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 that I can be."

Harrison College also produced England's men white-ball batsman Phil Salt and fast-rising Under-19 star Jacob Bethell.

"It is pretty cool that we can all come from a school like Harrison College," Matthews said. "Obviously, Barbados being a small island, it is so good to see a lot of talent coming out of one place."

Matthews continued to excel in sports and had to make a tough decision between cricket and track and field after winning one gold and two silver medals in the javelin throw representing Barbados at the regional CARIFTA Games in 2013 and 2014.

"Cricket was always the No.1 sport for me," she said. "I knew I wanted to be a professional cricketer even though I was interested in other sports like tennis, basketball and track and field."

It is a decision the then-16-year-old will never regret as a year later she became a star, hitting 66 in the T20 World Cup final as West Indies defeated Australia in Eden Gardens to lift the trophy.

"That is a memory I will never forget," Matthews said. "Bringing back home the trophy meant so much to us. It was our first World Cup."

Fast forward eight years later, as West Indies prepare to face defending champions England, and Matthews is one of the most senior players in the squad.

"I know I do have a lot of responsibility within the team but at the same time that will only help me to be able to lock in and focus a bit more when the time comes," she said.

"I love being a role model and someone the other players can look up to."

Off the pitch, Matthews has a strong friendship with Barbados-born England fast bowler Jofra Archer, who bowled the famous Super Over in the 2019 ICC Men's World Cup to guide England to victory over New Zealand in a dramatic final at Lord's.

"We grew up around the same age group and we played a lot together and have a friendship outside of cricket," Matthews said.

"He opened the bowling to me once. I was about 14 or 15 and he was 17 or 18 and was playing for the West Indies Under-19. Jof did a bit, I was getting peppered from the other end but he kept it full and straight, seeing that we were friends. He eventually got me out, cleaned bowled."

The Barbadian pair later played for the Hobart Hurricanes in 2017 in the Australian Big Bash League and also enjoyed fun times off the field.

"It is not every day that you will have two Bajans in Australia together, furthermore playing for the same team," Matthews said. "It was really good to have a friend with me down there the whole time.

"We went to get tattoos together, not the same tattoo but he took me to get one I wanted to at the time.

"We went bowling, and even now we still play Call of Duty games together. Even though he is playing for England and I play for the West Indies and we don't see each other as often, we still have that really good friendship."