Hosts West Indies produced a dominant display of bowling to tie their five-match Women’s T20 Series against the USA 1-1 on Monday at the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground in St Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago.

The USA won the opening fixture on Saturday by 37 runs. Batting first, the Americans made 106-8.

Ritu Singh made 29, and captain Anika Kolan 22, but the visitors were helped mightily by their hosts with 25 extras.

Selena Ross took a tidy 3-12 to lead the bowling attack with her left-arm medium pace while right-arm medium pacer Jahzara Claxton took 3-20.

In the West Indian response, only Samara Ramnath (28) and Brianna Harrichan (20) got to double figures, as the home team was held to 69-9.

On Monday, the USA chose to bat first once more. It was a completely different story from the first game as this time they were bundled out for just 65 in 18.1 overs.

Only Kolan (10) and Sasha Vallabhaneni (22) got notable scores.

Ross was back among the wickets, taking 2-8 from her three overs, including a maiden. Kenika Cassar (2-17) and Trisha Hardat (2-18) also bowled well.

West Indies made quick work of their reply, reaching 69-2 in just 13.1 overs.

The Bajan duo of NaiJanni Cumberbatch and Asabi Callender led the charge with 27* and 20, respectively.

The third match of the series is on Wednesday at the same venue.

The ICC T20 World Cup has led to significant scheduling conflicts, causing disruptions for the Regional UWI Volleyball Games 2024, an intercampus and club volleyball competition set to begin today, Friday, May 24, 2024, at the St Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies in Trinidad.

The St Augustine campus gymnasium, designated as an official training venue for the T20 World Cup, became unavailable for the final day of the volleyball tournament due to strict security protocols. This unexpected change, combined with the last-minute unavailability of the UWI Cave Hill male team, forced the organizers to condense the competition from three days to two.

"The venue is an official training location for the ICC World Cup, and the security protocols have strict proximity rules," explained Cheryl Daley, Competitions Coordinator. "That means the gymnasium is no longer available on Sunday as was previously the case. We were able to adjust without too much upheaval since the Barbados male team dropped out, which reduced the number of games to be played overall."

This tournament marks the first inter-campus regional volleyball competition since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, featuring club and university teams from Jamaica, Trinidad, and Barbados. The new schedule compresses the games into two intense days of play, a change welcomed by Mona Head Coach Dr. Ricardo Chong.

"It just makes it all the more exciting," Dr. Chong said. "Now we have two intense days of play which will really put our teams to the test. Both the UWI intercollegiate and club teams are top teams in Jamaica, and now we will see how we match up against other islands."

Prominent Trinidad & Tobago volleyball clubs Glamorgan, Big SEPOS, and West Side Stars are confirmed for the two-day competition, which will be held at UWI’s Sports and Physical Education Centre gymnasium in St Augustine. The games will run from Friday, May 24 to Saturday, May 25, 2024, kicking off at 1 PM Jamaica time.

Despite the scheduling challenges, the condensed tournament promises to deliver thrilling volleyball action, showcasing the resilience and competitive spirit of the participating teams.