Women's World T20: England, Windies join India, Australia in Quarter Finals
England and West Indies have qualified from their Group-A league to join India and Australia in the semifinals of the ongoing International Cricket Council (ICC) Women World T20.
A double hat-trick from pacers Anya Shrubsole and Natalie Sciver helped England to all-out South Africa in their third fixture at Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in St Lucia.
Shrubsole picked up 3-wickets and gave away only 11 runs in 3.3 overs, while Sciver, who was adjourned player of the match, returned a fine 3-wickets off 4 overs and gave away only four runs.
Crediting Sciver for restricting South Africa, Shrubsole said, "She (Sciver) has been outstanding the last couple of games. It is something she has done in the past when I guess either myself or Katherine have been injured, and she always does a brilliant job," according to ICC.
"She has worked really hard in the period leading up to this. I think she made a little bit of a technical change, and the ball is coming out beautifully," Shrubsole added.
Chasing a cheap target of 86 runs set by South Africa, openers Danielle Wyatt (27) and Tammy Beaumont (24) cantered to victory with their 51-run partnership.
In the momentum, England lost three quick wickets but their pursuit of semifinals became a reality as skipper Heather Knight (14 not out) along with wicketkeeper batter Amy Jones (14 not out) finished off the match in just 14.1 overs with seven wickets to spare.
Meanwhile, in another match at the same venue, West Indies openers Hayley Matthews (62) and Deandra Dottin (49) put up a belligerent 94-run opening stand in just 9.4 overs. Their thrust was kept even after Matthews' dismissal as skipper Stafanie Taylor contributed 41 runs to set up a mammoth total of 187 for five.
In response, Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Atapattu was the only who was able to hit, however, Matthews capped off her at 44 runs. Eventually, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 104 runs in 17.4 overs, handing West Indies a massive 83-run win.
West Indies' Matthews, who was later declared player of the match, said, "I think in the first two games we weren't able to fire at the top the order. To be able to go out there today and be able to get going and get a start, what Deandra and I had was really good. If we keep getting starts like that, it will definitely make it easier on our lower order and, you know, help to ease the pressure on the team a bit."
Both the Carribean side and England will battle for the top seat in the Group-A encounter on November 19.
-ANI
