St. John's [Antigua], June 20 (ANI): The Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced that West Indies captain Hayley Matthews has been ruled out of the third and final ODI against Sri Lanka due to an illness.
Matthews also skipped the second Women's ODI in Hambantota, where West Indies were bowled out for 92 in 31 overs with Sri Lanka chasing down the target in 21.2 overs and winning by five wickets.
In Matthews' absence, Shemaine Campbelle captained the West Indies team in the second game and is expected to continue as captain for the third ODI in Hambantota on June 21.
However, CWI is hoping that Matthews will recuperate in time for the three-match T20I series, which begins on June 24 at the same location.
"West Indies Captain, Hayley Matthews has been ruled out of the ongoing ODI Series against Sri Lanka due to illness. She will continue to be monitored by the CWI Medical Team and will hopefully recover in time for the T20I series. Everyone at CWI wishes her a speedy recovery," read a statement from CWI.
Matthews has been the West Indies' lynchpin for the past year and a half. She is easily the top run-scorer for the West Indies in ODIs since the beginning of 2023, with 519 runs in nine games, an average of 74.14, including three hundreds. During this time, she has taken 11 wickets, tied with Afy Fletcher for the most.
The West Indies had already lost the three-match ODI series and is trailing by 0-2.
They lost their first game by six wickets last Saturday before falling again on Tuesday. Matthews played the first ODI, scoring 38 off 53 balls and going for 33 runs off five overs without taking a wicket. (ANI)
