West Indies captain Hayley Matthews is still confident her team can reach the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 despite suffering their first defeat of the tournament.
The Caribbean side lost by 38 runs to hosts England at Lord’s on June 24. The result secured England’s place in the semi-finals, while West Indies now need to beat Ireland in their final group-stage match to make sure they also qualify for the knockout stage.
Even though the defeat was disappointing, Matthews believes her team is in a good position because their fate is still in their own hands. West Indies do not need to worry about other match results or complicated qualification scenarios. A victory against Ireland in Bristol on Saturday will be enough to send them into the semi-finals.
Speaking after the match, Matthews said the team would have happily accepted this situation before the tournament began. “It’s all in our hands and I think the fact that it is all in our hands puts us in a wonderful position,” Matthews said after the loss to England.
“I think coming into this (T20) World Cup, if you’d said to us we just have to beat Ireland in the last match and we’d have a semi-final spot, we’d have grabbed the opportunity with both hands. So, we’re in a really a really good place as a group.”
West Indies had enjoyed an excellent start to their World Cup campaign before meeting England. They had won all three of their previous matches, including impressive victories over defending champions New Zealand, Scotland and Sri Lanka. Their confidence was high heading into the clash at Lord’s, but England proved too strong on the day.
Batting first, England put up a challenging total of 186/7 from their 20 overs. The hosts batted aggressively throughout the innings and kept the scoreboard moving despite losing wickets at regular intervals.
In reply, West Indies struggled to keep up with the required run rate. Matthews, who has been one of the tournament’s standout players so far, was unable to make a big score and was dismissed for just 14 runs. Her early wicket made the chase even more difficult, but the team continued to fight.
One of the biggest positives for West Indies was the performance of Chinelle Henry. The powerful all-rounder played an attacking innings of 51 runs and gave her team some hope during the chase.
It was Henry’s first important innings of the tournament and a timely reminder of what she can offer with the bat. Matthews was pleased to see Henry finding form but admitted that several key players in the batting line-up are still waiting to produce their best performances.
“I think we’re still not quite firing with the bat,” Matthews noted. I still haven’t got runs, Deandra (Dottin) still hasn’t got her runs. Chinelle (Henry) looked really good today, which is a positive. But I certainly feel like we’re in a very, very strong place right now.”
The West Indies captain believes there is still a lot more to come from the batting group. Players such as Matthews and Deandra Dottin have the ability to change matches on their own, and if they start scoring heavily, West Indies could become even more dangerous.
Despite the defeat, Matthews remains confident that her side can challenge for a second Women’s T20 World Cup title if they continue playing good cricket and build momentum heading into the knockout rounds.
The captain wants her players to stay positive and focus on what they do best.
“I guess the message to the team is just going to be to keep believing, keep playing some really good cricket. I think against a team like Ireland, if we are at our best or near to our best, we should be coming out on the right side of the result.
“I’m not saying anything bad about Ireland. But yeah, I think we’re pretty confident. We obviously know that they’ve got some dangerous players, and in T20 cricket, it takes one or two players to take a game away from you.
“But at the same time, we’re just going to back our best brand of cricket and go into that match fearless, knowing that it’s all in our hands.”
West Indies now head into their final group match knowing exactly what is needed. A win over Ireland will secure a place in the semi-finals and keep alive their hopes of winning the Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time since their famous triumph in 2016.
With several star players yet to produce their best cricket and confidence still high within the squad, Matthews believes the team is well placed to make a strong push towards the title.
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