Orla Prendergast shone more with the bat and also chipped in with the ball early on as Ireland scripted a historic win over the West Indies to dent West Indies’ chances and make them wait for a few hours to see their fate. Orla Prendergast was superb with the bat under pressure but before that the bowlers deserve a lot of credit. Prendergast picked up a wicket as well but Cara Murray and Aimee Maguire’s 2-wicket hauls and miserly spells restricted West Indies to 128/7 in 20 overs.
In reply, Orla Prendergast put on a masterclass with the bat in hand as she made 63 off 44 balls while others like Amy Hunter supported her well as Ireland got over the line in the end. Ashmini Munisar bowled well for the West Indies as she picked up 2 wickets but it was not enough in the end. West Indies stays in 2nd place for now and now have to wait anxiously for a few hours to know their fate. If New Zealand wins, West Indies bows out. If England wins, West Indies make the semis.
Cara Murray & Aimee Maguire’s Miserly Spells Restricts West Indies to 128/7
Put into bat first, Qiana Joseph came out to open the batting with captain Hayley Matthews while Aimee Maguire had the ball in hand for Ireland. Joseph started with a bang hitting two boundaries off Maguire. But the bowler had the last laugh as she dismissed Joseph for 8 off 6 balls with 2 fours to her name. Keeper batter Shemaine Campbelle came out to bat next. Matthews and Campbelle tried to form some sort of a stand and added 19 runs for the second wicket before Campbelle fell for 4 off 4 balls with one boundary to her name to Arlene Kelly.
Stafanie Taylor came out to bat next. The duo of Taylor and Matthews made sure there were no more hiccups in the power play as the West Indies reached 40/2 at the end of the power play phase of 6 overs. The duo of Matthews and Taylor added 23 runs for the 3rd wicket and brought up West Indies’ 50 before the captain Matthews departed for 22 off 25 balls with 3 fours to her name to Cara Murray. Deandra Dottin came out to bat next.
Taylor and Dottin came together and added 22 runs for the 4th wicket before Taylor the veteran fell for 16 off 26 balls with one four to her name to Maguire. Chinelle Henry came out to bat next. Dottin and Henry added another 23 runs for the 5th wicket before Dottin fell for 21 off 28 balls with one four to her name to Jane Maguire. Jahzara Claxton came out to bat next.
Just 6 runs were added to the tally for the 6th wicket before Claxton fell for 4 off 3 balls with one four to her name to Murray. Jannillea Glasgow came out to bat next. The West Indies were 101/6 in 17 overs. Henry added a few runs at the end of the innings. The duo of Glasgow and Henry added exactly 20 runs for the 7th wicket before Glasgow fell for 7 off 7 balls with one four to her name to Orla Prendergast. Aaliyah Alleyne came out to bat with 3 balls left in the innings.
Alleyne managed to hit a boundary off the 2 balls she faced as the 8th wicket pair added 7 runs in the last 3 balls of the innings. Henry remained unbeaten on 27 off 21 balls with 3 fours to her name while Alleyne remained unbeaten on 5 off 2 balls with one four to her name. West Indies finished with 128/7 in 20 overs with 14 extras given by the fielding side.
Cara Murray was the pick of the bowlers for Ireland with figures of 2/13 in 4 overs. She was ably supported by Aimee Maguire who finished with 2/22 in 4 overs. Jane Maguire finished with 1/28 in 4 overs. Orla Prendergast finished with 1/29 in 4 overs. Arlene Kelly finished with 1/34 in 4 overs. This meant that the target for Ireland was 129 runs to win off 20 overs.
Orla Prendergast’s masterful half-century helps Ireland cross the finishing line and blows Group B open
Chasing 129 for the win, keeper batter Amy Hunter and Gaby Lewis the captain came out to bat for Ireland while captain Hayley Matthews had the ball in hand for West Indies. There was a huge moment in the game when Hunter batting on 3* was dropped and that was a costly miss. Lewis and Hunter put on some sort of a start and laid the platform for the innings. The duo put on 26 for the first wicket inside 4 overs before captain Gaby Lewis fell for 9 off 11 balls to Ashmini Munisar.
Orla Prendergast came out to bat next. From hereon, it was the Orla Prendergast show as the duo took their time and got themselves in before getting going. The duo played through to the power play as Ireland were 37/1 in 6 overs of power play. The duo carried on and aced the middle phase of the game. Orla Prendergast was superb as she took the game away from the West Indies side. The required rate was not a matter of concern. So, they took their time before shifting gears.
The duo of Hunder and Prendergast added 62 crucial runs for the second wicket before Hunter finally fell for 28 off 32 balls with one four and one six to her name to Afy Fletcher. Rebecca Stokell came out to bat next. Orla soon completed her fifty and looked good to take her side home. She targeted the right bowlers at the right time. The duo of Stokell and Prendergast added 20 runs for the 3rd wicket before Prendergast fell for 63 off 44 balls with 8 fours and 2 sixes to her name to Matthews.
Leah Paul came out to bat next but Stokell was well set by now. The target was within touching distance now. The duo of Stokell and Paul added 9 more runs to the tally for the 4th wicket before Paul fell for 4 off 4 balls to Munisar. Louise Little came out to bat next with 12 needed for the win. Little managed a boundary as well but Stokell kept her composure and released the pressure and never panicked as well.
The equation was brought down to 4 off 12 balls before Little hit the winning runs for the boundary for the win. The duo of Stokell and Little added 12 runs for the fifth wicket unbroken as Ireland got to the target in 18.1 overs reaching 129/4 with Stokell remaining unbeaten on 16 off 15 balls with 2 fours to her name while Little was unbeaten on 4 off 3 balls with one boundary to her name. 5 extras in the form of wides given by the West Indies bowlers.
For the West Indies point of view, Ashmini Munisar was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/28 in 4 overs. Captain Hayley Matthews finished with 1/25 in 4 overs. Afy Fletcher finished with 1/29 in 4 overs. Aaliyah Alleyne finished with 0/23 in 3.1 overs while Qiana Joseph finished with 0/24 in 3 overs. So, Ireland beat West Indies by 6 wickets with 11 balls to spare. Orla Prendergast was awarded the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead
Right, Group B is wide open with Ireland beating West Indies. Sri Lanka are out of reckoning now. All eyes now will be at the Oval in London where England takes on New Zealand in the final Group B clash. New Zealand’s NRR is better than England’s. England are already through by the way. If New Zealand can upstage and upset England, New Zealand will leapfrog West Indies and make the semi-finals. But can they do it? Only time will tell.
So, we are all set and all eyes on at the Oval in South London to see what happens there.
Also Read: ICC Women’s T20 WC 2026: Can Ireland Rise Up To Expectations?