Zaida James put in a gritty all round performance versus Ireland to guide the West Indies Under-19 Women’s team to victory in their first match of the ICC Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup in South Africa.
Batting first after the Irish won the toss, the West Indies posted 125 for 3 in their 20 overs with James topping the scorers with 52. Naijanni Cumberbatch chipped in with 21 not out with the other big contribution being 24 which came from the extras column due to some erratic Irish bowling.
James then went about putting in a sterling effort with the ball to defend that score. The 18 year-old left-handed Lucian took four wickets at the cost of 20 runs in four overs, including the wickets of Ireland captain Amy Hunter for 21 and top scorer Annabel Squires, who hit 42 as they could only manage 118 for 7 in their allotment of overs.
The West Indies U-19 Women winning by seven runs as James easily walks away with the Player of the Match Honours.
They next face Indonesia on Tuesday from 7:45am Eastern Caribbean Time.