Hayley Matthews named Wisden’s leading T20 cricketer in the world
West Indies captain Hayley Matthews has been named Wisden’s leading Twenty20 Cricketer for 2023, as she topped all and sundry, including her male counterparts.
Alan Gardner looks at the remarkable performances of this outstanding player – a T20 World Cup champion.
We’ve all heard the one about the globe-trotting, six-hitting West Indies all-rounder bestriding the T20 stage. But this tale comes with a twist: a first female winner in this award’s seven-year history. Hayley Matthews has long been a star of the game – aged 18, she inspired West Indies to victory in the 2016 World T20 final – but in 2023 she produced an unprecedented red-hot run of form. Between February and her final game of the year in October, on three different continents, she won eight consecutive T20I match awards. The previous best was four in a row. During that sequence, she averaged 88 with the bat, at a strike-rate of 144, and 12 with the ball.
The pièce de résistance came at North Sydney Oval, game seven in the Matthews Supremacy. Set 213, West Indies were powered to a record chase in women’s T20Is by her buccaneering 132 from 64 balls, including 110 in boundaries. Her score, a West Indies record, was the first century in the second innings of a women’s T20I; and it came after she had been the pick of the bowlers, with 3-36 for her off-breaks. That the side on the receiving end were the world champions, playing in their own backyard, added only lustre.
If 2023 was a banner year for the women’s game, with the inauguration of the Women’s Premier League in India, then Matthews rode the crest of the wave. She was a WPL title-winner with Mumbai Indians, the fifth-leading run-scorer in the competition, and captained Barbados Royals to victory in the Caribbean Premier League, scoring 82 from 59 and taking 2-38 in the final. She was also a high-profile pick in The Hundred and the Big Bash.
Her feats could only sporadically lift West Indies, whom she had captained for the first time in 2022, though she credited the job for helping her, “take responsibility for my game”.
The first in her streak of match awards came against Ireland at Cape Town during the T20 World Cup, where West Indies ended a run of 15 defeats. She followed that with another all-round display, against Pakistan, though two group wins could not put her side in the semifinals. Ireland were again on the receiving end in July, as West Indies won 3–0 in St Lucia, before their tour of Australia confirmed her status as the ICC’s number one all-rounder. In five days, she smashed 99 not out, 132 and 79 – a total of 310 off 178 balls, with 43 fours and 13 sixes – and took five wickets.
Her overall T20I record for the year read 700 runs from 14 matches at 63 (strike-rate 132) and 19 wickets at 16 (economy 6.84). Across men’s and women’s T20 – domestic and international – her tally of 1,551 runs was topped only by Jos Buttler. Unlike Matthews, though, he was not the leading wicket-taker in the format. The Caribbean had produced another game-changer.
Article provided by the Editor of Wisden
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'Cool' England records would mean more with a win, says Root
Joe Root says the records that have been broken in England's match against Pakistan will mean a lot more if they come in a victory.
England are in a strong position heading into day five in Multan, after a dominant display of force with both the bat and ball on a record-breaking day on Thursday left Pakistan requiring 115 runs with four wickets remaining, while the tourists also have a second batting innings in hand.
Root, who on Wednesday became England's all-time leading run scorer in Test cricket, put on a partnership of 454 with Harry Brook, who plundered 317.
Former England captain Root was eventually dismissed for 262, his highest individual score, bringing an end to the fourth-highest partnership of any wicket in Test cricket history.
Brook, meanwhile, became the second-fastest player to reach 300 in terms of balls faced, as he became the sixth England player to hit a triple-century and put Brendan McCullum's team on the fourth-highest score in a single Test innings (823-7 declared).
Reflecting on the records while speaking to BBC Test Match Special, Root said: "They are pretty cool things. It would mean a lot more if we can win this Test match. You look at the situation where they had 556 on the scoreboard and to be this ahead in the game is the best thing.
"So many good things have come from it and I am very pleased for Harry. I've never seen an England batter get a 300 and that was nice to watch.
