England ended New Zealand’s reign as Women’s T20 World Cup champions with a nine-wicket win at The Oval on Saturday.The defending champions were relegated after losing three of their five group matches.Earlier, New Zealand received an unexpected boost as Ireland beat the West Indies by six wickets in Bristol, keeping the Kiwis’ hopes alive.Ireland’s win also ended a 21-match losing streak in five Women’s T20 World Cups that spanned 12 years.“A few of us are Irish now,” New Zealand veteran Sophie Devine said. “(Our) fate is in our hands.”However, New Zealand still needed to beat unbeaten England to reach the semifinals ahead of the West Indies.
Wyatt-Hodge will power England’s chase with ease
With New Zealand 163/6, England chased down the target with ease, reaching 164/1 with 16 balls to spare.Opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge led the way with an unbeaten 89 off 53 balls, smashing four fours and a six in front of 21,018 spectators – the largest ever for a Women’s T20 World Cup match.The remaining two semifinals will be decided on Sunday, with Australia, South Africa and India still in contention.
Wyatt-Hodge breaks sports record
Wyatt-Hodge continued his winning streak after scoring a century in England’s opening match. He now has seventy-one hundred in the tournament.With 282 runs, he is the highest scorer in the tournament. She also broke the Women’s T20 World Cup record for most runs in a single edition, surpassing Beth Mooney’s 259 runs set in 2020, with two more matches to play.The England opener survived the first two overs. He was bowled behind the stumps before opening his account and was gifted another save in the 13th over when a chance to stump was lost.His fifty came off just 33 balls. She shared a partnership of 128 runs from 80 balls with Sophia Dunkley, who was unbeaten on 49 from 38 balls with nine boundaries. Dunkley is England’s second highest run scorer in the tournament with 120 runs.
New Zealand are on the brink of collapse despite a strong start
New Zealand chose to bat first and got off to a strong start through a 70-run opening partnership between Isabella Gaze and Melie Kerr.But the innings lacked momentum as Gaze, Kerr and Izzy Sharp were dismissed in four deliveries. Brooke Halliday and Sophie Devine added 74 runs together before falling in one over.Maddy Green and Suzie Bates tried to finish strongly, but New Zealand’s attack did better than what was required against England’s strong side.
The end of the New Zealand era
The defeat also marked the end of the international careers of Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates and sprinter Lea Tahuhu.The trio signed after playing nearly 900 games for New Zealand.
