Women's T20 World Cup 2026, ENG-W vs NZ-W 28th Match, Group 2 Match Preview

Who’s playing whom?

The final triple-header day of the T20 World Cup begins with Netherlands taking on Pakistan at 10.30am local time (9.30am GMT) in Bristol. With both sides already out of semi-final contention and still searching for their first win of the tournament, this match offers one final opportunity to end their campaigns on a positive note. These two teams have met just once in the format, in the final of a Quadrangular series in Sri Lanka in 2011, which Pakistan won by 12 runs.

West Indies then face Ireland in Bristol at 2.30pm local time (1.30pm GMT) in a match with semi-final implications. A West Indies win will secure qualification for them, while a loss would mean they need to wait for England to beat New Zealand. On the other hand, Ireland – despite being winless at the tournament – will take confidence from their historic first T20I win over West Indies during the tri-series earlier this month.

In the tournament’s final Group 2 fixture, hosts England face defending champions New Zealand at The Oval. While England have qualified by winning four in four so far, New Zealand’s semi-final hopes are no longer entirely in their own hands. Should Ireland beat West Indies, a win over England would be enough to send them through. That however will be no easy task as England have dominated this rivalry, winning 34 of 43 T20Is against New Zealand, while New Zealand have beaten them only twice in 13 meetings since the start of 2024.

Team news

Pakistan brought back right-arm seamer Diana Baig and offspinner Rameen Shamim for Tuba Hassan and Tasmia Rubab against Australia and are likely to retain the same XI.

Netherlands opener Heather Siegers missed the South Africa match due to illness with Sanya Khurana replacing her. It remains to be seen if she’s available for this fixture.

Pakistan (probable): 1 Gull Feroza, 2 Muneeba Ali, 3 Ayesha Zafar, 4 Iram Javed, 5 Saira Jabeen, 6 Aliya Riaz, 7 Fatima Sana (capt), 8 Rameen Shamim, 9 Diana Baig, 10 Nashra Sandhu, 11 Sadia Iqbal

Netherlands (probable): 1 Sanya Khurana, 2 Phoebe Molkenboer, 3 Babette de Leede (capt, wk), 4 Sterre Kalis, 5 Robine Rijke, 6 Frederique Overdijk, 7 Iris Zwilling, 8 Myrthe van den Raad, 9 Hannah Landheer 10 Caroline de Lange, 11 Silver Siegers

Stafanie Taylor walked off the field during the match against England with a respiratory illness, and it’s unclear whether she is fit to play.

West Indies (probable): 1 Hayley Matthews (capt), 2 Deandra Dottin, 3 Shemaine Campbell (wk), 4 Stafanie Taylor, 5 Jahzara Claxton, 6 Chinelle Henry, 7 Jannillea Glasgow, 8 Aaliyah Alleyne, 9 Afy Fletcher, 10 Karishma Ramharack, 11 Ashmini Munisar

Ireland (probable): 1 Amy Hunter, 2 Gaby Lewis, 3 Orla Prendergast,4 Rebecca Stokell, 5 Louise Little, 6 Leah Paul, 7 Alice Tector, 8 Arlene Kelly, 9 Aimee Maguire, 10 Lara McBride, 11 Cara Murray

England will again be without Nat Sciver-Brunt, with the ECB confirming that she “needs a little more time for rehabilitation before being available for selection.”

For New Zealand, Sophie Devine was back in the XI against Scotland after an illness, while Lea Tahuhu came in for Rosemary Mair. Captain Melie Kerr and Izzy Gaze opened in Georgia Plimmer’s absence.

England (probable): 1 Amy Jones (wk), 2 Danni Wyatt-Hodge, 3 Sophia Dunkley, 4 Alice Capsey, 5 Heather Knight, 6 Freya Kemp, 7 Dani Gibson, 8 Charlie Dean (capt), 9 Sophie Ecclestone, 10 Linsey Smith, 11 Lauren Bell

New Zealand (probable): 1 Melie Kerr (capt), Izzy Gaze (wk), 3 Izzy Sharp, 4 Sophie Devine 5 Brooke Halliday, 6 Maddy Green, 7 Suzie Bates, 8 Jess Kerr, 9 Nensi Patel, 10 Lea Tahuhu, 11 Bree Illing

Scenarios

If England and Ireland win

England will finish on top, while Ireland need to win by at least 72 runs – or chase down a target of 121 in about 10.5 overs – for West Indies’ NRR to slip below that of Sri Lanka. Else, West Indies will take second place.

If New Zealand and West Indies win

The sum of the margins of the results – West Indies’ win and England’s defeat – needs to be around 183 runs for West Indies to overtake England and top the group. Otherwise England 1, West Indies 2.

If England and West Indies win

England 1, West Indies 2.

If New Zealand and Ireland win

England 1, New Zealand 2.

Players to watch

Apart from captain Fatima Sana, left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal has been Pakistan’s only other standout performer. After her two wickets against India, she bowled a tidy spell of 2 for 26 against South Africa and followed it up with economical spells against Bangladesh and Australia. She also has an economy rate of 7.43 in the tournament, the best among Pakistan bowlers.

Hayley Matthews has starred with the ball, picking up eight wickets in four matches at an economy rate of 6.06. Her batting, however, is yet to reach the same heights, with 93 runs in the tournament. West Indies will hope their captain can deliver with the bat as well in a must-win encounter, and with the semi-finals in sight.

New Zealand’s Izzy Sharp has impressed since making her T20I debut last year. She played a key role in rescuing the innings alongside Brooke Halliday after New Zealand slumped to 48 for 4 against Ireland, before following it up with a composed 62 off 43 balls against Scotland from No. 3. With the opening pair struggling for consistency, Sharp’s contributions have become increasingly important.

Pitch and conditions

Three out of the four games in Bristol have been won by the chasing team, with South Africa’s successful defense against Scotland the lone exception. South Africa put up a total of 208 in that match, while Scotland too in turn got a good start. The weather is expected to be clear, with a maximum temperature of 29 degrees Celcius.

The Oval hosts its first match of the tournament. Conditions are expected to be very hot during the day before cooling off by the evening when England and New Zealand take the field.

Quotes

“Overall, if you put us in this position at the start of the tournament, we would have taken it with both hands. We’ve got the chance to win game and get to the semi-final – you can’t ask for more than that. The journey has been good. We’ve played some cricket but we still have areas we need to improve. If we can play the perfect game, we have a good chance and hopefully we can progress.”
West Indies coach Shane Deitz

“We are a very good team and we did really work hard for the last five months. We did well in patches but we couldn’t execute the plan as a whole. Batting is the main concern. We got starts but we could not capitalise. It was mindset mostly. Execution depends on mindset. The focus has always been the same. The mood is relaxed.”
Pakistan bowling coach Umaid Asif

Sruthi Ravindranath is a sub-editor at Cricinfo

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