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 in the tournament, it was England who came out on top as they brushed West Indies aside with relative ease to secure a 38-run victory.

England made a boundary-laden start to the fixture when Amy Jones kickstarted proceedings with two boundaries in the opening over. But in the same over, Chinelle Henry also managed to strike to send Jones back to the pavilion early. While Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt-Hodge followed that up with a barrage of boundaries, West Indies struck again with the former getting trapped plumb in front. Wyatt-Hodge continued to make merry 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.

The opener at the other end got to her fifty off just 32 balls and turned on the heat further to set England up for a big total. It was a run out that eventually broke the flourishing partnership, much to West Indies' delight. That wicket helped the 2016 champions make more inroads at the death but the home side still managed to score 41 runs from the final four overs and ensured the innings finished on a high note. With a target of 187 in front of them, the West Indies openers made a stuttering start. Only 12 runs came from the first half of the Powerplay and that meant they had to play catch up in the second half.

Matthews appeared to make up for her poor start with a couple of boundaries but a highly controversial decision saw her furiously depart for 14. In an attempt to cut the ball, Matthews appeared to miss the ball completely with the replay showing a gap between bat and ball. However, a tiny spike on Ultra Edge meant she had to be given out. Deandra Dottin then looked to turn things around in the final over of the Powerplay by taking on Charlie Dean for 4.4.6 but was caught near the boundary in the same over to put the onus on the middle order to deliver.

Shemaine Campbell made a start but saw her stumps get rearranged by Sophie Ecclestone. Jannillea Glasgow endured a similar fate at the halfway point, making the contest's direction clear by then. With Jahzara Claxton enduring a torrid time out in the middle, batting on 10 off 25 at one point, there was simply no way back for West Indies who needed 93 runs from the final five overs. Henry managed to fetch a few boundaries at the death, including two sixes in the final over to help herself to a half-century but the result and England's spot in the final four 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 5 wickets