Rampaging England book semi-final spot

An emphatic performance with both bat and ball helped England become the first team in Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 to book their spot in the semifinals. As two unbeaten sides in the tournament met, it was England who came out on top as they swatted West Indies aside with consummate ease to secure a 38-run victory.

England made an ebullient start to the fixture when Amy Jones collected two boundaries in the opening over. But in the same over, Chinelle Henry removed Jones to spoil the party. While Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt-Hodge counterpunched with a barrage of boundaries, West Indies struck again with the former getting caught in front of the stumps. Wyatt-Hodge, however, continued to make merry to ensure England remained on top. Even after the dismissal of Alice Capsey, England were unperturbed as Heather Knight fetched a boundary first ball. The opener at the other end claimed her fifty off just 32 balls and stepped on the accelerator to set England up for a big total. It was a run out that eventually broke the flourishing partnership, much to West Indies’ delight. That wicket helped the 2016 champions deal further blows at the death but the home side still managed to pinch 41 runs from the final four overs and ensured the innings finished on a decent note. With a target of 187 in front of them, the West Indies openers stumbled early. Only 12 runs came from the first half of the Powerplay and that meant they had to play catch up thereafter. Matthews appeared to be making up for her shabby start with a couple of boundaries but a controversial decision saw her furiously depart the scene for 14. In an attempt to cut the ball, Matthews appeared to have missed the ball completely with the replay showing daylight between bat and ball. However, a tiny spike on Ultra Edge meant she had to be ruled out. Deandra Dottin then looked to turn things around in the final over of the Powerplay by attacking Charlie Dean. Albeit she was caught near the boundary in the same over to put the onus on the middle order.

Shemaine Campbell saw her stumps get rearranged by Sophie Ecclestone. Jannillea Glasgow endured a similar fate at the halfway point, tilting the scales in England’s favour. With Jahzara Claxton enduring a torrid time in the middle, batting on 10 off 25 at one point, there was simply no escape route left for West Indies who needed 93 runs from the final five overs. Henry managed to fetch a few boundaries at the death, including two sixes in the final over to lead herself to a half-century but the result and England’s spot in the final four was never in doubt.

Brief scores: England 186/7 in 20 overs (Danni Wyatt-Hodge 65, Heather Knight 43; Ashmini Munisar 2-42) beat West Indies 148/5 in 20 overs (Chinelle Henry 51*; Charlie Dean 2-31) by 5 wickets