An imperious all-round performance from the Proteas Women has taken them to a 1-0 advantage in the ODI series against the West Indies.

In the quest to make amends following a thrilling T20I series, South Africa ended up bowling first, as the hosts opted to have a bat first. It was a decision that spurred the South African bowlers into high gear. The normally aggressive Hayley Matthews fell for a scratchy 35-ball 4.

The surface was assistive for both pace and spin, and soon enough, most of the bowlers were among the wickets. Deandra Dottin tried to counterattack but her burgeoning innings was cut short at 38 from 36, when she tried to attack Suné Luus’ legspin.

Thereafter, the innings never really got going, and the middle order was in free fall. Only three Windies batters made double-digit scores, and the Proteas bowlers all went for 4 runs an over or less.

Kycia Knight top-scored with a fighting 39 from 78, but never got the support she badly needed from the other end following Dottin’s dismissal.

After bowling out the hosts for 153, it was a pretty straightforward chase to ace. Lizelle Lee (91) and Laura Wolvaardt took a more circumspect approach early on, while Lee eventually unfurled her more naturally attacking game.

The Windies took two wickets in two overs, but the target was much too small to defend, and in the end, South Africa reached 157 with 10 overs to spare.