west indies women Produced a brilliant all-round performance to start their 2026 tour of Ireland with an impressive nine-wicket win ireland woman In the opening ODI at Brady Cricket Club, Magheramasan. Chasing a competitive target of 270 runs, the captain hayley matthews During this he played a brilliant inning of 159 unbeaten runs. Realiana Grimond Played a patient inning of 91 runs and the visiting team completed the chase with 68 balls remaining and took a 1-0 lead in the series.
Amy Hunter’s brilliant 96 takes Ireland to a competitive score
After electing to bowl first, West Indies Women took an early lead sarah forbes Left for 11. However, Ireland found stability gabby lewis And amy hunterLewis contributed 39 runs in 48 balls with the help of six fours.
After this, Hunter took over the innings by playing a brilliant inning of 96 runs in just 90 balls. After falling well short of his century, the right-hander hit 10 fours and a six to keep the scoreboard ticking in the middle overs. they received useful support Orla PrendergastWho scored 30 runs on 33 balls, while Rebecca Stokell Paired with 20.
Place the order below, Lewis Little He scored a quickfire 27 off 29 balls with two sixes and added valuable runs in the final moments, helping Ireland post a challenging total of 269 runs before being bowled out in the 49th over.
Experienced leg spinner for West Indies Women Afi Fletcher He was impressive with the ball, taking 4 wickets for 49 runs in his 10 overs. Captain Mathews also made an important contribution by taking three wickets for 52 runs. Karishma Ramharaik And janilia glasgow Took one wicket each.
Hayley Matthews and Relena Grimond make light work of the chase
West Indies Women made a confident start to the chase and never let the Irish bowlers settle. Mathews played one of the best ODI innings of his career, scoring unbeaten 159 runs in just 123 balls. The skipper dominated the attack with 24 fours and two sky-high sixes, combining elegance with aggression to keep the required rate firmly in check.
Matthews found the perfect partner Realiana GrimondWho played a mature innings of 91 runs in 107 balls. Grimond hit 11 fours and rotated the strike effectively and the pair put together a huge partnership that took the game completely away from Ireland. Ireland finally broke the stand Lewis Little Grimond was dismissed for 91, but the wicket came too late for a comeback. experienced batsman Stephanie Taylor Matthews sealed the win in emphatic style by remaining unbeaten on 2 runs, taking West Indies Women to 270 for 1 in just 38.4 overs.
Ireland’s bowling attack struggled to contain the visitors on a batting-friendly surface. Little claimed the only wicket to fall, while the rest of the bowlers could not take wickets despite disciplined efforts in bits and pieces. For his brilliant all-round performance, which included a match-winning innings of 159 not out and three wickets with the ball, Matthews was named Player of the Match. Now both the teams will return to Brady Cricket Club for the second ODI on Sunday, July 12, with Ireland aiming to level the series and West Indies aiming to wrap it up quickly.
Great victory for West Indies in the first ODI#IREVWI #hayleymatthews #westindies pic.twitter.com/UsOmawTUfa
– WomenCricket.com (@WomenCricketHQ) 11 July 2026
Also read: ICC announces team of the tournament for Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, Sophie Molineux will lead
This article was first published here WomenCricket.comA Cricket Times Company.
