Eden Carson bagged 3/29, while Amelie Kerr showed all of her class with 2/14, including the wicket of the hugely dangerous Deandra Dottin, who had set up a nail-biting finish under the lights in Sharjah. A solid start with the ball saw New Zealand take early control of the second innings, with Eden Carson in the thick of the action.
Eden Carson, 23, imagined being a reel sensation for things more serious than just a sheepish grin. But when she woke up on Monday, her Instagram blew up with “tons of stories” that she had been tagged in for being tongue-tied and grinning away when asked of New Zealand’s semi-final entry at the T20 World Cup and now she has emerged as an unlikely hero in the semis vs West Indies which had Deandra Dottin’s all round brilliance carved over it.
Pitch and Toss
Pitch report : Temperatures slightly lower than it was at the start of the tournament. 73 meters down the ground, 59 and 62 to the side. Same pitch used as the first day of the tournament. Highest score on that day was 119. But because it’s had a lot of time in the last few days, there’s a nice green cover which says the wicket has been rested enough reckons Lydia Greenway and Anjum Chopra
Toss : New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine won the toss and chose to bat with no changes in the playing XI. West Indies skipper Hayley Mathews bowling first made one change bringing in Stefanie Taylor for Chedean Nation.
Deandra Dottin’s 4 wickets restricts NZ to 128 for 9 in 20 overs
New Zealand captain Sophie Devine won the toss and decided to bat first against West Indies at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, with a place in the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup at stake.
Hayley Matthews said she was happy with the outcome at the toss, preferring to bowl first in any case, and her side made a steady start in the powerplay, keeping things tight for the first five overs through Chinelle Henry and Zaida James. New Zealand’s openers made it through the powerplay unscathed, taking nine runs off Matthews’ first over to reach 32/0 after six.
Suzie Bates (26 from 28) was the first wicket to fall, cleaned up by Karishma Ramharack to bring Melie Kerr to the crease. And the score had reached 54/1 at the midway point of the innings, but just as it looked like New Zealand were about to launch off their platform, two wickets fell in quick succession.

Kerr was the first to go, lobbing a catch straight at Ramharack off Dottin for 7 (11), with Georgia Plimmer following soon after, stumped looking to dispatch Afy Fletcher to end a promising knock of 33 (31). There was a concerning moment in the field for Chinelle Henry, who attempted to take a catch in the deep and was struck in the face by the ball. The fielder was helped to the dugout after receiving treatment.
Brooke Halliday and Sophie Devine pushed the Kiwis up towards a decent total, running hard between the wickets before both falling in quick succession – Halliday bowled by Dottin for 18 (9) and Devine caught by Ramharack off Fletcher for 12 (12). And Maddy Green wasn’t able to add much to the score, caught behind for 3 (4).

Wickets tumbled at the back end of the innings, with Rosemary Mair (2) going with four overs remaining, and both Lea Tahuhu (6) and Eden Carson (0) dismissed in the final over. But a lively cameo from Isabella Gaze boosted the score, as she finished on 20* from 14 deliveries, carrying the White Ferns to 128/9 and setting up a fascinating second-inning scenario in Sharjah.
Matthews was happy to bowl first, which was evident in the way they started with the ball. In the first six overs, bowled equally by spin and pace, West Indies kept New Zealand quiet, leaking just 32 runs.
Fast bowler Chinelle Henry bowled three of her four overs inside the powerplay, hitting the hard lengths and extracting movement in the air and off the surface to not let Bates and Georgia Plimmer get going. Two of New Zealand’s three fours in this phase were freebies – a full toss off Zaida James and an overpitched delivery from Henry. Plimmer struggled to find her timing early on while Bates tried to move across and come down the track to find quick runs but to little effect.
It didn’t matter that Dottin was bowling only for the second time in this T20 World Cup. She put her decade-long experience to use on a pitch that was not too slow or tough to bat on. She bowled mostly full and straight and mixed it cleverly with slower deliveries which was enough to trouble New Zealand. Dottin struck on her second ball to remove Kerr for a 11-ball 7 after New Zealand’s sedate start. But Brooke Halliday and Devine’s quick starts brought them; the duo adding 27 off the next 15 balls. At that stage New Zealand looked good for a 150 score.
But in Dottin’s second over, the 15th, swung the momentum of the game towards West Indies. There was a short break in play after Halliday was hit on her left foot by a throw from deep midwicket. And that was enough for Dottin to recalibrate. She fired in a yorker the next ball, Halliday missed jamming it down and saw her off stump pegged back.
She fell for a nine-ball 18. In the following over, Afy Fletcher dismissed Devine for a run-a-ball 12 and New Zealand, at 98 for 5, needed Maddy Green and Isabella Gaze to step up. But Dottin denied that opportunity as she sent back Green and then trapped Rosemary Mair lbw with the help of DRS. At 104 for 7, New Zealand had lost the plot.
