Earlier in the day, the West Indies lost to Ireland, but England’s victory ensured they slipped through to the next stage thanks to a better net run rate. In the first match on Saturday (27/06), Ireland won the toss and elected to field first. 

The West Indies women seemed out of sorts, and nobody could tell how the innings were going. Only WI captain Hayley Matthews (22 off 25), Stafanie Taylor (16 off 26), Deandra Dottin (21 off 28), and Chinelle Henry (27 not out off 21) managed to get double figures.  

Ireland’s first win

A superb bowling performance by Ireland, on the other hand, restricted the Caribbean team to only 128/7.

Ireland then produced a dream batting performance, led by Orla Prendergast, who hit a spectacular 63 off 44 balls.  With support from opener Amy Hunter (28 off 32) and Rebecca Stokell (16 off 15 not out), Ireland sealed the deal with eleven balls to spare. It was Ireland’s first win at a Women’s T20 World Cup, having lost all of their 21 matches in five editions of the tournament. 

Ireland winning their first ever T20 World Cup match. Photo: Facebook/ICC T20 World Cup 

And in the second match of the day, New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first. The White Ferns’ top order made a decent start with captain Melie Kerr hitting 42 off 34 balls, ably supported by Isabella Gaze (28 off 27) and Sophie Devine (30 off 14). 

New Zealand posted a reasonable total of 163/6 in their 20 overs, but it proved much too low for a side intent on remaining unbeaten.

England’s star batter Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who is also the tournament’s leading run-scorer, once again took control, hitting a blistering 89 not out off 53 balls. An unbroken stand of 128 with Sophia Dunkley, who scored 49 not out, allowed England to reach their target of 164 with 16 balls to spare.

OFM Sport/Ilse Smalberger dg