Xplorich
England ended New Zealand’s reign as Women’s T20 World Cup champions with a commanding nine-wicket win at The Oval on Saturday.The defending champions bowed out after losing three of their five group-stage matches.Earlier in the day, New Zealand had received an unexpected boost when Ireland defeated the West Indies by six wickets in Bristol, keeping the Kiwis’ semifinal hopes alive.Ireland’s victory also ended a 21-match losing streak across five Women’s T20 World Cups spanning 12 years.“A few of us are now half-Irish,” New Zealand veteran Sophie Devine quipped. “(Our) fate is in our hands.”However, New Zealand still needed to beat an unbeaten England side to reach the semifinals ahead of the West Indies.
Wyatt-Hodge powers England to easy chase
After New Zealand posted 163/6, England chased down the target with ease, reaching 164/1 with 16 balls to spare.Opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge led the charge with an unbeaten 89 off 53 balls, smashing 15 fours and one six in front of 21,018 spectators – the highest attendance ever for a Women’s T20 World Cup group-stage match.The remaining two semifinal spots will be decided on Sunday, with Australia, South Africa and India still in contention.
Wyatt-Hodge breaks tournament record
Wyatt-Hodge continued her outstanding tournament after scoring a century in England’s opening match. She now has two fifties and one hundred in the competition.With 282 runs, she is comfortably the tournament’s highest run-scorer. She also broke the Women’s T20 World Cup record for most runs in a single edition, going past Beth Mooney’s 259 runs set in 2020, with potentially two more matches left to play.The England opener survived two early chances. She was dropped behind the stumps before opening her account and was also given another lifeline on 13 when a stumping chance was missed.Her fifty came off just 33 balls. She shared a match-winning 128-run partnership from 80 balls with Sophia Dunkley, who remained unbeaten on 49 from 38 balls with nine boundaries. Dunkley is England’s second-highest run-scorer in the tournament with 120 runs.
New Zealand fall short despite solid start
New Zealand opted to bat first and got off to a strong start through a 70-run opening partnership between Isabella Gaze and Melie Kerr.But the innings lost momentum when Gaze, Kerr and Izzy Sharp were dismissed within the space of four deliveries. Brooke Halliday and Sophie Devine added 74 runs before both fell in the same over.Maddy Green and Suzie Bates tried to finish strongly, but New Zealand’s total proved well below what was needed against England’s powerful batting lineup.
End of an era for New Zealand
The defeat also marked the end of the international careers of Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates and fast bowler Lea Tahuhu.The trio signed off after making nearly 900 international appearances combined for New Zealand.
