BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — A Player-of-the-Match performance from allrounder Shanel Daley followed by superb off-spin bowling from Anisa Mohammed piloted West Indies Women to an 88-run victory over Sri Lanka Women in the first One-Day International on Wednesday.
Left-hander Daley made 63 off 97 balls, as the Windies Women made a challenging 228 for six off their 50 overs on a good pitch at Kensington Oval.
Other good scores came from inspirational captain Merissa Aguilleira, who was out off the last ball for a run-a-ball 62, and star allrounder Stafanie Taylor, who made an impressive 52 — her 13th half-century at this level. Taylor and Daley added 68 for the second wicket to provide the ideal platform.
Off-spinner Mohammed then went to work and took five wickets for 34 runs from her allotment of 10 overs, as the Sri Lankans fell for 140 in 42.3 overs. It was the 23-year-old’s fifth five-wicket haul in her 52nd ODI.
Seam bowler Tremaine Smartt took 2-24 on her return to the team, while Daley had the impressive figures of 10-2-21-1 with her left-arm spin.
Speaking after the match, Daley, daughter of former Jamaica men’s all-rounder Aaron Daley, said she was pleased with the team’s overall performance, but was sorry that she missed out on her maiden international hundred.
"We played exactly the way we wanted to today," she said. "We came here and got a very good pitch, and we made the most of it with the bat.
"We had a camp before the series and one of the roles I was given was to bat through the innings and allow the others to bat around me."
The 23-year-old Daley said: "That worked very well and we did a lot of good things. I was able to rotate the strike with Stafanie and the right-hand left-hand combination was just what was required at that stage.
"Earlier this year, when we played against India, I didn’t get as many (runs) as I felt I should and I really wanted to buckle down in this series and cement the No.3 spot. I want to make that position mine and I have the chance to do that in this series.
"I had a chance to get a hundred and I wasn’t able to convert it. Going forward, I plan to make the next start count. I am yet to make a century for West Indies, so I don’t plan to let another opportunity like this get away."