West Indies Women secured a vital three-wicket win over Bangladesh on Thursday in Lahore to keep their fading hopes of qualifying for the 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup alive.
Set a target of 228, the Caribbean side reached 228-7 in 46 overs, thanks to a composed, unbeaten 51 from Chinelle Henry and a Player of the Match performance by Aaliyah Alleyne, who not only took 4-39 but chipped in with 11 valuable runs near the end of the chase.
The victory was West Indies’ second of the qualifying tournament, having previously edged Ireland by six runs. However, earlier losses to Scotland and Pakistan mean their qualification prospects remain slim heading into the final round of matches.
Bangladesh had earlier posted 227-9, built around a 94-run partnership between Sharmin Akhter (67 off 79) and Fargana Hoque (42 off 78). The pair helped Bangladesh recover from the early loss of Sobhana Mostary to take the score from 16-1 to 134-2 before West Indies clawed back through disciplined spells from Afy Fletcher (2-43), Hayley Matthews (2-42), and Alleyne, whose four wickets included top-scorer Akhter and captain Nigar Sultana.
Alleyene took four wickets for the Windies Women
In response, the West Indies innings saw steady contributions throughout. Qiana Joseph set the tone with a brisk 31 at the top, while veteran Stafanie Taylor (36) and captain Hayley Matthews (33) stitched together a crucial 66-run fourth-wicket stand after the team slipped to 74-3.
Henry then took charge in the closing stages, anchoring the innings as wickets fell around her. She added 50 runs with Shabika Gajnabi (20) for the sixth wicket and another key 30-run stand with Alleyne to all but seal the win. Though Alleyne fell with just one run needed, Fletcher calmly knocked off the winning run in the 46th over, giving West Indies a much-needed victory with four overs to spare.
Despite the win, West Indies remain on shaky ground in the standings and will likely need to win their final group match convincingly — and hope other results go their way — to advance to the World Cup proper.
Still, the fighting spirit shown in Lahore, led by Henry and Alleyne, has kept the regional side’s dream alive — if only just.