Unbeaten West Indies, England eye semi-final berth

Jun 24, 2026 Sports

After hectic double-headers and triple-headers, the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 only has one game in store for us on Wednesday, and it should be a mouthwatering contest. Hosts England are among the favourites to lift the title, and their performances so far have backed that tag. Their three wins so far have ranged from dominant to comfortable, and boast of a net run rate of 2.49. West Indies, meanwhile, beat the defending champions New Zealand and are also on three wins out of three. And they meet in the first game of this World Cup at Lord’s – the venue for the final – with both teams one win away from booking a semi-final berth.

Unbeaten West Indies, England eye semi-final berth

West Indies Women currently boasts an unblemished record in this year’s T20 World Cup. (Getty Images)

England have been mighty with the bat and are the only team to post two 200-plus totals in this World Cup, while West Indies have two bowlers among the top three wicket-takers in Aaliyah Alleyne and Hayley Matthews. Matthews was especially instrumental in restricting Sri Lanka to 98 in their previous fixture.

England will still be without their regular captain and star allrounder Nat Sciver-Brunt, with Charlie Dean standing in to lead in her absence. Sciver-Brunt’s replacement Sophia Dunkley hit a half-century, and Freya Kemp and Dani Gibson showed off their finishing chops as they romped to 200 for 5 in a 38-run win over Scotland in the last match, and England will likely go with the same team against West Indies.

Stafanie Taylor has played two unbeaten innings for West Indies thus far. (Getty Images)

Players to watch

For West Indies, it’s hard to look beyond their captain Hayley Matthews, who has seven wickets from three matches. She played two important innings – a 37-ball 48 to support Campbell in the chase against New Zealand and a run-a-ball 17 in the modest chase against Sri Lanka. However, against an explosive England side, she would need to improve her strike rate of 103.94 in this World Cup.

She is England’s strike bowler but Lauren Bell has just two wickets from three games and went wicketless for 35 runs against Scotland. But at Lord’s, where the pitch may have a bit more for fast bowlers, Bell could dictate proceedings in the powerplay with her ability to make the new ball talk.

Conditions

This will be the first game of this competition at Lord’s, which will host three more games including the final – where both teams would want a return here. The last game held at Lord’s was the first England-New Zealand men’s Test, which ended in four days on June 7. The conditions could be more conducive for swing and seam.

Possible XIs

England XI (probable): 1 Amy Jones (wk), 2 Danni Wyatt-Hodge, 3 Sophia Dunkley, 4 Alice Capsey, 5 Heather Knight, 6 Freya Kemp, 7 Dani Gibson, 8 Charlie Dean (capt), 9 Sophie Ecclestone, 10 Linsey Smith, 11 Lauren Bell

West Indies will also likely stay unchanged from the team that beat Sri Lanka.

West Indies XI (probable): 1 Hayley Matthews (capt), 2 Deandra Dottin, 3 Shemaine Campbell (wk), 4 Stafanie Taylor, 5 Jahzara Claxton, 6 Chinelle Henry, 7 Jannillea Glasgow, 8 Aaliyah Alleyne, 9 Afy Fletcher, 10 Karishma Ramharack, 11 Ashmini Munisar. (Cricinfo)

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England, West Indies, Women's T20 World Cup 2026

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