Even though she could not complete the five-for, Deandra Dottin became the first player to take three four-plus wicket hauls at the Women’s T20 World Cup.
New Zealand’s Eden Carson’s 3-fer overcomes Dottin’s all-round brilliance to make first T20 World Cup final since 2010
A solid start with the ball saw New Zealand take early control of the second innings, with Eden Carson in the thick of the action. The early departure of Qiana Joseph (12 from 12) and Shemaine Campbelle (3 from 5) saw West Indies consolidate through the powerplay, with the experienced pair of Hayley Matthews and Stefanie Taylor looking to put together a platform.
And the score had reached 41/2 in the ninth over, with plenty of work still to do, when Carson, who had picked up the first two wickets, came back to strike again and clean up Taylor for 13 (20) to leave New Zealand in a strong position.
The White Ferns’ dominance became even greater when Lea Tahuhu grabbed the key wicket of Matthews (15 from 21) to leave West Indies on 52/4 and needing something special to reach Sunday’s final.

But while Deandra Dottin was out in the middle, West Indies always had hope, even with the required rate climbing by the over. And Dottin showed just why, unleashing three sixes in a massive over, slamming 23 runs off Tahuhu’s 16th to get the watching West Indians on their feet.
However, Sophie Devine rolled the dice by bringing Melie Kerr back for her final over to try and remove the big-hitter, and the gamble paid off, as Dottin skied a catch to Fran Jonas, shaking her head as she departed to a standing ovation after an excellent 33 from 22 balls. Chedean Nation, in at number eight as a concussion replacement for Chinelle Henry, was cleaned up by Jonas for a duck as the rate began to sky-rocket.

But the drama wasn’t over yet, as youngster Zaida James joined Afy Fletcher in the battle and set up a thrilling final over, with 15 required. New Zealand turned to the unlikely source of Suzie Bates to bowl the final over, and it started in concerning fashion as James crunched a four through cover. But Bates had the last laugh, cleaning up James for 14 (8), and with her went West Indies’ final lingering hopes.
Eden Carson has been New Zealand’s go-to powerplay bowler, having taken four of her five wickets prior to the semi-final in this phase. On Friday, she once again set the tone with the ball. After conceding two fours to Qiana Joseph, the offspinner Eden Carson bowled a length ball on middle that spun past the batter’s swipe to knock her stumps.
Soon 16 for no loss became 20 for 2 when Eden Carson darted one full and wide of off for Shemaine Campbelle to step out and miscue one towards extra cover, where Suzie Bates ran in and pulled off a diving catch. The wickets had slowed West Indies down with Matthews and Taylor moving at a snail’s pace.
Eden Carson came back again for the eighth over when both Matthews and Taylor smashed a four each to pick up pace but the offspinner had the last laugh, bowling Taylor for a 20-ball 13 after she mistimed a slog sweep. Eventually, she ended with 3 for 22.
Presentations and Road Ahead
New Zealand winning skipper Sophie Devine said : Hasn’t sunk in at all yet. Still trying to get my brain back from being fried out there. Really privileged to have an opportunity to play the WC final. Our last couple of overs saved our bacon a little bit. I felt we were looking a bit under par. But the way Izzi batted at the end and scraped through a few extra runs. We thought 130 would be a competitive total – not quite par, but the highest chase here was 127.
So we knew we were in with a great shout. This wicket here can be tough. We saw in our innings it can be difficult to get away. But when you’ve got players like Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin in the opposition, the game is never over. She’s a quality player (Dottin).
You can set a field for her but she just clears it over the top of them, It’s about keeping things clear and not being too frazzled and having a real clear mind of did you execute, or did you make the wrong decision of the ball you wanted to bowl. So having real clarity on that is important for us. Obviously we put down a couple of chances – the game might’ve been a little bit easier if we had taken them.
Full credit to the WI, they’ve been outstanding. Deandra coming out of retirement, the way Hayley has led this side, we knew it was going to be a tough game. Huge respect for the WI side. Halliday was close to being given the ball as well in terms of being able to take pace off. But to have someone of Suzie’s experience – she’s been harping on it at training.
When you’ve got that sort of experience, to be able to call on her is pretty clutch with three fielders out. Pretty special for me to throw her the ball. The thing that makes me most proud as a leader is the resilience we’ve shown and the character we’ve had, not just in this tournament but the last 12-18 months.
Results haven’t gone our way and we’ve had a lot of stick from the outside but the belief in what this group is about, and what we’re capable of doing has been there. To be able to go this deep, I’m now really excited about this last match. We’ve got nothing to lose and that’s a pretty cool space to be.
