England storm into Women's T20 World Cup semifinals with dominant win over West Indies
NEW DELHI: Hosts England became the first team to reach the Women's T20 World Cup semifinals, securing their spot with one group-stage match still to play after a 38-run win over West Indies at a scorching Lord's on Wednesday.Both teams entered the contest unbeaten, but Danni Wyatt-Hodge produced an
By Toi Sports Desk
NEW DELHI: Hosts England became the first team to reach the Women's T20 World Cup semifinals, securing their spot with one group-stage match still to play after a 38-run win over West Indies at a scorching Lord's on Wednesday.Both teams entered the contest unbeaten, but Danni Wyatt-Hodge produced another outstanding innings, scoring 65 off 42 balls to help England post a commanding total.
She now leads the tournament's run charts with 193 runs at an average of 65.West Indies are still in contention for a semifinal place and can qualify if they beat Ireland, who are yet to win a match, in their final group game on Saturday.Played on Britain's hottest June day on record, the match began in temperatures of 35°C, with the air temperature reaching 41°C.
England made the most of the batting-friendly conditions, scoring 186/7 — the highest women's T20 total at Lord's and the second-highest by any men's or women's team at the venue.Chasing 187, a target never successfully hunted down in Women's T20 World Cup history, West Indies struggled to keep up and finished on 148/5.
The required run rate had already climbed to 10 an over after just two overs, and after slipping to 69/4 in the 11th over, they never seriously threatened the target despite several fielding mistakes from England.Wyatt-Hodge, who opened her tournament with a century against Sri Lanka, raced to a 50 off just 32 balls.
She survived a missed run-out chance on 58 and a dropped catch on 59 before eventually being run out for 65.
Her innings included eight boundaries.“I'm happy it was my night tonight,” Wyatt-Hodge said. “That was the hottest I've played in here in England.
Felt like Dubai a couple of years ago (2024 T20 World Cup).
But I enjoyed it, we came out all guns blazing.”Heather Knight also made a valuable contribution, scoring 43 from 26 balls after being dropped on 14.
She too was run out.West Indies captain Hayley Matthews was unhappy after being given out on review for 14 in the fourth over.
UltraEdge showed a spike despite a visible gap between bat and ball, leading Matthews to question the decision.
However, she later said she respected the umpire's call.The chase lost momentum further when Deandra Dottin was caught in the deep for 19 and Shemaine Campbelle was bowled for 20.
West Indies then struggled to accelerate, although Chinelle Henry provided some late resistance with an unbeaten 51 off 30 balls after the result was effectively decided.England's fielding was far from perfect, dropping Henry on 10, 28 and 45.
In total, England put down six catches - their highest number of dropped chances in a T20 match in the last two years.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates.
Download the TOI app.