ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) — West Indies all-rounder Hayley Matthews says being named on the Most Valuable Team of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022, despite the Caribbean side’s failure to make it to the finals, is her return from her investment of hard work.

Matthews, who impressed with both the bat and the ball in the just-ended tournament that was eventually won by Australia, was the only West Indian named on the team.

“I’ve put a lot of hard work leading up to the tournament, and to be selected to the best XI is reward for that. I must admit that it’s bittersweet because we didn’t make it to the final, but the fight we’ve shown throughout the tournament signifies the growth we’ve had as a team,” she said on Wednesday.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) Lead Selector for Women’s Cricket Anne Brown-John said the accomplishment was “well deserved since she was one of the outstanding players of the tournament, both with the bat and the ball”.

“For this, she must be commended,” Brown-John said.

Matthews amassed 260 runs, including a match-winning century against hosts New Zealand on the opening day of the tournament — a career-defining 119 off 128 balls, with 16 fours and a six.

She also took 10 wickets with her clever off-spin, with best figure of 4-15 against Bangladesh, to record another nail-biting win for the West Indies.

Her performances helped West Indies make it to the semi-finals of the marquee global tournament for the first time since 2013. They were also the first team to ever come through from the qualifiers and make the final four of the main event.

“Getting a century is always a momentous occasion, but getting a World Cup hundred was, I think, just a bit more special for me and definitely up there in being quite memorable. The opportunity to contribute with the ball as well has been really pleasing, knowing that if it doesn’t go my way with the bat on that day that I can still contribute otherwise,” Matthews said.

CWI congratulated her on making the Most Valuable Team, with Brown-John also praising the entire West Indies team for their showing at the tournament and the strides made to finish among the top four and climb up the ICC Women’s ODIs standings.

“The team went into the competition in the lower half of the standings and ended in the top four. For this, the players and staff must be complimented. The selectors put together what we considered to be the best 18 available players for the World Cup, and we are confident that they did their best,” she said.

“Everyone would like to get to the final, but it did not happen this time. Despite this, there were some really remarkable performances, and Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin were beacons, resulting in Hayley being named to the ICC team of the World Cup.”

Meg Lanning was named captain of the Most Valuable Team after guiding her side to the title and scoring 394 runs. Four Australians have made the team, including Player-of-the-Tournament Alyssa Healy. The wicketkeeper-batter made two centuries in the knockout stages, including 170 in the final against England.

Most Valuable Team: Meg Lanning (Australia) — captain, Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa), Alyssa Healy (Australia), Rachael Haynes (Australia), Nat Sciver (England), Beth Mooney (Australia), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Marizanne Kapp (South Africa), Sophie Ecclestone (England), Shabnim Ismail (South Africa), Salma Khatun (Bangladesh) 12th: Charlie Dean (England).