Though the outcome at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup wasn’t what they wanted, West Indies head coach Shane Deitz praised his team’s commitment and resilience to push beyond circumstances and prove competitive throughout the tournament.
Deitz’s commendation came after his team fell just shy of contesting another final, as they lost their semi-final contest by eight runs short to New Zealand in Sharjah on Friday.
Despite being plagued with injuries throughout, as Stafanie Taylor fought through a recurring knee issue, all-rounder Deandra Dottin was restricted from bowling early due to concerns about a side strain, and Chinelle Henry took a hit to the face during the semi-final game, the Caribbean side showed grit and determination, much to their coach’s delight.
“It’s been a pretty emotional few days for us. After a huge win over England, emotions were high, and we had to regroup quickly. I think the girls managed that well. They are incredibly passionate about playing for the West Indies and give everything, both body and soul, every time they step onto the field. It’s hard not to be emotional after seeing that commitment,” Deitz said.
He singled out Taylor for her commitment to brave her injury in the semifinal.
“The medical team did a fantastic job managing her condition. Every day, she was battling pain, but her determination was remarkable. Today, she looked better than she had for weeks. It was a mind-over-matter for her, and even though she couldn’t get us over the line, she gave everything for the team. We all respect and thank her for that,” Deitz declared.
While they didn’t make the final, Deitz took heart from their overall showing as they topped Group B and knocked out England, one of the world’s most dominant teams, in the first round. This, after bouncing back from a crushing 10-wicket loss to South Africa in the tournament opener.
“Over the last 12 months, we’ve been working on a style of cricket that suits the West Indies. We’ve been developing a way to play with our flair and confidence, something that’s been a hallmark of West Indies cricket for a long time,” he said.
“We don’t want to rely on other teams making mistakes; we want to dominate on our terms. We’re still in the process of building, but we’ve made significant strides. By the time the next T20 World Cup comes around in 2026, we’ll be ready to take on the world again,” Deitz added.
The West Indies Women came agonizingly short of a second trip to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final after suffering an eight-run loss to New Zealand in their semi-final in Sharjah on Friday.
New Zealand first made 128-9 off their 20 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat first.
Openers Georgia Plimmer and Suzie Bates were the main run getters with 33 and 26, respectively, while Isabella Gaze made a crucial 20* off 14 balls at the backend of the innings.
Deandra Dottin produced an excellent spell of bowling with 4-22 from her four overs while Afy Fletcher continued her good form with the ball in the tournament with 2-23 from three overs.
Karishma Ramharack and Aaliyah Alleyne split the other two wickets.
The West Indies then came up just short of their target in the end, reaching 120-8 off their 20 overs.
Openers Qiana Joseph and captain Hayley Matthews put on 16 for the first wicket before Joseph went for 12 with two balls remaining in the third over.
The wickets of Shemaine Campbelle (3) and the returning Stafanie Taylor (13) followed soon after leaving the Windies 41-3 in the ninth over.
Not long after, all hope seemed lost as Matthews went for a hard-fought 15 off 21 balls in the 11th over before Aaliyah Alleyne’s wicket for four in the 14th over left the West Indies looking all but beaten at 63-5.
A fighting 33-run sixth wicket partnership between Deandra Dottin and Afy Fletcher made things interesting including 23-run 16th over that left the West Indies needing just 34 from the final 24 deliveries.
Dottin’s wicket off the third ball of the next over for a 22-ball 33 pretty much ended all hope for a West Indies victory.
After Chedean Nation came and went for a duck, Fletcher was joined by Zaida James and the pair tried their best to combat some smart bowling from the New Zealanders.
Eventually, the West Indies got to the last over needing 15 to win.
A boundary from James off the first ball produced some nerves for New Zealand but that was followed by a dot ball and then a wicket, putting an end to the West Indian charge.
Fletcher finished 17* while James made 14 from eight balls.
Eden Carson finished with 3-29 from her four overs while Captain Amelia Kerr took 2-14 from four overs.
New Zealand will now take on South Africa in Sunday’s final with both teams looking for their first ICC Women’s T20 World Cup title.
