West Indies captain Hayley Matthews praised Shemaine Campbelle after her match-winning performance helped West Indies, without some key players, beat New Zealand in a close ICC Women’s T20 World Cup match in Southampton.
Even without key players like Chinelle Henry and Stafanie Taylor, Campbelle stayed calm in a tight finish and won the match with one ball left. She played a special innings, scoring an unbeaten 90 off 62 balls. She controlled the chase under pressure and guided her team to a famous win.
Captain Hayley Matthews said Campbelle’s belief in herself, and calm mindset played a big role in the win. “(Matthews) said to me, ‘keep believing in yourself and keep playing to your strengths,’” Campbelle said after the match.
“I just wanted to go out there and bat, I said to myself ‘I’m going to do this for my team’ and I did it. For me, I just had to back my skills, I know I’m a calibre of player that can go out and change the situation, so I just had to go out and do that.”
Matthews said it was very important to have a settled batter at the crease because the team was slightly behind the required run rate at one stage. “When we went into bat, we were probably a bit behind the run rate, versus where we wanted to be, but obviously the wickets in hand were super vital, super important.”
“So having a set batter at the crease was crucial and then for Shemaine to play the innings that she did was fantastic. She’s obviously very emotional, as she should be, she’s someone that plays with a lot of heart, and a lot of fight and I think at one point throughout that innings she was struggling to get the ball hit, but I think she just stuck with it and fought with it and ended up with the score that she did, which was pretty amazing to see.”
She also said the full team effort gave them confidence going forward, especially with good support from Aaliyah Alleyne and Afy Fletcher. “When people look at a West Indies women’s team, they see sometimes just a few names and a few players, so to be able to come out here as a group, have players like Aaliyah Alleyne step up like she did with the ball, Afy Fletcher obviously, but just a full contribution from the team definitely means a lot.
“I think it’ll give us a lot of confidence going back into the rest of the games knowing that when we do get (Henry and Taylor) back within this squad, it just adds to what we can do, and if we can beat teams like this without the two of them, I think our potential is limitless.”
The match was a close contest from start to finish. New Zealand posted 162/6 from their 20 overs, with Brooke Halliday scoring 40, Izzy Gaze making 39 and Maddy Green remaining unbeaten on 35. Aaliyah Alleyne was the best of the West Indies bowlers with figures of 4/27.
Chasing 163, West Indies got a match-winning innings from Campbelle, while Matthews added an important 48. The pair helped keep the chase on track before Campbelle guided her side home at 163/3 in 19.5 overs, sealing a famous win against the reigning champions.
West Indies Women will next face Scotland Women on June 18, 2026 (Thursday) in Leeds. New Zealand Women will take on Sri Lanka Women on June 16, 2026 (Tuesday) in Southampton.
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