ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada – A half-century opening stand between Natasha McLean and fellow West Indies Women’s star Stafanie Taylor helped Jamaica formalise a six-wicket victory over Barbados on Thursday to claim the Regional Women’s Twenty20 title for the second straight year.
McLean hit four fours and two sixes in the top score of 44 from 45 balls and Taylor supported with 32, as the Jamaican successfully chased a modest 106 for victory in the Grand Final at the Grenada National Stadium.
McLean and Taylor, later named Player-of-the-Match, shared 79 for the first wicket before they were dismissed within 10 deliveries of each other, but Jamaica were firmly on course for victory and reached their target with 19 balls remaining.
The result meant that the Jamaicans also firmly established themselves as the undisputed queens of the regional game, having also won the preceding Regional Super50 Tournament last week.
"This victory can be described in one word – elated," team manager Dudley Bryan told WICB Media. "This means that Jamaica’s women’s cricket continues to improve. We now hope that with these two victories things will improve."
"We want to see the game expanded game into rural areas of the country so more women can become involved in the playing of the sport, allowing us to have a bigger base from which to select our national teams.
Bryan identified Taylor, the Most Valuable Player in both the Regional Women’s Super50 and Twenty20 tournaments, as the undisputed star of the team, but hailed the cohesion that brought Jamaica their fourth women’s title in three years.
"Our victory in both tournaments came because we played as a team," said Bryan. "Enough cannot be said about Stafanie. She is our star, but every team member made their contribution in both tournaments to enable us to secure victory."
Kycia Knight had scored 25 and West Indies Women’s teammate Shaquane Quintyne made 20, as Barbados reached 105 for seven from their allocation of 20 overs, after they chose to bat.
Medium-fast bowler Vanessa Watts was the most successful Jamaica bowler with 2-17 from her allotted four overs.
The Women’s RS50 and RT20 were the final events on the WICB’s regional calendar.
Summarised scores:
BARBADOS 105 for seven off 20 overs (Kycia Knight 25, Shaquana Quintyne 20, Charlene Taitt 16, Kyshona Knight 15; Vanessa Watts 2-17)
JAMAICA 106 for four off 16.5 overs (Natasha McLean 44, Stafanie Taylor 32, Shanel Daley 14 not out; Shakera Selman 2-18)