West Indies hopeful of quick Zaida James recovery after painful face injury

South Africa v West Indies, Match Centre

The 19-year-old all-rounder attempted to stop a powerfully-struck drive by Laura Wolvaardt off the opening delivery of her spell, and the ball ricocheted up and struck her in the jaw.

James received treatment on the field, with her face swelling immediately, and did not bowl again in the match.

But speaking after the West Indies’ 10-wicket loss, captain Hayley Matthews said that the initial assessment was not too serious.

“Zaida for sure it was pretty much a knock on her face, I think the seam might have hit her in her face. So she was in a bit of discomfort and there was a bit of swelling around her jaw.

“But she’s a tough girl so hopefully that’s just one of those knocks that you get on the field and hopefully she’ll be able to be back out for the next match.”

The West Indies medical staff will monitor James, who is set to undergo scans on Friday evening before a decision is made over her availability for the team’s next match against Scotland on Sunday.

There is also an injury concern for the West Indies over veteran Stafanie Taylor, who top-scored for her team with a gutsy 44* from 41 deliveries, but hobbled from the field at the end of that first innings.

“Staf I’m not too sure at the moment,” Matthews said after the match. “The physio and the doctor will be monitoring her situation and we’ll have some updates in the next few days.”

West Indies have three fixtures of their Group B campaign remaining, with meetings against Bangladesh and England to follow Sunday's encounter with Scotland in Dubai.