By Neto Baptiste
Captain of the Antigua and Barbuda senior women’s cricket team and all-rounder Cheyanne Moses, credited teamwork for their overwhelming success in the opening match of the Leeward Islands Cricket Board (LICB) Women’s 50 overs Competition in St Kitts
Antigua and Barbuda beat St Kitts by 224 runs at Conaree on Sunday.
“The goal of the team was to bat out all of the overs and I am really happy that as a team we got to accomplish that. So, obviously, getting that score, the mood in the dressing room after that was absolutely great energy from everybody because we were already pumped after having completed our first goal,” she said.
After winning the toss and opting to bat, Antigua and Barbuda were led by senior player Amanda Edwards who hit 56 off 59 deliveries to record the first half century of the tournament, as the visitors amassed 263 for 8 in their 50 overs. Edwards struck five fours during her 98 minutes stay at the crease.
Tonya Martin fell just four runs short of her half ton with 46 from 45 balls, while wicketkeeper Terez Parker added 36 to the effort. Shacarma Warner was the pick of the bowlers for the home team with three for 43 in 9.5 overs.
Moses and Jenisen Richards then bagged four wickets each as St Kitts were bowled out for just 39 runs in 22.3 overs. Richards claimed four wickets for three runs in 5.3 overs which included three maidens, while Moses picked up four wickets for 18 runs in eight overs.
Moses, who was chosen to lead the team in the absence of former West Indies captain, Shawnisha Hector, said it came down to a total team effort.
“I was very surprised, but at the same time I knew that I had it in me to lead the team because the seniors and also the newcomers, we’ve been comfortable with each other. I just wanted to make sure everybody would trust me first of all and if I have that trust from them, then I would be totally comfortable. We all work together at the end of the day so it’s not just about the captaincy even though I lead. It’s about everybody and everybody doing their past as well,” she said.
St Kitts’ best effort with the bat came from Thelma Gumbs who made six off 11 deliveries before she was bowled by Tonya Martin who bagged one for seven in six overs.
Three teams are taking part in the tournament with the other being Nevis. Teams will also compete in a T20 competition.
