On Wednesday at Cardiff’s international cricket ground, Australia delivered a second consecutive defeat to West Indies Women in their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup warm-up fixtures, leaving the Caribbean side underprepared heading into their tournament opener. The six-wicket loss comes on the heels of a 26-run defeat to India just two days prior, setting an underwhelming foundation for West Indies’ first match against defending 2024 champions New Zealand this coming Saturday.
West Indies captain Hayley Matthews won the pre-match coin toss and opted to bat first, a decision that quickly backfired for her side. By the end of the second over, the Caribbean team was already 7/1 after all-rounder Qiana Joseph fell for five runs. Troubles compounded by the eighth over, when the score slipped to 52/3, with Aaliyah Alleyne (10 runs) and Matthews herself (15 runs) both back in the pavilion.
With batters falling consistently around her, veteran all-rounder Deandra Dottin offered West Indies’ only substantial resistance of the innings. The powerhouse stroked a characteristically fluent 48 runs off just 38 deliveries, punctuated by six crisp boundaries, but her run out in the 17th over left West Indies reeling at 112/6. No lower-order batters could step up to steady the innings, and the entire regional side was bowled out for just 131 runs. Seven of the eight Australian bowlers who took the ball claimed at least one wicket, with Ashleigh Gardner leading the attack with figures of 2/17, while Lucy Hamilton added 2/19 to the dominant bowling performance.
Chasing a modest total, Australia got off to a blistering start that immediately put West Indies on the back foot. Opener Beth Mooney put on a brutal display of power hitting, smashing 34 runs off only 18 deliveries, including three fours and a six before retiring out at the end of the sixth over. Fellow opening batter Georgia Voll picked up where Mooney left off, finishing with an unbeaten 77 runs off 48 balls, with 10 boundaries and two maximums. Australia cruised past the target in the 15th over, finishing on 132/4 to secure the comfortable win.
For a West Indies bowling attack that struggled to find consistency or pressure all day, Joseph stood out as the most economical bowler, claiming one wicket for just six runs across her two overs. Karishma Ramharack took 1/19 from two overs, while Matthews finished with 1/35 from her four-over allocation.
Australia enters the 2025 tournament as one of the clear pre-tournament favorites, holding a formidable historic record in the Women’s T20 World Cup: the side has claimed the world title six times across the nine editions of the event held to date, most recently winning the 2023 championship before New Zealand took the top spot in 2024. Heading into Wednesday’s warm-up, the two sides had faced off five times in T20 World Cup warm-up matches dating back to 2014, with Australia claiming three wins, West Indies securing one, and one abandoned fixture washed out by rain.