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Hosts power past West Indies to reach T20 World Cup final four
George Sessions •  June 25th, 2026 10:20 am
A Danni Wyatt-Hodge half-century has led England past West Indies and into the T20 World Cup semis | Photo: AP
Danni Wyatt-Hodge is delighted to have powered England into the Women's T20 World Cup semi-finals with 65 runs in an emphatic victory over West Indies at Lord's, but acknowledged improvements are required.
England made it four from four in their home tournament after they posted 186/7 on Wednesday (Thursday NZ Time) with in-form Wyatt-Hodge able to hit eight fours in a fine 42-ball innings before she was left short by a quick call for a single by Heather Knight.
Knight made amends with 43 during a chaotic end to England's innings with two run-outs, but once they had removed the dangerous Hayley Matthews for 14 in contentious fashion, West Indies were unable to recover and were restricted to 148/5 to lose by 38 runs.
Hayley Matthews' controversial dismissal capped a disappointing day for West Indies | Photo: AP
A fourth consecutive World Cup victory for England ahead of Saturday's final group fixture with New Zealand has secured a last-four berth and top spot in Group B, which will mean no semi-final meeting with Group A leaders and six-time T20 champions Australia.
"It's T20, you have to come out be brave and show intent. Yeah, it was my night," Wyatt-Hodge said after they played in temperatures of 32 degrees in London.
"Yeah, that was the hottest I have ever played in England. It was very close to back in Dubai a couple of years ago, it was very dry heat, but I really enjoyed myself out there.
"I thought the girls batted really well to get that total. It is always a little bit tricky to bat here at Lord's, but I thought we came out all guns blazing and everyone contributed."
England were far from flawless with Wyatt-Hodge run-out by Knight, who was also run-out seven short of a half-century.
Chances were also spilled in the field by England after Alice Capsey had taken a superb catch on the boundary rope to dismiss Deandra Dottin off stand-in captain Charlie Dean.
West Indies captain Matthews was already back in the pavilion by this point after she was given out by TV umpire Nimali Perera on review.
Big appeals by England wicketkeeper Jones for a caught behind off Linsey Smith were initially ignored and while a spike was visible on UltraEdge, there was a gap between bat and ball. Perera eventually sided with the technology, much to Matthews' bemusement.
"Not everything goes your way when you get those occasions ... I'd certainly felt that I definitely did not hit it," Matthews said.
"At the end of the day, the umpire's decision has got to be final. Clear gap between bat and ball, but got to respect umpire's decision."
