Agency :
Hayley Matthews is ready for all the hard work to pay off as the West Indies (WI) get their campaign underway against South Africa (SA) today.
The Windies have played series against Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia and Ireland between the 2023 and 2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cups.
Matthews has been at the helm for all of them, having become captain in 2022, and is excited to see the preparations pay dividends at the big dance.
“It’s quite a long process actually, you play all year long preparing,” the 2016 winner said.
“This is obviously the pinnacle of where you want to be as a team and where you want to be competing.
“Every series you play, every training session you have is kind of towards that goal of a World Cup.
“So it definitely is a long process and I think one as a West Indies team we’ve had in our sights for a very long time. So we are just hoping for some success.”
The West Indies kick off their tournament against South Africa at the Dubai International Stadium at 2pm local time.
They did not make it out of the groups when South Africa hosted the tournament for the first time last February.
However, the team have brought in some new blood as well as welcoming the return of star all-rounder Deandra Dottin.
With Matthews also in scintillating form, she believes the side could rival the one that went all the way in 2016.
She added: “This is, if not our best, definitely one of our best squads that we have had at a T20 World Cup.
“We have seen a lot of our senior players really improve like Shemaine Campbelle who has been so much more consistent lately.
“And players like Aaliyah Alleyne who has stepped up and improved her game and has played more important roles in matches.”
South Africa have retained 11 of the players that reached their first-ever World Cup final on home soil last year.
However, there have been two major changes, Laura Wolvaardt has stepped up to captain while Dillon du Preez replaced head coach Hilton Moreeng, who had been in charge for 11 years.
For Wolvaardt, her elevation to captain has started to supercharge her already impressive batting stats.
She explained: “I think I maybe just don’t think about my batting as much, which is a good thing.
“I tend to be a bit of an over-thinker in my hotel room. So, I think it just distracted me a bit on the field to think about the game in a different way.
“I think more about bowling plans and conditions and that sort of thing.”
Alongside Du Preez, who previously served as assistant coach, taking the top role, South Africa are also being supported by dedicated batting and fielding coaches for the first time.
It is another way South Africa are looking to ensure their maiden final appearance does not become a one-off.
“I think most players who have played in the team have never played under anyone besides Hilton,” Wolvaardt added.
“But Dillon, who’s taken over, has been with us for four or five years, so he still knows how things were.
“And we’ve actually got a batting coach and a fielding coach now this season for the first time officially as well.
“So, everything just feels really well organised, and it’s been great getting a lot of information from a lot of different coaches.”
