In a high-stakes Group Two top-of-the-table clash at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup on Wednesday, West Indies Women fell to a 35-run defeat against England, leaving their automatic semifinal dreams on hold heading into the final group stage match against Ireland this Saturday.
West Indies captain Hayley Matthews opened up about the result in a post-match press interaction, acknowledging that her side’s batting unit has yet to hit its peak performance at the tournament. “We’re still not quite firing with the bat,” Matthews admitted, noting that both she and star batter Deandra Dottin have yet to register significant scores at the event. She did point to a bright spot, however, highlighting that fellow batter Chinelle Henry turned in a promising performance against England, a win that moves the European side one step closer to securing a semifinal spot.
Despite the setback, the West Indies skipper emphasized that her team still controls its own path to the knockout round, a position she says the squad is grateful to hold. “It’s all in our hands, and that puts us in a wonderful position. Coming into this World Cup, if you’d said we’d only need to beat Ireland in our final group game to lock in a semifinal spot, we’d have grabbed that opportunity with both hands,” Matthews said. She added that the team’s internal message remains focused on confidence and consistency: “We’re in a very strong place right now. The message to the group is just to keep believing, and keep playing the quality cricket we’ve shown so far.”
Looking ahead to the must-win clash with Ireland, Matthews expressed quiet confidence in her side’s prospects, while giving full respect to their upcoming opponent. “Against a team like Ireland, if we play at our best or even near our best, we should come away with the result we need. I’m not underestimating them by any means, but we’re going in feeling pretty confident,” she said.
Matthews also broke down the key turning points that swung the result in England’s favor, acknowledging that her own missed catch off England captain Heather Knight proved to be a pivotal moment. “With the ball, England was able to keep finding boundaries consistently, and full credit to them – they played excellent cricket. That’s the nature of modern T20, after all. But I think we let ourselves down a little in the field, too. My missed catch on Heather Knight made a massive difference to the game’s momentum,” she admitted.
The captain also addressed her own controversial dismissal earlier in the West Indies innings, which came after a third umpire review upheld an on-field caught-behind decision. Matthews explained that while she respects the official ruling, she did not make contact with the ball. “When I cut at the delivery, I heard a noise that I thought was my bat handle, so I told the on-field umpires right away what I’d heard. But I also knew I was far from making contact, and I made that clear,” she said. “The third umpire has to work with the technology available, and she saw a spike on the snickometer, even though I think you could see a clear gap between bat and ball. At the end of the day, you have to respect the decision that’s given.”
The result leaves Group Two finely poised heading into the final round of group matches, with West Indies knowing a single win against Ireland will book their place in the tournament’s semifinal stage.