The West Indies Women suffered a major blow to their hopes of qualifying for the ICC Women’s World Cup after falling to a comprehensive 65-run defeat against Pakistan in their third match of the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier on Monday.
After a stuttering campaign that began with an 11-run loss to Scotland and was briefly revived by a narrow six-run win over Ireland, this latest result leaves the regional side’s qualification ambitions hanging by a thread.
Batting first at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan Women posted 191 all out, a modest but competitive total built on a patient 54 from Sidra Amin, with support from Muneeba Ali (33) and Sidra Nawaz (23). The West Indies bowlers worked hard to keep the scoring rate down, with Hayley Matthews (2-30), Afy Fletcher (2-39), and Karishma Ramharack (2-55) among the wickets. Young spinner Ashmini Munisar continued to show promise, finishing with 1-29 from her 10 overs.
However, any hopes the West Indies had of chasing down the target quickly crumbled in a disastrous start to their innings. Captain Hayley Matthews was trapped lbw by Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana on the very first ball of the innings, setting the tone for what would become a shambolic chase.
Despite brief resistance from the middle order—Aaliyah Alleyne (22), Shabika Gajnabi (21) and Stafanie Taylor (17)—the Caribbean side was bowled out for just 126 in 39.2 overs. Fatima Sana led the way for Pakistan with the ball, claiming 3-16, while Rameen Shamim (2-26) and Nashra Sandhu (2-31) kept the pressure on throughout.
Run outs once again proved costly for the West Indies, with Zaida James, Shemaine Campbelle, and others falling to lapses in judgment. Their batting never recovered from the early setbacks, and by the halfway mark of their innings, they had lost seven wickets for fewer than 100 runs.
The result leaves the West Indies in a precarious position with just one win from three matches and a net run rate that may come back to haunt them in a tight qualification race.
For Pakistan, the victory was a crucial boost to their own qualification hopes, while for the West Indies, the path to the World Cup has grown considerably more difficult.