While Scotland began the day with a historic win, Australia dominated South Africa in Manchester. In the last match of the day, West Indies stunned defending champions New Zealand.
Shemaine Campbelle played the knock of her life to power the West Indies to a seven-wicket win over defending champions New Zealand in their first match of the T20 World Cup at the Hampshire Bowl on Saturday.
Seventeen years since making her T20I debut, after over 150 matches, Campbelle finally found her place in the sun. With her team's hopes hanging in balance, the 33-year-old scored her first T20I half-century, finishing at an unbeaten 90 as West Indies overhauled New Zealand's 162/6 with a ball to spare.
With that, West Indies avenged the semi-final defeat at the 2024 T20 World Cup.
It is also the second-highest successful chase in Women's T20 World Cup, just one short of the highest ever recorded by England against Australia in 2009.
While West Indies rode their luck, New Zealand scuppered their chances by spilling about seven catches, letting go of three stumping opportunities and sloppy ground fielding.
After West Indies elected to field, Aaliyah Alleyne turned in a star performance, claiming 4/27 in her four overs. She not only gave West Indies the breakthrough by dismissing Georgia Plimmer, but followed it up with key scalps of Amelia Kerr and Isabella Gaze in her next over.
The four-wicket haul was her best in T20Is.
Gaze had given New Zealand the early impetus, with a brisk 39 off 29. However, every time the defending champions looked like settling in the contest, West Indies responded with wickets. Later on, Brooke Halliday (40) and Maddy Green (35 not out) made sure New Zealand posted a healthy 162 on the board.
A lot rested on captain Hayley Matthews' shoulders as West Indies walked out for the chase. She stamped her authority with back-to-back fours. However, a misunderstanding while running between the wickets saw Qiana Joseph run out early.
Matthews and Campbelle laid the foundation of the win with a 74-run partnership for the second wicket. The captain led the charge with 48 off 37 balls. Though Matthews and Campbelle found the boundaries, they kept the scoreboard ticking with some sensible cricket.
West Indies, and Campbelle, shifted gears only in the last six overs. The Guyanese player put on a display of power-hitting, and brought up her first T20I fifty with a big heave over long on. With the match going down to the wire, Campbelle kept the wits about her, punishing the loose balls and running hard between the wickets to take West Indies past the finish line.
Jess Kerr was the only New Zealand bowler among wickets on Saturday, as she claimed 2/17 in her four overs. But a lot of their good work with the ball was undone by some abject fielding.
Australia opened their T20 World Cup campaign with a dominant 65-run win over South Africa in Manchester on Saturday.
A solid batting effort saw them post 172/8 in their 20 overs. Their bowlers never really let South Africa get a grip in the game and dismissed the 2024 finalists for 107 in 16.4 overs.
Georgia Wareham stood out for her all-round effort. After a quickfire 32 with the bat, she claimed three wickets, and contributed in the field with a catch and a run out.
Put into bat, Australia bore the brunt of some inspired bowling by pacers Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail at the beginning. While Kapp packed off Georgia Voll in the opening over, Ismail struck with the wicket of Beth Mooney.
Phoebe Litchfield led the Australian fightback with a quickfire half-century. She struck nine fours and a six for 50 off just 24 balls.
South African bowlers tried to make life difficult for their rivals, taking wickets at regular intervals. Nonkululeko Mlaba was exceptional in her team's opening game, claiming 2/22 in her four overs. While Nadine De Klerk and Ayabonga Khaka also returned with two wickets each, they couldn't quite keep the run rate in check.
Australia's middle and lower order fought through and kept the runs ticking. Perry anchored the innings with two important partnerships -- 37-run third-wicket stand with Litchfield and a 58-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Georgia Wareham.
Wareham gave the team the much-needed impetus with 32 off 22 while Annabel Sutherland followed it up with 21 off 14.
South Africa, who had beaten Australia in the 2024 semifinals, needed some big innings and partnerships if they were going to complete the record chase. But they never really got off the ground.
Sophie Molineux drew first blood as she trapped Sune Luus leg before wicket in the opening over. With the Australian bowlers taking charge, South Africa just did not have enough firepower to burst through the gates.
Captain Laura Wolvaardt (44) stitched handy partnerships with Nadine De Klerk (25) and Kapp (12). But once Kapp was run out, South Africa came down like a house of cards. They lost their last seven wickets for just 25 runs, finishing at 107.
Australia's incredible bowling unit delivered on the day. While Wareham was the most successful with three wickets, including those of De Klerk and Chloe Tyron, Molineux and Alana King claimed two each.
