London, June 30 (IANS) West Indies captain Hayley Matthews admitted her side never produced their best cricket during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 but insisted there were enough positives to build on after Australia outclassed them by eight wickets in the first semi-final at The Oval on Tuesday.

Chasing just 126, Australia rode on an unbeaten 61 from Beth Mooney and 35 not out from Ashleigh Gardner to cruise home with 42 balls to spare, reaching their eighth Women’s T20 World Cup final. The defending champions earlier restricted West Indies to 125/7 with skipper Sophie Molineux, Ashleigh Gardner, and Georgia Wareham picking up two wickets each.

Reflecting on the defeat, Matthews felt it was a combination of an off day and an inconsistent tournament for the Caribbean side.

“Maybe a bit of both. We didn’t have our best game, nor did we play to our potential for the entire tournament. Our great game could have been far better than that. We couldn’t put an entire game throughout the tournament,” Matthews said.

West Indies were given an early scare even before the first ball was bowled when star all-rounder Deandra Dottin had to be escorted off the field shortly after the national anthems following a medical emergency. Matthews said the incident had a big emotional effect on the squad.

“I think it was a bit scary for some of us. She’s a massive player for us. To see her pass that like that after the anthem, it was scary. Just a medical emergency. Nice to see her get back and throw a few punches, which shows a lot about her character,” she said.

Matthews herself made a fluent 30 during a 47-run opening partnership, but West Indies collapsed from 47/0 to 83/6, leaving Dottin’s unbeaten 26 off 16 balls to help them post a competitive-looking total.

The skipper admitted Australia squeezed them from the outset and that the uncertainty surrounding Dottin’s availability also influenced their batting plans.

“I wanted to get off to a good start. Australia put us under pressure in the first six overs. We weren’t sure whether she (Dottin) was going to bat. So, we wanted to take it deep. It was hard for me to assess. We wanted to get the run rate up,” Matthews explained.

Despite the heavy defeat ending West Indies’ title hopes, Matthews believes the campaign showed the depth developing within the squad and expects the team to emerge stronger.

“As a group, we can still hold our heads high. Aaliyah Alleyne and Stafanie Taylor were good. Even Chinnele Henry, after getting out of the injury. When you speak of the West Indies team, you take only a few names. We didn’t have any super stand-up performances from anyone. Everyone had to chip in. To get to this stage, it was good. We have players who play different roles, and we will only get better,” she said.

–IANS

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