Cricket World Cup: Hayley Matthews on West Indies, leadership & her friendship with Jofra Archer

All-rounder Hayley Matthews could not have hoped for a better start to her World Cup campaign — and now she's got defending champions England in her sights.

The 23-year-old underlined her growing status in the game with a career-best century to guide the West Indies to a shock win over hosts New Zealand in the tournament's opening game last Thursday.

And it all came after a surprise phone call from head coach Courtney Walsh on the eve of the game, informing her she was being elevated to the position of opener after Rashada Williams suffered a concussion.

Matthews accepted the challenge and scored 119 runs off 128 balls — her third one-day international century and first in a World Cup.

It was a masterful performance from the Barbadian who fell in love with the game at the age of 10.

Matthews was born into a family of cricketers, with father Mike Matthews being a former Barbados Under-19 player.

One evening after school, her father and brother were playing outside of their home in Barbados when Matthews asked to join in.

Her passion for the game grew as Matthews attended Harrison College, a secondary school in Bridgetown known for producing former Olympic 100m bronze medallist Obadele Thompson and ex-West Indies left-arm fast bowler Ian Bradshaw.

Matthews soon made her mark — becoming the first female to be named captain of the under-13 boys' team.

«It was definitely something that helped to boost my game, not only in terms of cricket but the confidence I was about to gain from it,» Matthews told BBC Sport.

«The camaraderie of being around the boys was good. They had a very high level of respect for me. I still keep in contact with most of those guys and it is one of those stepping stones in my career to becoming the best leader