Clinical England book semifinal spot

A clinical performance with both bat and ball helped England become the first team in the ongoing Women's T20 World Cup to book their spot in the semifinals. In a battle between two unbeaten sides, England came out on top, brushing West Indies aside with relative ease to secure a 38-run victory.

England made a boundary-laden start when Amy Jones kicked off with two boundaries in the opening over. However, Chinelle Henry struck to send Jones back early. Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt-Hodge followed with a barrage of boundaries, but West Indies struck again with Dunkley trapped plumb in front. Wyatt-Hodge continued to ensure England remained on top. Even after Alice Capsey's dismissal, England were unperturbed as Heather Knight got off the mark with a boundary first ball.

Wyatt-Hodge reached her fifty off 32 balls and turned on the heat to set England up for a big total. A run out eventually broke the flourishing partnership. That wicket helped the 2016 champions make more inroads at the death, but England still managed 41 runs from the final four overs to finish on a high note. With a target of 187, the West Indies openers made a stuttering start, with only 12 runs from the first half of the Powerplay.

Hayley Matthews appeared to make up for her poor start with a couple of boundaries, but a highly controversial decision saw her depart for 14. Replays showed a gap between bat and ball, but a tiny spike on Ultra Edge meant she was given out. Deandra Dottin then looked to turn things around by taking on Charlie Dean for 4, 4, 6 in the final over of the Powerplay, but was caught near the boundary to put the onus on the middle order.

Shemaine Campbell made a start but saw her stumps rearranged by Sophie Ecclestone. Jannillea Glasgow endured a similar fate at the halfway point. With Jahzara Claxton batting on 10 off 25 at one point, there was no way back for West Indies, who needed 93 runs from the final five overs. Henry managed a few boundaries at the death, including two sixes in the final over to help herself to a half-century, but the result was never in doubt.

Brief scores: England 186/7 in 20 overs (Danni Wyatt-Hodge 65, Heather Knight 43; Ashmini Munisar 2-42) beat West Indies 148/5 in 20 overs (Chinelle Henry 51*; Charlie Dean 2-31) by 38 runs.