West Indies Women stun defending champions New Zealand in T20 World Cup thriller

A perfect end to a blockbuster Saturday - Well and truly, this was the first nail-biter of this World Cup. Quick recap of how the day unfolded. It began with Scotland Women registering their maiden T20 World Cup win, getting the better of Ireland Women. That was followed by Australia Women putting on a one-sided show to absolutely decimate the Proteas at the Old Trafford. And in the third and final game, West Indies handed defending champions New Zealand a stinging defeat to set their campaign alight in this edition. West Indies Women now take a trip to Leeds, Headingly where they will go up against Scotland Women, on Thursday, 18th June. New Zealand Women, on the other hand, will stay in Southampton to face Sri Lanka Women on Tuesday, 16th June.

The victorious captain of West Indies Women - Hayley Matthews says the bowlers did a pretty good job pegging New Zealand back at regular intervals, and felt it was a good wicket to bat on. She admits they fell a bit behind the rate, but says having wickets in hand and a set batter was crucial. She heaps praise on Campbelle, calling her innings fantastic and noting how emotional she gets given how much heart and fight she plays with, adding that she stuck with it despite struggling at one stage. On doing it without Taylor and Henry, she says it means a lot, since people tend to associate West Indies with just a handful of names, so seeing someone like Aaliyah Alleyne step up with the ball gives the team a lot of confidence. She adds that once those players are back, the side's potential is limitless. On her own fitness, she says she's fine, just a bit of cramp. When asked about Taylor and Henry, she reveals that they're being monitored day by day and weren't too far off, so there's hope they could be back for the next match. On Campbelle, she says she kept telling her they needed to up the run rate, and even though it wasn't quite working, the team trusted her fully, knowing the longer she batted, the easier things would get. She adds that Campbelle has a lot of self-belief and kept reassuring her that things would come good eventually. On being asked what this win means for their qualification chances, she says it's really exciting, and the vibes are high, but stresses this is a World Cup, and they can't afford to lose focus. With Scotland up next, she says they can't take anyone lightly and need to stay sharp, enjoying the celebration without getting complacent.

The captain of New Zealand Women - Amelia Kerr says there were ebbs and flows throughout, with West Indies pulling them back with wickets at key moments. On the total, she says she felt 160 gave them a good chance of defending it. On the dropped catches, she calls it a tough day for that to happen, especially in a World Cup, adding that the bowlers were creating chances but too many of them went down. On being asked if conditions played a part, she says they were good, with a bit of sun around, but stresses that wasn't a factor in the dropped catches, and there are no excuses to be made there. On positives to take away, she says the team stayed in the fight despite the drops and the lapses on the field, and singles out Campbelle's innings as a brilliant one, particularly her ability to turn ones into twos, noting that West Indies outran them in the field. On the conversation after the game, she says it's about acknowledging what went right, pointing to Maddy's finish with the bat and the bowling of Jess and Mair, while also looking honestly at where things went wrong tonight so the team can improve.

Kiwis did not fly, literally - New Zealand built a solid platform with a 49-run opening stand, and the early loss of three quick wickets did little to deter Devine and Halliday, who kept hunting boundaries. Devine's dismissal in the 13th over triggered a rare lull, with the next 15 balls failing to produce a single boundary, before Green provided the perfect finishing touch to push the total past 160. Aaliyah Alleyne stood out for West Indies, picking up crucial wickets and finishing with her best T20 figures. The Caribbean side used as many as eight bowlers to not allow the batters to settle in and kept chipping away throughout, ensuring no New Zealand batter went on to a truly match-defining knock, even as the innings saw contributions across the board.

Campbelle gets the job done - West Indies got off to the worst possible start, losing Qiana Joseph to a needless run out with just 12 on the board. Matthews survived two drops, first on 9 off Sharp and then on 21 off Green, and despite struggling with a hamstring pull midway through her innings, she kept fighting. Her recovery stand of 74 runs with Campbelle left New Zealand clueless. Matthews finally ran out of luck and fell in the 12th over, giving New Zealand a sliver of an opening. But Campbelle's counterpunch has slammed that door shut, swinging things firmly back in West Indies' favor. She produced a knock for the ages and ensured that she got the job done to coast her side safely.

Self-inflicted wounds - A game to forget for the defending champions, who looked anything but like the title holders tonight. Six or seven dropped chances, a couple of missed stumpings, and countless fumbles in the field summed up the night. Amelia Kerr will have a tough job pulling her team back on its feet. And to think West Indies walked into this game without two of their biggest hitters, Stafanie Taylor and Chinelle Henry. Didn't matter much in the end, with New Zealand doing their best to hand them the game on a platter through their fielding. It wasn't all down to poor bowling either, the White Ferns created plenty of chances throughout their defence, and had even a couple of those stuck, this could have been a very different story.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH - An emotional Shemaine Campbelle deservedly receives the award for her historic, match-winning knock of 90 (62)*. On her emotions after the knock, Campbelle says she kept telling herself she wanted to do it for her team, and adds that it feels great to have come through. When asked about what worked for her in this game, she says she simply backed her skills, knowing her calibre, and had told herself that if she could bat straight through the first 20 minutes, she could get the job done for the team. On her partnership with Matthews, she calls her a special person, someone who kept talking to her and backing her to play to her strengths. About what she said, looking up after hitting the winning runs, she says that she loves Jesus and wants to thank him for everything he's been doing for her and the team. On what this means for the team, she points out that with Stafanie and Henry unavailable, this was a great effort from the group and a big moment for them.

Women in Maroon outshine the White Ferns - A special, special moment for West Indies women's cricket. They have pulled off a stunning chase to crush New Zealand, and in doing so, completed the second-highest successful run chase in Women's T20 World Cup history. Tears streaming down Shemaine Campbelle's face, and every single one of them is earned. The jubilation is just beginning in the West Indies camp, and Campbelle is right at the heart of it. These two teams were meeting for the first time since their semifinal clash at the 2024 World Cup, and two years on, the women from the Caribbean have come out on top. Also, they have beaten the Kiwis for the first time after September 2022 in this format.

1

Overs18.5

Score158 - 3

Rosemary Mair to Jahzara Claxton, It is all happening as these two batters out in the middle are running almost for anything and everything. From around the wicket, this is a yorker just outside off, Claxton seems to have gotten a faint edge as she tries to play at it. The ball travels behind but Gaze doesn't collect it cleanly behind the stumps and the batters sneak a bye. She picks it up and has a shy at the stumps at the batting end but misses, and a direct hit would have had Campbelle by a mile. The ball rolls away to long on, and Campbelle wants another but is sent back. The throw comes in towards the keeper and Gaze fumbles again, giving Campbelle just enough time to dive full length and get home. Absolute chaos in the middle, but just a single taken after all the drama.

W

Overs15.6

Score126 - 3

Jess Kerr to Deandra Dottin, OUT! TAKEN SPECTACULARLY! It really needed a moment of brilliance in the field from the Kiwis after so many dropped chances, and they have just got that through Green, who plucks a stunner. Full on the stumps from Jess. Dottin clears her front leg to send it straight down the ground. It looked to have enough on it to clear long on, but Green had other ideas. She times her jump to perfection right on the edge of the ropes and holds on. Balances herself well to complete the catch and Dottin has to go. West Indies Women are 126/3, needing 37 runs from 24 balls.