Hayley Matthews was the star of WT20 2016. Can she do it again?

Precious ICC Women’s Championship points were at stake as the Windies played host to South Africa in three one-day internationals. In the first game at Bridgetown, chasing 202, Matthews, their opener, was out for a two-ball duck, as the home side subsided to a 40-run defeat.

The zero was the latest in a run of disappointing scores in the 50-over format: since her blazing debut with three half-centuries in a row against Australia in 2014, Matthews had added just one more fifty to her tally, and that too over 30 months before.

But Matthews is nothing if not level headed. Even the best score ducks, she told herself.

The failure did little to puncture the confidence of this bright 20-year-old from Barbados. In fact, little does. Not the opposition, definitely not the cameras, not her age, not the diabetes she has dealt with for so much of her life.

She knows – and this comes from fact, not bravado – that on her day, she can – no, will – do something special.

And so it was that after the second game was washed out, in the deciding ODI, she was sublime in striking 117 from 146 balls, lifting the Windies to 292/5, their second-highest total of all time.

A duck one day, a hundred the next – it only highlighted for Matthews a lesson most people only learn after decades of bad choices and hurt: it’s vital to stay humble and rooted, because anything can turn.

Kipling would approve of her attitude to success and failure, and treating them the same. In 2016 in Kolkata, Matthews, with her maiden Twenty20 International half-century, top scored in the final as Windies lifted the Women’s World T20 title. She knocked the runs off as coolly as she might have notched up a new high score on the Call of Duty video game she enjoys.

Two years later, she comes into the 2018 edition of the tournament with a higher profile. When she goes to the supermarket or is in the car with the ‘Watch This!’ song blaring out of the sound system, she’s stopped by fans who want to chat, take photos or wish her the best. She's popular in T20 leagues around the world. For oppositions, she’s a key wicket.

Mindful of how much has changed, both in her and in the sport, she’s worked harder than ever to put herself in the best position to be a match-winner again. She comes into the World T20 on the back of a personal best of 70 off 52 balls against South Africa.

“I’ve improved on my game quite a bit,” she told the ICC ahead of the tournament. “I’ve become a lot better T20 player, in my opinion. I’ve worked really hard on my batting and being aggressive at the top of the order. Bowling wise, I’ve improved a lot as well, and hopefully I’ll get the results in the World T20.”

She’s practised her sweeps and reverse sweeps and 360-degree shots, and is eyeing a T20I hundred. "It’s a lot more challenging," she admits. "You have to score it a lot quicker, but I know I have the potential to do it. For me, it’s just about going out there and being able to execute. On my day, I have no doubt I’d be able to do it."

For, Matthews knows, a knock like the 66 she made in that World T20 final may not always be enough. She is keen to go harder at the ball and keep up with the changing pace of the game.

“If you look back at the last edition, you see that we chased down 150-odd in the final (the target was 149). At that time it was a massive score,” she pointed out. “But now if you look at recent scores, that’s a very – I wouldn’t say easy – but a very mediocre score.”

Over the past year, “we saw teams like England chase down [close to] 200," she added. "That’s crazy, even for the men’s game! To see it happen for the women’s game is great. It’s about adapting to the change, and that’s what makes for good teams.”

Given her stats and self-assurance, it's easy to forget that Matthews is only just out of her teens and has a long way to go. In all of the change, one thing has remained same: an undying passion to do better.

"It’s always the same feeling as day one," she said. "Every time you go out there, you want to do well, I don’t think that feeling ever changes. It’s just about channeling those nerves in the right direction and turning them into something good."