"It's obviously nice and I am sure when I finish my career, I will look back and feel good about it. It will be a nice thing to look back on at the right time. I want to contribute for a long while and make big scores like this one and hopefully win more Test matches for England."
The celebrations from Brook and Root were not huge, and Root put that down to fatigue.
"There was a lack of emotions, partly down to the heat. Just the amount of energy that is taken out of you playing in these conditions is huge. It's been quite pleasing to acclimatise and just drawing that mental resilience," he said.
"I make sure I do the work and put myself in some really tough situations in training so that I am really ready for these conditions.
"I know I can bat for long periods of time and when it gets tough, I can get through it."
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Rampant Root and triple-centurion Brook star as England dominate Pakistan
Triple-centurion Harry Brook and Joe Root led the way as an immaculate England dominated day four of their first Test against Pakistan.
England are on the brink of a stunning victory after amassing 823-7 before Ollie Brook declared on Thursday.
Root, who on Wednesday became England's all-time leading run scorer in Test cricket, put on a double-century, but was eventually pinned lbw by Agha Salman on 262, his new high-score in the longest format.
That brought to an end a remarkable partnership of 454, which is the fourth-highest for any wicket in history.
Brook slammed his way to 317 before he was eventually dismissed by Saim Ayub, as flurries from Jamie Smith (31) and Chris Woakes (17 not out) helped England mount their third-highest score in a single innings of Test cricket.
That left England's bowlers time to get on the attack, and get on the attack they did.
Abdullah Shafique was bowled by Woakes (1-29) with the very first ball, before Gus Atkinson (2-28) and debutant Brydon Carse (2-39) got in on the act.
Saud Shakeel (29) offered some resistance, but Jack Leach sent him packing, although Salman Agha (41 not out) and Aamer Jamal (27 not out) managed to guide Pakistan to 152-6, with the hosts – who trail by 115 runs having put on 556 in their first innings – surely stunned by being on the receiving end of one of the greatest days in England's Test history.
Data Debrief: Into the record books
England have recorded the fourth-highest single-innings score in a Test match. Two of the top three instances were also achieved by England (849 v West Indies, 1930 and 903-7 declared v Australia in 1938), with the highest score having been put on by Sri Lanka against India back in 1997 (952-6 declared).
A good omen for Pakistan was that only one of the three instances of a team putting on a higher score than England had resulted in that side going on to secure victory, with the other two matches drawn. However, the tourists' brilliant show of force with the ball has them well set to change that record.
Brook, meanwhile, became the sixth English batter to score 300+. However, he is the second-quickest batter in Test cricket to hit the landmark, putting on his triple-century in 310 deliveries. The only player to reach 300 in fewer deliveries was Virender Sehwag (278 balls) for India against South Africa in March 2008.
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Windies women eye vital win against Bangladesh to keep semi-final hopes alive at T20 World Cup
After an impressive six-wicket win over Scotland, West Indies women will seek to build on that momentum when they take on Bangladesh in a crucial encounter that could define their campaign at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
The Caribbean side will enter Thursday’s contest knowing that another win would keep their semi-final hopes alive, as they currently sit in third position on two points, two behind leaders South Africa and England on four points each.
The first ball is 9:00am Jamaica time.
West Indies’ victory over Scotland was a much-needed confidence boost for the team, especially after a crushing 10-wicket loss to South Africa in their opening match. The win not only lifted their spirits but also boosted their net run rate, a key factor in determining the semi-final spots should multiple teams finish level on points.
Assistant coach Ryan Austin emphasized the Hayley Matthews-led team’s readiness to handle what promises to be a tricky challenge, as Bangladesh bowlers, particularly their spinners, have proven to be formidable opponents.
“The team is pretty prepared. We obviously know that Bangladesh is basically a spin-based unit, but with our philosophies, we are more focused on what we can control. Having said that, we still have that element of power within our batting that could counter the spin as well,” Austin said in a pre-game press conference.