England stay unbeaten as West Indies progress despite Ireland loss

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Group B reached an exciting conclusion on Saturday as England maintained their unbeaten run at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 to knock New Zealand out of contention.

As a result, West Indies progressed to the final four despite losing to Ireland in their last group game.

Meanwhile, Pakistan ended their campaign with a 37-run win over Netherlands in a Group A clash.

England v New Zealand

Scorecard

New Zealand's title defence at the Women's T20 World Cup ended with a nine-wicket defeat to England at The Oval.

It was another dominant display by the hosts, who restricted the White Ferns to 163/6 and then chased down the target in 17.2 overs.

Danni Wyatt-Hodge led England's charge with an unbeaten 89, while Sophia Dunkley supported with 49 not out as the team cantered to 164/1.  Though they had already qualified for the semi-finals, England maintained the intensity to enter the knockouts unbeaten. 

For New Zealand, it was a disappointing end after they had clawed back after losing the first two matches to stay in semi-final contention with wins over Ireland and Scotland.

After electing to bat first, Amelia Kerr (42) and Isabella Gaze (28) laid the foundation with a 70-run opening stand.

Just when the White Ferns were looking to accelerate they lost three wickets in a heap. While Freya Kemp provided the breakthrough as she had Gaze hole out in the deep, Danielle Gibson clean bowled Melie and Izzy Sharp. Four balls, three wickets, zero runs as New Zealand slipped to 70/3.

The White Ferns answered fire with fire as Sophie Devine (30 off 14b) and Brooke Halliday added a fourth-wicket partnership of 54 in just 29 balls. One of the stalwarts of the game, Devine brought the fireworks with three big sixes and a four.

The momentum swung back England's way as New Zealand once again lost two wickets in a hurry. England's stand-in skipper broke the burgeoning partnership as she nailed a direct hit to dismiss Halliday. In the next over, Lauren Bell trapped Devine leg before wicket.

Suzie Bates then picked up the baton, using innovative strokes to break free against England. Her 37-run partnership, in 26 balls, with Maddy Green helped the defending champions post a competitive 163/6.

For England, Gibson claimed 2/30 but Bell was the pick of the bowlers with an economical 1/24 in four overs. In the final over, she mixed her pace and length well to concede only five runs.

In sharp contrast to New Zealand's wild ride with the bat, England were fluent and composed. Wyatt-Hodge and Amy Jones set the tone with a 36-run opening partnership in quick time. 

Nensi Patel provided the breakthrough as she dismissed Jones in the fourth over and the off-spinner was the only one to go under eight runs an over as Wyatt-Hodge and Dunkley took control of the chase.

They built a 128-run partnership, in 80 balls, to power through. While Wyatt-Hodge and Dunkley found the boundaries easily enough, they also never let the pressure up as they picked the gaps and ran hard between the wickets.

Having scored an unbeaten century in the tournament opener, Wyatt-Hodge delivered another big score to round off England's group phase. While she struck 15 fours and a six, Dunkley carved nine fours for an unbeaten 49 off 38 balls.

West Indies v Ireland

Scorecard

Twelve years, five World Cup campaigns, 22 matches. That is how long Ireland's wait for their first Women's T20 World Cup victory stretched.

They finally brought up the historic win on Saturday, defeating West Indies by six wickets in their final group game at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026.

Orla Prendergast set up victory with a half-century as Ireland chased down a target of 129 in 18.1 overs. It was a landmark day for Ireland even though they had already been eliminated from the semi-final race.

After Ireland elected to field, Aimee Maguire led a disciplined bowling show as she snapped Qiana Joseph in the very first over.

The power-packed West Indian batting line-up failed to catch momentum and were unable to hoist a single six in the innings. While Hayley Matthews battled out a tough opening passage of play with 22 off 25 balls, Chinelle Henry provided some resistance at the end with an unbeaten 27.

Along with Matthews, Deandra Dotting and Stafanie Taylor also got starts, but the Caribbean side lacked that one big innings or key partnerships to help them turn the tide.

The pitch at the Bristol County ground stayed low and had some uneven bounce. Ireland used the conditions to their advantage and took wickets at regular intervals to keep the pressure on the West Indies. 

All the five Irish bowlers were amongst wickets, but Maguire's 2/22 and 2/13 by Cara Murray stood out. Murray's tight spell kept the West Indies batters at bay and she also claimed the key wicket of Matthews.

With history within sight, Ireland came up with a matured and assured batting performance.

Though their positive start was marred by the wicket of captain Gaby Lewis, Ireland continued to press on. It was the 62-run partnership, in 53 balls, between Prendergast and Amy Hunter (28) that took the game away from the West Indies.

Prendergast continued her impressive form as she struck eight fours and two sixes. Her innings of 63 took Ireland within striking distance. 

But when Matthews had her hole out to Deandra Dottin in the deep, it revived memories of Ireland's failed run chase against New Zealand earlier in the tournament, when the Irish fell short by four runs.

Ireland, however, made sure there was no late drama as Rebecca Stokell and Louise Little held their nerve to knock off the required runs. Little wrapped up the landmark win for Ireland with a boundary off Aaliyah Alleyne.

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Pakistan v Netherlands

Scorecard

Pakistan ended their Women's T20 World Cup on a high, registering a 37-run win over Netherlands in Bristol on Saturday.

Fittingly, it was their talismanic skipper Fatima Sana who put the finishing touches. After Pakistan managed 126/6 in their 20 overs, Sana sealed victory with a triple wicket-maiden, ending Netherlands' pursuit at 89 in 18 overs.

While both the teams were already out of semi-final contention, they were jostling for their first win at this World Cup.

After Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first, Netherlands struck early with the key wicket of Muneeba Ali.

However, Ayesha Zafar and Gull Feroza gradually settled in and stitched a 79-run partnership for the second wicket.

Feroza held the Pakistan innings together, compiling a fine half‑century and remaining unbeaten on 62. Though Zafar supported with 32, Pakistan middle order faltered yet again and never got the acceleration they needed.

A combination of tight death bowling from the Netherlands and poor shot selection restricted Pakistan to 126/6.

In reply, Heather Siegers gave the Netherlands a brisk start, scoring 24 from 16 deliveries. However, once she was dismissed in the fourth over, it slowed the Dutch down.

Babette de Leede (30) attempted to anchor the chase, but Pakistan’s spinners applied consistent pressure, drying up the runs and forcing errors. 

The contest was ultimately decided by Sana, who dismissed De Leede, 
Silver Siegers, Caroline de Lange for zero runs in the 18th over to take her young team to their first win this edition.