The 2024 Women’s Twenty20 World Cup delivered a dramatic day of group-stage cricket at London’s iconic Oval and Bristol’s County Ground on Saturday, as defending champion New Zealand saw their title defense end in a nine-wicket defeat to host England, while Ireland pulled off two historic upsets to end a 12-year winning drought.
Heading into the final round of group matches, New Zealand’s path to the semifinal was already a long shot: the White Ferns had dropped three of their previous five matches, and only stayed in contention when Ireland defeated the West Indies by six wickets earlier the same day. That result set up a do-or-die clash between New Zealand and England, with the winner claiming the group’s second semifinal spot behind the already-qualified hosts.
New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat first, getting off to a promising start with a 70-run opening partnership between Isabella Gaze and Melie Kerr. But a sudden mid-innings collapse turned the tide: Gaze, Kerr and Izzy Sharp were all dismissed in the space of just four deliveries. A 74-run stand between Brooke Halliday and Sophie Devine steadied the innings, only for both batters to be out in the same over just a few overs later. Late hitting from Maddy Green and Suzie Bates pushed New Zealand to a final total of 163 for six, a score that ultimately proved too small to defend.
England’s chase got a lucky break early, when Danni Wyatt-Hodge was dropped behind the stumps before she had scored, then missed a stumping opportunity when she was on 13. She made New Zealand pay dearly for those mistakes, bludgeoning an unbeaten 89 off just 53 balls, decorated with 15 fours and one six. Wyatt-Hodge shared an unbroken 128-run opening partnership with stand-in Sophia Dunkley, who contributed 49 not out off 38 balls, filling in for injured England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt. England reached the target of 164 for the loss of just one wicket with 16 full overs balls to spare, in front of a crowd of 21,018 spectators — a new tournament record for attendance at a group-stage match.
With the win, Wyatt-Hodge also cemented her place in T20 World Cup history: she now sits atop the tournament’s run-scoring rankings with 282 runs, breaking the previous record of 259 runs set by Australia’s Beth Mooney at the 2020 edition, with potentially two more matches still to play. Speaking after the match, Wyatt-Hodge paid tribute to the Oval pitch and her batting partner, saying: “I knew it was a beauty of a pitch, and I loved batting out there with Dunks.”
For New Zealand, the defeat marked the end of an era: star veterans Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates, and bowler Lea Tahuhu, who have accumulated a combined 900 international appearances for the White Ferns, played their final matches in a New Zealand uniform. England honored their careers with a traditional guard of honour as they walked off the field for the final time.
Ireland’s victory over the West Indies earlier in the day was equally historic, ending a 12-year, 21-match losing streak across five T20 World Cup tournaments for the Irish women. It also marked a landmark 24 hours for Irish cricket, coming just one day after the Irish men’s team secured their first ever T20 win over India in Belfast.
Batting first, the West Indies struggled to find momentum on a slow, tricky pitch in Bristol, finishing their 20 overs at 128 for seven. Irish spinners Cara Murray and Aimee Maguire kept the West Indies batters pinned down, with only captain Hayley Matthews (22), Deandra Dottin (21), and a late quickfire 27 not out from Chinelle Henry reaching double figures. Three dropped catches by Irish fielders did gift the West Indies three unnecessary boundaries, but the total remained within reach for the Irish side.
Orla Prendergast led Ireland’s chase, anchoring the innings with an aggressive 63 off 44 balls that included her second fifty of the tournament. She survived an early lbw dismissal after a successful review, and shared a 62-run partnership with opener Amy Hunter before being caught in the 16th over, just 21 runs short of the target. Lower-order batters Rebecca Stokell and Louise Little finished the job, with Little hitting the winning boundary to seal a six-wicket win with 11 balls remaining. A visibly relieved Prendergast said after the match: “We have had the belief throughout but it had not come together just yet. Just so much relief to have that win and so much happiness.”
In the final match of the day in Bristol, Pakistan picked up their first win of the tournament, beating debutant Netherlands by 37 runs in a clash between two previously winless sides. The Dutch had high hopes for their first ever World Cup win, and restricted Pakistan to 126 for six after a strong bowling performance, led by Iris Zwilling, Heather Siegers and Hannah Landheer. Only opener Gull Feroza prevented an even lower total: dropped on 10, she made the most of her second chance to carry her bat through the innings, scoring an unbeaten 52-ball 63 — her first T20 World Cup half-century — and shared a 79-run stand with Ayesha Zafar (32).
Pakistan’s bowlers responded with a dominant performance, dismissing the Netherlands for just 89 runs in 18 overs. Zafar starred with the ball, taking a career-best three wickets for just 13 runs, before captain Fatima Sana wrapped up the win by taking three wickets in the final over, including the dismissal of Dutch top-scorer and captain Babette de Leede (30).
The remaining two semifinal spots will be decided on Sunday, when Australia, South Africa and India face off to claim their places in the knockout stage of the tournament.