Full Scores:
New Zealand Women 128-9 off 20 overs (Georgia Plimmer 33, Suzie Bates 26, Isabella Gaze 20*, Deandra Dottin 4-22, Afy Fletcher 2-23)
West Indies Women 120-8 off 20 overs (Deandra Dottin 33, Afy Fletcher 17*, Eden Carson 3-29, Amelia Kerr 2-14)
Much like they did in 2016, when they got by New Zealand in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final on their way to claiming a maiden title, West Indies women will be hoping to replicate that magic.
With memories of that six-run triumph still fresh in their minds, the Caribbean side is eager to once again top the Kiwis in Sharjah on Friday to join South Africa in the showpiece event, scheduled for October 20.
Should the West Indies defeat New Zealand again, it would lay the platform for them to avenge their tournament-opening 10-wicket loss to South Africa. Since that battering, West Indies got by Scotland, Bangladesh and England on their way to the knockout stage, where they are now seeking to build on that momentum.
“I think we’re proud of what we’ve been able to achieve. No one kind of had us get to this stage, so I think we’re all pretty happy that we’ve made it here. The job’s just not finished yet and we got our eyes locked on the game tomorrow (Friday) and ready for New Zealand,” Captain Hayley Matthews said in a pre-game conference.
“Hopefully ready to play a really big game because we do want to win; we don't want to just come to this World Cup to say, ‘hey, we've made the semifinals and we're happy with that. We want to take it even further,” she added.
Experienced Jamaican batter Stafanie Taylor remains in doubt for West Indies, but Matthews’ side still possesses enough ability to pull a surprise, much like they did against England on last. In fact, with the likes of Zaida James and other rising talents currently in the squad, Matthews encouraged her peers to enjoy the moment as she recalled when she won her first World Cup title eight years ago at 18 years old.
“I think for me it was mostly just about staying calm but having fun, especially as a West Indian. I think we're always at our best when we're out there on the field, enjoying ourselves and being really vibrant in the field, and I'm just encouraging every one of the youngsters to go out there and enjoy themselves. Yeah, it's the World Cup semi-final and it's a huge game, but we're still playing the same game that we learned in the backyards of our homes and out on the streets in the Caribbean. So just enjoy it,” Matthews shared.
Despite facing tough competition, the West Indies have fought their way into the final four with a combination of gritty performances and standout individual displays, including the stellar all-round efforts of Matthews herself, along with Taylor, Qiana Joseph and Deandra Dottin, in particular.
“I think we all had the belief that we could still get the job done and the character shown within the team for us to be able to come back out there and fight. It's just about having a really good game and every single one of the players went out there and we're able to execute as we pull together as a team really well,” Matthews noted.
That said, the talented Barbadian all-rounder expressed optimism about the prospects that could come from her team winning another global T20 title.
“I really hope it helps our domestic setup. We've obviously seen the WCPL come about, which I think has made a massive difference for our girls, getting to play against some of the best cricketers in the world and playing a high-quality tournament like that.
“But for me, it's got to start right up from our individual territories, putting things in place for the girls to have proper facilities to train at and a proper structure to the point where the girls don't have to be in camp in order to get proper training. So I'd love to see if we can go out there, do really well, and hopefully we can see something like that happening for us,” Matthews explained.
But before they can get there, they will have to get by a dangerous New Zealand team.
West Indies’ spinners denied Bangladesh a defendable total before they chased down 104 with 7.1 overs to spare for an eight-wicket win at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.
Karishma Ramharack restricted Bangladesh each time they looked to kick on, taking four for 17 as they set the Windies 104 to win.
An injured Stafanie Taylor batted valiantly to take West Indies to the verge of winning before Deandra Dottin sealed it with two huge sixes.
Scores: Bangladesh 103/8 in 20 overs (Nigar Sultana 39, Dilara Akter 19; Karishma Ramharack 4/17, Afy Fletcher 2/25); West Indies 104/2 in 12.5 overs (Hayley Matthews 34, Stafanie Taylor 27; Marufa Akter 1/20, Nahida Akter 1/22)
Bangladesh were put into bat and started nervously with Dilara Akter unsettled by two deliveries from Chinelle Henry before crunching her for the first four of the match to show attacking intent. Shathi Rani immediately followed up with a four of her own off the first ball from Hayley Matthews, but the promising partnership ended at just 18 runs after Shathi was stumped by Shemaine Campbelle off the bowling of Ramharack.