We’ll celebrate tonight’s success but yeah.. we’re going to win this thing now. They’re an incredible side. The way Laura Wolvaardt leads them, leads from the front. They’ve got experience, the likes of Marizanne Kapp – one of the best players in the world. In big games, she always seems to stand up.
You look at Anneke Bosch – the game against Australia. It’s pretty cliche but we focusing on ourselves and we playing to the best of our ability and we’ll go a long way towards lifting the trophy. Fingers crossed, hopefully the cricketing gods are on our side as well.
West Indies losing skipper Hayley Matthews said : We bowled really well upfront. Probably just got away a little bit in the end but we can’t blame the bowlers. At the beginning of the day we would’ve taken 127 no doubt. We probably just weren’t able to get going early on and that put us under pressure. We felt they were a few runs short based on the wicket. We just wanted to stay positive, same thing with Qiana Joseph up the order.
But we never got going. Felt like it never really got out of our hands. Few boundaries and the game was able to change and that showed when Deandra smacked a few over midwicket. Unfortunately she got out after that. Kudos to her – she had a great game firstly with the ball, and then making sure we had a chance with bat too. It is disappointing for the entire group.
I’m incredibly proud of everyone within the team. We saw players that haven’t been on the circuit very much show up at this WC and I think as a group we’ve come together and exceeded expectations. We were able to prove a lot of people wrong.
Eden Carson Player of the Match for her 3 wickets said(with tears) : As you can see, I’m really emotional but really proud of the girls. When Deandra Dottin was pumping us… the girls just believed and stuck it out and we got over the line. We really had to defend another low total, below-par, had to get early wickets against West Indies, they are a dangerous side. We saw how the West Indies bowled, they bowled a bit more back-of-a-length and it worked, we bowled a bit full, it’s alright.
New Zealand stormed into the final of the Women’s T20 World Cup after 14 years, beating the 2016 champions West Indies by eight runs in a low-scoring thriller in Sharjah. New Zealand will meet the 2023 edition’s runners-up South Africa as the tournament is set for a first-time champion.
Opting to bat first and “put pressure on West Indies”, Sophie Devine’s side huffed and puffed their way to 128 for 9 on a pitch that was not difficult to bat. Deandra Dottin gave West Indies hope, with the ball first, rattling New Zealand with her 4 for 22.
However, West Indies’ chase never took off as expected with Eden Carson and Co keeping them quiet at 25 for 2 in the powerplay. Hayley Matthews and Stefanie Taylor toiled for runs and once they fell for a combined 28 off 41, West Indies were four down for 51 with 78 runs needed from 55 balls.
Dottin’s fireworks – a 22-ball 33 where she also hit Lea Tahuhu for three sixes in an over – brought the equation down to 34 off 24. But Amelia Kerr, the highest wicket-taker at this World Cup, ended the allrounder’s innings in the 17th over as Dottin top edged a sweep to short fine leg. New Zealand were not flawless, having dropped five catches in the field but the bowlers still found a way to restrict West Indies to 120 for 8.
Eden Carson bagged 3/29, while Melie Kerr showed all of her class with 2/14, including the wicket of the hugely dangerous Deandra Dottin, who had set up a nail-biting finish under the lights in Sharjah. New Zealand will face South Africa in Sunday’s final, meaning there is guaranteed to be a new winner of the Women’s T20 World Cup.
Big celebrations from the NZ players. Kerr jumps on someone in joy, few others embrace each other and the emotions of making the final are there to behold. On the other hand there are tears for WI. It was the other way around when these two teams met in the semifinal back in 2016, and a couple of NZ players were part of that agony. Not this time. The WI players look absolutely heartbroken as they walk out for the handshakes.
They thought they had done a good job with the ball earlier, restricting the White Ferns to 128. But the pitch at Sharjah, which was used on the first day of the tournament, was a sluggish one, making it very difficult for the batters. New Zealand struggled with it early on as Dottin got on a roll with the ball, and WI struggled even more when it was their turn.
Having picked up a four-fer earlier in the evening, Dottin then threatened to pull off a heist with the bat after being given two-three lives in the field. However, it wasn’t to be. Eden Carson and Amelia Kerr were sensational with the ball as they have been all tournament, and despite all the dropped catches, New Zealand did just enough to hold on.
Phew, the joy, the agony and the drama of World Cup cricket is something else. So it’s South Africa vs New Zealand in the final on Sunday where we’ll have a new winner to lift the trophy. Spare a thought for West Indies and Deandra Dottin who were brilliant in the way they bounced back after the opening defeat and had a run of three sensational run-chases – one of which sent mighty England crashing. But this evening, they just couldn’t find that extra spark on a sluggish Sharjah pitch.