Dottin’s determination pays off

Deandra Dottin said her aim was to bat through the West Indies innings especially after prolific captain Stafanie Taylor fell cheaply in the opening One-Day International against Pakistan there on Monday.

West Indies beat the hosts by 45 runs after racking up 253 for eight off their 50 overs at the National Stadium, with the 30-year-old Dottin hitting a career-best 132 at the top of the order.

Her opening partner Rashada Williams fell cheaply for 15 in the 12th over and Taylor followed for six in the 18th over but Dottin engineered a 119-run, third wicket stand with fellow Barbadian all-rounder Hayley Matthews (57) to allow West Indies to take command of the game.

“What was going through my mind was that I had to bat through [the innings]. I had to bat if not 50 overs, at least 40 overs or 45 overs in order for us to get a good total,” said Dottin, who carried the innings before falling in the 47th over.

“Basically I was just playing the ball late, focussing on keeping my head still and playing straight in the ‘V’.”

Dottin made a watchful start to her innings, facing a maiden off the first over of the match from seamer Fatima Sana, but got into stride with consecutive boundaries of the first two deliveries of the third over from the same bowler before racing to her half-century off 55 balls in the 18th over

She then celebrated with a couple of fours off pacer Aliya Riaz in the 21st over before smashing left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu for two sixes in the 26th over, as she marched to her second ODI hundred.

“My plan was to occupy the crease long, see what the bowlers were doing and how the pitch was playing, and then basically go from there,” Dottin noted.

West Indies arrived here last week for the three-match series which sees fixtures scheduled for Thursday and Sunday, and serves as preparation for the ICC World Cup qualifiers starting later this month in Zimbabwe.

And Dottin pointed out that with the brevity of the series, making a quick adjustment to the new conditions had proven challenging.

“It was hot, yes, but it was just a matter of me not acclimatizing [quickly enough] in terms of getting sleep and stuff like that but I guess I’ll get over it.,” she said.

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