Two overs later, Ramharack’s return to the attack again brought a wicket as Dilara departed for 19 with Bangladesh ending the powerplay on 33 for two. By the ninth over, Bangladesh were facing the choice between stick or twist and captain Nigar Sultana Joty made the decision up against Afy Fletcher.
Two runs off the first ball was followed by back-to-back fours before Deandra Dottin failed to get her fingers fully under a diving catch with Nigar on 13. The skipper made the Windies pay with a final boundary to take 14 off the over, and at the halfway stage Bangladesh were on target for their highest score at a T20 World Cup at 58 for two.
Campbelle was consistently in the game and almost had a second stumping but her take to dismiss Nigar was judged to have been in front of the stumps. The resulting no ball was smashed for four to add insult to injury before Ramharack got a third wicket in her third over as Sobhana Mostary was out for 16 having moved to 96 runs for the tournament – the joint third-best at this World Cup.
Bangladesh were rocked as Fletcher took two in two balls to reduce them to 75 for five with the same happening in the final over as Nigar departed for 39 to Rahmarack, as the Tigers reached 103 for eight.
Bangladesh would have been buoyed by the complete spin dominance among West Indies’ wicket takers however, taking wickets proved an issue for Bangladesh as Matthews and opening partner Taylor compiled 48 runs for no loss in the powerplay.
Taylor was showing clear discomfort having injured herself with some heroic fielding early in Bangladesh’s innings and they were then struck by their own injury worry as Nigar required treatment on her knee before she could continue.
After that stoppage, the breakthrough finally came through Marufa Akter who clean-bowled Matthews for 34 from 22. A second wicket could have come eight balls later, but Sobhana could not hold onto a shot from Taylor who survived on 23.
Taylor added four runs to her score before she retired hurt and Dottin came out to bat with Windies needing 31 to win with 60 balls remaining.
Dottin sensed the chance to get the victory wrapped up quickly and took it with two sixes in three balls to set up an exciting clash with England on Tuesday.
After an impressive six-wicket win over Scotland, West Indies women will seek to build on that momentum when they take on Bangladesh in a crucial encounter that could define their campaign at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
The Caribbean side will enter Thursday’s contest knowing that another win would keep their semi-final hopes alive, as they currently sit in third position on two points, two behind leaders South Africa and England on four points each.
The first ball is 9:00am Jamaica time.
West Indies’ victory over Scotland was a much-needed confidence boost for the team, especially after a crushing 10-wicket loss to South Africa in their opening match. The win not only lifted their spirits but also boosted their net run rate, a key factor in determining the semi-final spots should multiple teams finish level on points.
Assistant coach Ryan Austin emphasized the Hayley Matthews-led team’s readiness to handle what promises to be a tricky challenge, as Bangladesh bowlers, particularly their spinners, have proven to be formidable opponents.
“The team is pretty prepared. We obviously know that Bangladesh is basically a spin-based unit, but with our philosophies, we are more focused on what we can control. Having said that, we still have that element of power within our batting that could counter the spin as well,” Austin said in a pre-game press conference.
“If you look at the wicket, they are playing pretty slow at the moment. South Africa today (Wednesday) actually had a good total on the wicket, and if you watch how they batted, they actually used their feet a lot to the spin. So we are looking to obviously go into the game with that sort of temperament mindset with respect to their spin bowling attack as well. Sharjah has almost kind of a two-paced kind of wicket because during the day it's very low and slow, but in the evenings it kind of changes and comes alive,” he added.
Austin exuded confidence in his team’s batting prowess, with the likes of Matthews, Stafanie Taylor, Deandra Dottin, and Shemaine Campbelle expected to play pivotal roles, especially with the group being poised for a tight finish.
Though those proverbial big guns are yet to really fire, Austin believes their true potential should come to the fore in Thursday’s game, as well as the decisive fixture against England. West Indies currently have a positive net run rate of 1.154, only bettered by leaders South Africa, who have 1.527.
“If you look at how our group is set up, net run-rate is really going to be a big factor later down, especially, if we win both games against Bangladesh and England. So one of the things that we really have to look at is how we go about executing, especially in this game against Bangladesh. So our game plan is to at least probably both first and then try to get to our target as fast as possible,” Austin reasoned.