Women's T20 World Cup: England hammer New Zealand to send West Indies into semi-final

England continued their unbeaten run in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, with a dominating nine-wicket win over New Zealand in Match 28 on Saturday, June 27 at Kennington Oval, London. After opting to bat first, New Zealand posted a decent score of 163/6 in their allotted 20 overs with captain Amelia Kerr (42 off 34) leading from the front, while Sophie Devine (30 off 14) also made a valuable contribution.

For England, Danielle Gibson emerged as the pick of the bowlers, taking two wickets, while Lauren Bell (1/24) and Freya Kemp (1/26, 2 overs) also chipped in with one wicket each. In reply, England made a complete mockery of the target, chasing it down comfortably in 17.2 overs as Danni Wyatt-Hodge continued her rich form, playing another whirlwind innings. She also had good support from Sophia Dunkley (49* off 38).

Meanwhile, following their loss, New Zealand missed out on a golden opportunity to qualify for the semi-finals and the defending champions got knocked out of the tournament. In their place, West Indies advanced ahead into the knockout stages alongside England from Group B, who also topped the group, winning all five of their fixtures.

Top run-scorer of the Match

Top wicket-taker of the Match

Player of the Match

Danni Wyatt Hodge was adjudged Player of the Match for the third time in the tournament, for playing another match-winning innings. She scored an unbeaten 89* (53) with the help of 15 fours and a six to help her team ace the chase. 

Turning Point

Danni Wyatt Hodge was given a reprieve on a duck after she gloved Bree Illing down the leg side to wicketkeeper Isabella Gaze, who failed to grab the chance as it ran towards the boundary. The chance ended up hurting New Zealand as Wyatt-Hodge got involved in a massive 128-run stand off 80 balls for the second wicket alongside Sophia Dunkley to take her team over the line. 

What did the captains say:

Winning Captain, Charlotte Dean (England women):

Brilliant. We wanted to top the group. To do it front of this crowd, it's special. She's (Danni Wyatt-Hodge) not sleeping well, actually, and still scoring absolute runs. She's been exceptional for us. The way she's really pushed her game on, and she still wants to get better, and I love that about Danni. She's an ultimate 360 player now, and yeah, she's been exceptional for us. I think everyone's stepping up at different times. Our batting order has really stepped up when they've needed to, with different people contributing. I think we know our roles as a bowling group as well and have started to get more comfortable with that. It has been great to have a lot of momentum, and that's what tournament cricket is about - winning the games in front of you. Hopefully we can do that again.

Losing Captain, Amelia Kerr (New Zealand women):

Yeah, I think, obviously that's probably the saddest part about it. Three legends of the game leaving our environment and women's cricket, and I guess the service they've given to this shirt and everything that they've done around the world. They will be missed, and we'll make sure we celebrate them tonight. Yeah, I've learned so much. Coming into the White Ferns as a young kid, those three were there, and mentored me and welcomed me. Along the journey I've been fortunate to play 10 years of my career with them, which probably back then they didn't think they were going to be able to play that long. So for me, I feel very grateful to have spent that long in a changing room with all three of them. Yeah, obviously Ireland gave us a chance to make the semis, and I guess it was in our hands today to give ourselves the best chance. There were moments with the bat where I thought we had a platform, and unfortunately lost a few wickets quickly. But even with 160-odd, if we bowl well, we can give ourselves a chance. Danny played beautifully, but also I think we probably offered up too much width with the ball.