Danni Wyatt-Hodge's courageous half-century under difficult circumstances helped England defeat the West Indies by 38 runs, making them the first side to advance to the Women's T20 World Cup 2026 semi-finals.
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| Danni Wyatt-Hodge achieved her second score of fifty or higher in the competition |
Heather Knight's 43 off 26 deliveries helped Wyatt-Hodge post a 42-ball 65 on a sweltering evening at Lord's, where temperatures reached 34 degrees Celsius right before the toss.
Spinners Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, and Linsey Smith combined for four wickets as England's bowlers tied the West Indies down. Chinelle Henry and Jahzara Claxton of the West Indies persevered in a 63-run partnership for the fifth wicket, with Henry staying undefeated at 51.
Hayley Matthews, the captain of the West Indies and a crucial player, was given out caught behind for 14 on an England review earlier, which caused controversy since one camera angle appeared to indicate a discrepancy between the vision and UltraEdge. As a result, Matthews vigorously argued her position with the umpires both on and off the pitch. Her team is still in the running for the knockout stages even though her and her team's efforts were in vain.
The West Indies attack first
When she hit the match's fifth ball, Henry roared loudly. Amy Jones coaxed a drive that caught the edge and looped to Afy Fletcher at short third because it was a fuller one outside off-stump with a hint of away swing. However, Wyatt-Hodge settled in with a pull through midwicket and a top edge that beat Fletcher, and Henry gave up 17 runs off her subsequent over.
After Sophia Dunkley's reverse sweep for four, offspinner Ashmini Munisar entered the attack and reacted with a fuller ball that was too full for Dunkley's attempt to sweep, pinning her leg before the wicket. Wyatt-Hodge and Alice Capsey, however, outwitted the field despite the early wicket losses, leading England to their best powerplay of the tournament at 57 for 2.
Wyatt-Hodge does it once more
After enduring two lacklustre innings in between, Wyatt-Hodge backed up her century on opening night with another crucial performance, propelling her to the top of the tournament run-scoring standings. She used some classic and lofted drives to hammer the offside after punishing some short bowling early on. With a back-footed flip off the pads to cover, Wyatt-Hodge reached her fifty from 32 balls.
Capsey ended a 65-run partnership with Wyatt-Hodge for the third wicket after unfurling a beautiful reverse for four off Karishma Ramharack. Two deliveries later, Capsey advanced to a length ball and threw it to Henry at long-on. Both Wyatt-Hodge and Knight scored forty more runs, but Wyatt-Hodge lacked the legs in the sapping heat to reach the other end when they ran on Knight's cut straight to the cover fielder.
England won't have any late fireworks
When Matthews bowled Freya Kemp while she was trying to sweep on Saturday night at Headingley, the formidable partnership between Dani Gibson and Kemp would not be repeated. Knight survived a few near-misses before being driven out. On the penultimate ball of the innings, Gibson also fell cheaply, but the home team had already scored a lot.
The moment of Ashes for Matthews
Matthews tried to cut off Linsey Smith in the fourth over, but she was unfazed when England overturned a not-out judgement for caught behind. UltraEdge suggested a spike, although one angle on the replay revealed a gap between bat and ball, despite Matthews' insistence that she hadn't made contact with the ball. The West Indies captain spent a considerable amount of time arguing with the on-field umpires after TV umpire Nimali Perera declared Matthews out.
In the West Indies dugout, Matthews watched additional replays and spoke with the fourth umpire on the sidelines about his persistent disapproval of the call. When TV umpire Chris Gaffaney upheld Australia's Alex Carey's not-out call despite a distinct spike appearing several frames before the ball had passed the bat, it was similar to the Ashes Snicko controversy of the previous year. However, in this case, Matthews was out for 14 according to the scorecard.
The West Indies separated
Deandra Dottin helped herself to 15 runs off Dean's first four balls in the final over of the powerplay, including back-to-back fours and a powerful six over long-on. However, as Dottin attempted to clear long-on once more, Dean responded by tossing one up on middle and leg on the final ball. She spotted Capsey just inside the barrier after failing to fully connect.
After six overs, West Indies were 46 for 2, and England maintained control thanks to some economical bowling by Ecclestone and Dean's second wicket in as many balls when she had Jannillea Glasgow chopping on with the first ball of her next over.
When these teams last faced off at a T20 World Cup in 2024, England lost the game and the opportunity to advance to the knockout stage due to a string of fielding mistakes. Despite being a much better team, Claxton and Henry dug in, and the hosts wasted two opportunities in three balls.