Windies rock Daren Sammy stadium with thrilling win, set up Australia clash in semis

Deandra Dottin of WiIndies pulls the ball towards the boundary, asAmy Jones of England looks on during the ICC Women's World T20 2018 match between Windies and England at Darren Sammy Cricket Ground on November 18, 2018 in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia.
Deandra Dottin of WiIndies pulls the ball towards the boundary, asAmy Jones of England looks on during the ICC Women's World T20 2018 match between Windies and England at Darren Sammy Cricket Ground on November 18, 2018 in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia.
  • Dottin, Campbelle, see Windies home in tight chase, Shrubsole shines in vain

The last day of the Group stages of the ICC Women’s World T20 2018 threw up an engrossing first game at the Daren Sammy International Stadium, as the Windies beat England by four wickets in the last over in a thrilling chase. The home side enthralled the 6000-plus people with a humdinger of a win to top Group A and set up a clash with Australia in the semi-finals.

The crowd got their money’s worth, with Deandra Dottin hitting four sixes and Shemaine Campbelle striking 45, as a frenetic end saw a fine recovery from England undone.

Anya Shrubsole put England’s defense of their 115 for eight on the perfect path, taking a wicket off her first ball and fourth balls, bowling both Hayley Matthews and Stafanie Taylor with booming inswing. But a 68-run partnership between opener Deandra Dottin and Shemaine Campbelle steadied their ship, setting up a chaotic finish.

Dottin’s innings followed a dot-dot-boundary template, as she hogged the strike in search of the right ball to hit. From a run-a-ball 13 after five overs, she subsided to 28 off 38 in the tenth over, leaving the Windies requiring 68 off the last 10 overs.

Dottin judiciously chose to go after off-spin, while being cautious against the let-arm spin of Kirstie Gordon, allowing Gordon to bowl three overs for just six runs. Gordon eventually had the last laugh, as she dismissed Dottin for 46 (52b, 1x4, 4x6) with the Windies 45 runs short of their target, with 35 balls to get them.

Campbelle then took over, striking a six two fours and to bring the equation to 14 off 12 with six wickets in hand. She was dropped on 39 and 43, but finally dismissed for 45 (42b, 4x4, 1x6) in the last over, having done enough. The Windies got the five runs the over demanded, Shrubsole finishing with 3 for 10.

Earlier, Shakera Selman bowled her four overs on the trot for just fifteen runs, and picked up two early wickets to help keep England to their lowest Powerplay score in 2018, 32 for two. England then lost three wickets in eight balls around the half-way mark; reeling at 50 for six after 11 overs.

They found a rescuer in Sophia Dunkley, on batting debut for England. Dunkley combined with Anya Shrubsole to soak up the pressure and rebuild, the pair putting together 58 off 46 balls. Dunkley (35, 20b, 3x4, 1x6) did the bulk of the scoring, single handedly taking 14 runs off the 16th over and hitting England’s first six in the tournament in the process.

Shrubsole more than held her own weight, scoring 24 in the partnership, finishing with 29 (26b, 2x4, 1x6). The two were dismissed in the last two overs, swinging some momentum back for England, but those runs proved insufficient. England now play India in the semi-final on Thursday (22 November).

Scores in brief:

Windies defeated England by 4 wicket at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia.

England: 115-8, 20 overs (Sophia Dunkley 35, Anya Shrubsole 29; Shakera Selman 2-15, Deandra Dottin 2-21)
Windies: 117-6 in 19.3 overs (Deandra Dottin 46, Shemaine Campbelle 45; Anya Shrubsole 3-10)