIRMINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM
The historic victory by the Hayley Matthews led Barbados Pride Women cricket team on July 29, 2022 in Birmingham United Kingdom is a tremendous achievement in many respects. The island of Barbados has a rich legacy of producing world class performers and showcasing cricketing excellence for many decades at International Cricket Council (ICC) events, but the opportunity to achieve this at the Commonwealth Games has been limited.
Cricket at the Commonwealth Games has only been contested on one previous occasion (back in 1998) where a Barbados Male cricket team had the privilege to represent the Caribbean region at that event. The exposure of this wonderful sport again in 2022 has exposed this group of talented female cricketers with the unique opportunity to compete against ICC full member opposition teams.
The 15-run victory over the Pakistan Women in their 1st match of the tournament must be viewed as a tremendous achievement by the Barbados Pride ladies. In her 1st exclusive interview with the BCA since this victory, captain of the team Miss Hayley Matthews, expressed pleasure on the overall team efforts against the Pakistan Women Squad: ‘Everyone went out there with a lot of fight and grit.
Our experienced players definitely were able to step up and I think that was key to our victory yesterday.
Kycia Knight was able to bat brilliantly holding the innings down along with myself and then we really trusted our main core in bowlers to really come out there and defend the runs. The fielding was brilliant with a couple run outs and catches taken. So I think it was a really good team overall effort.’
It is very evident that the entire team has enjoyed their early success in the tournament, but captain Matthews said her team remained focused on the upcoming matches:
‘The mood in the camp is pretty high right now. This obviously means a whole lot to the entire group and obviously being part of history and going out there representing Barbados in the 1st International T20 Game and getting a win means a whole lot to the entire group and the entire nation as well.
We went out there with a lot of pride and joy. Playing for that BLUE YELLOW and BLACK.
I think everyone is on a really high and positive spirit at the moment and looking forward to the next game against Australia.’ We are Proud of the Barbados Pride ladies and wish them continued success in the 2022 Commonwealth Games tournament.
The Fixtures for the Barbados Women are as follows: (all matches at Edgbaston Cricket Ground, United Kingdom)
July 29, 2022 Barbados v Pakistan (1:00pm EST)
July 31, 2022 Barbados v Australia (1:00pm EST)
August 3, 2022 Barbados v India (6:00am EST)
August 6, 2022 Semi Final 1 (6:00am EST)
August 6, 2022 Semi Final 2 (1:00pm EST)
August 7, 2022 Bronze Medal Match (5:00am EST)
August 7, 2022 Gold Medal Match (12:00pm EST)
Full release can be found HERE