West Indies are hoping everything falls into place when they take on Australia in the first semi-final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup at The Oval, London, on Tuesday, June 30, 2026. West Indies captain Hayley Matthews has said her team will go into the big semi-final with a fearless mindset and strong belief in themselves.
The match at The Oval is a knockout game, with the winner booking a place in the final at Lord’s on Sunday, July 5, 2026. Both teams know there is no second chance, making it one of the biggest matches of the tournament.
Australia have been the best team so far, winning all five of their group-stage matches. West Indies reached the semi-finals after beating Sri Lanka, Scotland and New Zealand. Although they lost to England and Ireland during the group stage, they still earned enough points to qualify for the last four.
Matthews said the West Indies are happy to go into the match as underdogs because it allows them to play with freedom and without pressure. She believes that mindset can help her team perform at their best against a strong Australian side. “We’re really excited as a group,” she told the media.
“We have nothing to lose, and that puts us in a position where we can be quite fearless going out there. You can’t take your foot off the gas at any point in time, I think, especially when you’re bowling. They seem to come hard from ball one and have a mantra where they just want to keep going. I certainly feel as though that keeps you in play a lot when it comes to having the opportunity to possibly take wickets.”
Matthews also said beating Australia will need a complete team effort. She explained that one player alone cannot win such a big match and that several players must make important contributions.
“Coming up against a team like (Australia), who we know has a bunch of great players and superstars, we’re going to have to have somebody stand out and do something special but also have a lot of different people from the team contribute. We have a lot of match winners.”
The West Indies skipper also admitted that she and experienced all-rounder Deandra Dottin have not scored as many runs as they would have liked during the tournament. She believes there is still room for improvement and hopes both players can make a big impact in the semi-final.
“We haven’t had the likes of myself or Deandra Dottin in the runs really — and that leaves a lot of room for improvement for us as a team. So hopefully we can see some of us stepping up a bit more and taking it to the Aussies.”
Matthews knows that matches against Australia are always difficult, but she is confident that the West Indies have enough talented players to challenge them if everyone performs well.
“We’re going to need big performances from big players. To beat a team like Australia, you still need more than one player, and we’re going to have to have our best players really stepping up to the plate tomorrow.”
The West Indies now face one of their toughest tests of the tournament against an unbeaten Australian side. However, Matthews believes that by staying fearless, backing each other and making important contributions as a team, the West Indies can give themselves a real chance of reaching the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final.
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