Joseph stars in rain-shortened chase to put West Indies 1-0 up
Tazmin Brits' half-century and Nadine de Klerk's rearguard proved insufficient for South Africa in the first ODI
ESPNcricinfo staff
12-Jun-2025
Qiana Joseph slammed a 58-ball 60 to lead West Indies' batting charge • Cricket South Africa
West Indies 180 for 6 (Joseph 60, Matthews 40, Taylor 30, Hlubi 3-50) beat South Africa 232 for 9 (Brits 57, de Klerk 42, Luus 32, Alleyne 2-35, Ramharack 2-44) by four wickets (DLS method)
A half-century from Qiana Joseph and solid support acts from the experienced duo of Hayley Matthews and Stafanie Taylor helped West Indies chase down a rain-reduced target in Barbados to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series against South Africa.
Earlier, Tazmin Brits made a brisk half-century that made her the second-fastest South Africa woman to make 1000 ODI runs. However, it wasn't enough as West Indies followed up a good bowling effort with a comfortable chase.
Set a target of 233, Joseph and Matthews got West Indies off to a strong start. Matthews hit four fours and a six as she moved along to a 44-ball 40 before medium pacer Ayanda Hlubi broke the 88-run opening partnership. Joseph kept West Indies' momentum up before Hlubi struck again to dismiss Joseph for 60 off 58 balls, with ten fours and a six.
Joseph's dismissal opened a window of opportunity for South Africa, as West Indies lost two more wickets for the addition of 21 runs to go to 127 for 4. But then came the rain, and the long delay led to the target being revised to 180 from 34 overs.
After the game resumed, Taylor took charge of the chase with an unbeaten 30 off 34, and despite South Africa claiming two more wickets, got West Indies over the line with two overs to spare.
South Africa, after winning the toss, also had a good start, with Brits and captain Laura Wolvaardt sharing a 73-run opening stand. However, wickets from spinners Karishma Ramharack and Afy Fletcher, combined with a couple of run-outs, pushed South Africa from 73 for no loss to 104 for 5.
Sune Luus and Sinalo Jafta steadied the ship with a 40-run stand that was broken by Matthews. That dismissal sparked another mini-collapse, with South Africa losing three wickets for 23 runs.
But Nadine de Klerk made 42 off 38 balls from No. 8 to take South Africa to a decent total, which might have tested West Indies had it not been for the revision.
Ramharack and Aaliyah Alleyne finished with two wickets each while Matthews, Fletcher and Jannillea Glasgow took one apiece.