Who Has the Power
New Zealand’s defense of the Women’s Twenty20 World Cup crown ended at The Oval on Saturday when England beat them by nine wickets, a result that sent the holders out after they lost three of their five group games. The match was played before 21,018 spectators, a tournament record for a group match, and England reached 164-1 with 16 balls to spare after New Zealand had made 163-6.
England’s chase was driven by Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who finished unbeaten on 89 and now leads the event with 282 runs. She also broke the single World Cup runs record of 259 set by Australia’s Beth Mooney in 2020, with potentially two more games still to play. Sophia Dunkley, standing in for injured captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, was 49 not out off 38 balls as England’s batting order made the target look routine.
Who Gets Crushed
New Zealand had entered the match needing to topple unbeaten England to head off the West Indies for the second semifinal berth in their group. Instead, they were pushed out after a campaign that included three defeats in five group games. Their innings began with a 70-run opening stand between Isabella Gaze and Melie Kerr, but they were ousted along with Izzy Sharp in a four-ball span. Brooke Halliday and Sophie Devine added 74 together, then departed in the same over, and Maddy Green and Suzie Bates tried to force a late finish that still left the total looking under par.
The defeat also closed the international careers of Devine, Bates and bowler Lea Tahuhu, who combined for nearly 900 appearances for New Zealand. England gave them a guard of honour off the field, a small ritual after the larger machinery of tournament elimination had already done its work.
What They Call a Lifeline
New Zealand’s semifinal hopes had briefly been kept alive just hours earlier when Ireland defeated the West Indies by six wickets in Bristol. That result gave New Zealand a last-ditch lifeline, but it was not enough against England’s batting power.
Ireland’s win ended a 0-21 losing streak across five tournaments going back 12 years. The women limited the West Indies to 128-7, then chased it down for 129-4 with 11 balls remaining. Orla Prendergast led the chase with a 44-ball 63, and Rebecca Stokell and Louise Little finished it off, with Little hitting the winning boundary over mid-on. Prendergast said, “(Winning) just means so much,” adding, “We have had the belief throughout but it had not come together just yet. Just so much relief to have that win and so much happiness.”
The West Indies struggled on a sticky pitch, especially against Irish bowlers Cara Murray and Aimee Maguire. Captain Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin made slow scores of 22 and 21, while Chinelle Henry added a quickfire unbeaten 27 at the end. Irish misfields gave the West Indies at least three boundaries, a reminder that even a breakthrough can be messy and uneven.
The Rest of the Bracket
Pakistan beat the Netherlands by 37 runs in Bristol in another group match shaped by the gap between teams with more established tournament footing and a debut side trying to force its way in. The Dutch targeted the match for a win and did well to restrict Pakistan to 126-6. Only opener Gull Feroza prevented a much lower score, and after being dropped on 10 she carried her bat to 63 not out off 52 balls, her first T20 World Cup fifty. She shared a 79-run stand with Ayesha Zafar, who scored 32.
The Netherlands were then dismissed for 89 in 18 overs. Iris Zwilling, Heather Siegers and Hannah Landheer led the Dutch bowling, but Pakistan’s attack was stronger. Nashra Sandhu, Tuba Hassan and Zafar applied the pressure after the powerplay, and Zafar finished with a T20 career-best 3-13. With the result secure, Pakistan captain Fatima Sana took three wickets in the 18th and last over, all bowled, including Dutch top-scorer and captain Babette de Leede on 30.
The other two semifinalists will be decided on Sunday from Australia, South Africa and India, keeping the tournament’s hierarchy intact as the group stage sorts winners, losers and the teams left to watch from below.