CricBuzz article.
When West Indies toppled England in the 1979 World Cup final, the game's defining moment was the partnership between Collis King and Sir Vivian Richards.
King who hailed from Barbados, played one of best finals innings in men's World Cup history - blazing 86 from 66 balls to aid the West Indies recovery from a precarious position of 99 for four. It was probably the only time in the career of Viv Richards, where he was playing supporting cast on such a grand stage.
Fast forward to 2016 when West Indies Women clinched their maintain World Cup title, it was another player from Barbados in Hayley Matthews whose efforts on the day that will live long in memory, while star player Stafanie Taylor played second fiddle. The performance has created great expectations on what the West Indies Women can achieve in the upcoming years and the likely leading role Matthews will play in this potential development.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, the 18-year-old Matthews elaborated about her career upbringing leading up to that World Cup final performance and future ambitions in the sport.
How did you start and when did your interest in playing cricket grow?
I started playing cricket around the age of 5 - just being outside with my brother and father in our yard. They both play competitive cricket in Barbados and every time they would go to cricket on a day, I would follow them. I guess that's basically how I learned the sport, being around so much.
What was your cricket history and record while playing cricket at school level?
The primary school I attended was called The People's Cathedral Primary. Whilst there, I played cricket in the primary school tournament. I started playing for that school at the age of 10 and in my last year, when I was 11, I captained the school team of boys. I then moved on to my secondary school called Harrison College. That was where my cricket really started developing. I played under-13, 15 and 19 cricket for them, captaining the under-13 team in my last year of that as well.
What about your cricket club in Barbados?
The cricket club I started with is Wanderers cricket club. That is located kind of between town and the south coast of Barbados. I was playing there probably from the time I was about 8 until I moved to another club around age 10 called Passage road cricket club located in Bridgetown, which is the main town of Barbados.
Who are some of the cricketers that you have looked up to?
The male cricketer I would definitely have to go with is Ricky Ponting. From the time I was young, I loved the way he played. Female cricket is hard because I actually didn't really start watching the game properly till about 4 years ago.
I do remember the watching the Australia women and Jess Cameron's playing style caught my attention, so I would go with her at that time.
Which cricketer did you model your game on and who are some of the coaches that played a key part in your career development?
I would say it was more my coaches that played a big part in my game. I believe that the coach who really took my game from one point to another would have to be Richard Clarke. He was my coach at Passage road. The way I played when I first went to him vs the way I could play when I left him about 5 years later was unbelievable.
After them, it was more about a lot of fine tuning which I must give credit to Henderson Springer, Ezra Mosely and Vasbert Drakes who still work with me.
How much did playing in the Women's Big Bash help to improve your game?
It helped me a lot, both on and off the field. On field, the coaches that I worked with, Julia Price and David Drew, helped me sort out my technique and some flaws I had with my game. Off field, my confidence and experience of the game grew so much while playing down there.
Although everyone will forever remember your innings in the final, you are also a very capable off-spin bowler. Do you constantly work on your bowling?
Although many people may see me as a batsman, I still believe I have the ability to make a name for myself with the ball. I always bowl in the nets at training and may sometimes even do spot bowling after training.
What was your mindset going out to chase target in the final. Did Captain Stephanie Taylor tell you much during that partnership?
When Australia set the target of 148, I just tried to look at the positives. I kept telling myself that it was a good batting wicket and that if they made it look so easy to bat, we could too.
With the batting line up we had, I just tried to be as confident and positive as possible. Stef [Stephanie Taylor] and I didn't even mention the total but all through the game, we were just talking about keeping with the run rate without taking too many risks.
Captain Taylor recently said in an interview that their needs to be a "new recruitment drive for women's cricket in the Caribbean" following the ladies' World Cup triumph. As a young player that has come through the system, what are some of the things you think the West Indies Cricket Board should do to make this a reality?
I really do think that some structure in the West Indies for women's cricket would be great. Like Stef was saying, we need to start from young. The best idea I think would be to go into the schools and start getting girls out to play. Especially now that they have seen what you could get out of playing from our recent victory.
What now have you set as your career goals following the World Cup?
I guess, really helping your team to win a World Cup is what some people would consider the highest you could get. On a personal level though, I would like to go much further. I do really want to help my team as much as possible yes, and with that I'd like to grow and become one of the best players in the ranking.
My whole career goal would be to reach the number one batsman or all-rounder spot by the end.
First Published On CricBuzz.