Wyatt-Hodge and Knight fire England into the Women’s T20 World Cup semi-finals
England became the first team into the Women’s T20 World Cup semi-finals, beating West Indies by 38 runs at Lord’s behind a classy half-century from Danni Wyatt-Hodge.
Jun 25, 2026
England are the first side into the Women’s T20 World Cup semi-finals. A polished 186 for 7 at Lord’s, built around Danni Wyatt-Hodge’s fluent half-century, proved 38 runs too many for West Indies, who finished on 148 for 5 despite a defiant unbeaten fifty from Chinelle Henry.
The win, in a day-night game at the home of cricket, sealed Heather Knight’s side a top-two finish in their group with a match to spare. After a campaign that had quietly gathered momentum, England picked the biggest stage of the group phase to deliver their most rounded performance.
Wyatt-Hodge sets the tone
England’s innings was anchored by Wyatt-Hodge, who made 65 from 42 balls at the top of the order. She found the boundary early and kept the scoreboard ticking against an attack that struggled to settle, giving the middle order a platform to attack from.
Knight added the acceleration. The captain struck 43 off 26 deliveries, a knock built for the back end of the innings, and her partnership with Wyatt-Hodge took the game away from West Indies before the death overs even arrived. By the time England closed on 186 for 7, the target looked beyond a West Indies side that had relied heavily on its bowlers to stay in the contest.
Henry’s fight comes up short
West Indies never quite kept pace with the required rate. Wickets at regular intervals left them chasing the game rather than the total, and the spinners squeezed the middle overs to keep the asking rate climbing.
Henry was the exception. She finished unbeaten on 51, a counter-attacking innings that gave the West Indies fans something to cheer, but it arrived too late to threaten an upset. England’s bowlers had already done the damage through the middle, and 148 for 5 never came close to England’s total.
First into the last four
The result carries weight beyond two points. England are now guaranteed a semi-final berth, the first nation to confirm its place in the knockouts, and they did it with a game still to play in the group. That breathing room lets Knight manage her bowlers and rest niggles before a semi-final that, on this evidence, England will enter with genuine belief.
For West Indies, the equation gets harder. The defeat leaves them needing to win their final group game to keep qualification in their own hands, and a side that arrived at Lord’s unbeaten now has to regroup quickly with the margin for error gone.