Windies sweat on star’s fitness ahead of ODI series

West Indies will be sweating on the fitness of their skipper Hayley Matthews for the upcoming ODI series against Australia after the superstar batter aggravated a right quad injury during her blazing 79 in her side's 47-run defeat in Brisbane on Thursday night.

Matthews capped one of the most dominant individual T20I series in recent memory in the third match, ending the three matches with 310 runs at 155 (SR 174.16) after scores of 99no and 132 in games one and two.

The 25-year-old became the first player to post 300 runs in a three-match WT20I series and extended her remarkable run to eight straight player-of-the-match awards in the format at international level, stretching back to February.

"Being able to notch up 300 runs in a three-game T20 series is something unbelievable," she said. "I set targets coming down here and I can tell you it definitely wasn't getting 300 runs in the T20 series, but I'm very grateful for it."

Matthews, who is set to play in WBBL|09 with Melbourne Renegades later this month, is hopeful she can overcome her quad issue to take her place in Sunday's ODI series opener back at Allan Border Field, with ice and medication the initial prescription before a more thorough assessment of the injury.

"I felt my quad pulling a bit from the last game when we were in the field, and I think I ran for a ball and felt it again," she said. "So maybe a little strain there but we're going to assess it when I cool down, and have a better picture of what's going on.

"Hopefully it's nothing too serious and I'm all ready to go in the first game for the ODI series."

Matthews played four ODIs against Australia in Sydney and Bowral way back in 2014 as a 16-year-old prodigy, scoring 55, 89, 60 and 37, though she has only played the world champs three times in the format in the intervening years, without reaching 50.

Her form through the T20I series however has made it plain that this is a vastly improved version of earlier iterations of the Barbadian batter, who is now clearly among the most damaging players in the game, no matter the format. If West Indies are to add to their lone victory from 15 ODIs against Australia, she looms as the player most capable of making it happen.

"I feel like how I've been batting here in the T20s, a lot of the time I've just been trying to play really good cricket shots, and that's my exact plan going into the 50-over series as well; just continue playing good cricket shots all around the ground, play each ball on its merits, but there's definitely a lot less pressure to score quickly," she added.

"When you get opportunities like this, you've got to keep trying to score runs as often as you can. Hopefully I can go into the ODI series and continue my form."

CommBank T20s v West Indies 2023

First T20: Australia won by eight wickets

Second T20: West Indies won by seven wickets

Third T20: Australia won by 47 runs

CommBank ODIs v West Indies 2023

First ODI: October 8, Allan Border Field, 10.35am AEDT

Second ODI: October 12, Junction Oval, 10.05am AEDT

First ODI: October 14, Junction Oval, 10.05am AEDT

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris (T20Is only), Jess Jonassen, Alana King (ODIs only), Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham

West Indies squad: Hayley Matthews (c), Shemaine Campbelle (vc), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Afy Fletcher, Cherry Ann Fraser, Shabika Gajnabi, Jannillea Glasgow, Chinelle Henry, Zaida James, Djenaba Joseph, Ashmini Munisar, Karishma Ramharack, Stafanie Taylor, Rashada Williams