Deandra Dottin produced a brilliant all-round display as the West Indies clinched a nervy four-wicket victory over England in St Lucia on Sunday to finish top of Group A at the Women’s World Twenty20.
The hosts and reigning champions will face Group B runners-up Australia in the first semi-final on Thursday, with England to play India on Friday looking to repeat their World Cup final triumph over Harmanpreet Kaur’s side from last year.
England slipped to 50-6 after 10.5 overs batting first, before a 58-run partnership for the seventh wicket between Sophia Dunkley and Anya Shrubsole helped them towards a decent total. But Dottin, who finished with figures of 2-21, dismissed Dunkley before snaring Shrubsole with an excellent catch off the bowling of captain Stafanie Taylor.
Two early wickets put the pressure on the Windies in their chase, but Dottin’s 46 steadied the ship and Shemaine Campbelle struck 45. “The bowling has given me the most pleasure, but I’m enjoying the batting as well,” said the 27-year-old Dottin. “Having lost two quick wickets, I had to bring it home for the team and stay positive.”
England were woeful in the field, with Dunkley, wicket-keeper Amy Jones and substitute fielder Fran Wilson all dropping simple catches in the closing overs. But Kycia Knight strode out to the crease and struck her first ball for four to seal the win with three deliveries to spare, to the delight of a large and partisan crowd.
The second game of the day was less exciting, as South Africa beat Bangladesh by 30 runs despite their batting suffering from yet another collapse. The Windies topped Group A with eight points while England finished second with five. South Africa (four), Sri Lanka (three) and Bangladesh (zero) finished in that order.
Marizanne Kapp top scored for South Africa with 25, but four other batters failed to convert starts into big scores as two batting collapses kept the Proteas to 109 for nine in their twenty overs after being asked to bat. From being 48 for one in the Powerplay, and 60 for one soon after, they slid to 67 for four. Bangladesh captain Salma Khatun took three wickets.
Bangladesh could have escaped qualification for 2020 if they had beaten South Africa with a big enough margin to also pip Sri Lanka on net run-rate, but made no attempt to go down that path. Their Powerplay score was just 13 for one, and the first boundary came only in the 8th over. South Africa contained the Bangladesh batters without being very threatening, and the innings petered out to 79 for five.
Brief Scores
England: 115-8, 20 overs (Sophia Dunkley 35, Anya Shrubsole 29; Shakera Selman 2-15, Deandra Dottin 2-21) lost to Windies: 117-6 in 19.3 overs (Deandra Dottin 46, Shemaine Campbelle 45; Anya Shrubsole 3-10). Player of the Match: Deandra Dottin
South Africa: 109-9, 20 overs (Marizanne Kapp 25; Salma Khatun 3-20, Khadija Tul Kubra 2-18) bt Bangladesh: 79 for 5 in 20 overs (Rumana Ahmed 34 not out). Player of the Match: Marizanne Kapp
Semi-finals: On Thursday: Windies v Australia at Antigua; On Friday: England v India at Antigua
Deandra Dottin of West Indies plays a shot as England wicket-keeper Amy Jones looks on during the ICC Women’s World T20 match in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia on Sunday. (ICC)
