BARBADOS CAPTAIN Hayley Matthews believes her cricket T20 team have a chance of upsetting the odds despite their status as underdogs at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The Caribbean made a fine start in their hunt for gold, with success against Pakistan in the opening round.

Barbados are in group A in the eight-team competition at Edgbaston Stadium, and to have any chance of a medal they will need to beat either tournament favourites Australia, or India, runners-up in the last T20 World Cup in 2020.

“It’s going to be a challenging tournament for us, but we’re welcoming it with open arms,” Matthews said. “Once we go out there and execute what we know we can do, we have a chance of beating the bigger sides.”

Matthews has been playing international cricket since she was 16, but representing Barbados on the global stage will be a new experience.

Usually a combined West Indies team compete in international cricket, but Caribbean islands are represented separately at the Games, so Barbados were chosen to compete after finishing as champions at the 2019 Caribbean domestic T20 tournament.

“It’s definitely a bit different, but we’re a tight-knit group,” Matthews said. “We’ve been playing together for a couple of years as a Barbados team regionally, and all the girls have gelled well.”

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed that all matches will count as full internationals, which guaranteed that at least four Barbados players gained maiden caps in their opening game against Pakistan on Friday, 29 July.

“A lot of them are going to be excited about facing players they have looked up to, players who are role models for them,” Matthews said.

Women’s cricket is included in the Games for the first time after men’s cricket appeared at Kuala Lumpur 1998.

Matthews and her team-mates are benefiting from the expertise of assistant coach Ryan Hinds, who made his Barbados debut as a 17-year-old in Kuala Lumpur.

“It’s quite unique that he was able to be part of it in 1998 and to come back now as a coach,” Matthews said. “We’ve chatted about what he went through when he was playing at the 1998 Games.

Matthews, who was recently elevated to the role of West Indies captain, will have the chance to lead for the first time in an official international match.

“Every time we step onto the field I encourage as much enjoyment as possible,” she said. “That’s when a lot of us play at our best – when everyone knows they have the freedom to go out and express themselves.”