West Indies v New Zealand semi-final: All you need to know

Match Facts

Who: West Indies v New Zealand

When: Friday October 18, 6pm local time (Coin toss at October 19 at 12.30am AEDT, first ball at 1am AEDT)

Where: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, United Arab Emirates

How to watch: Amazon Prime Video

Officials:  Lauren Agenbag and Claire Polosak (standing), Eloise Sheridan (third), Vrinda Rathi (fourth)

Live scores: Second semi-final, West Indies v New Zealand

How to watch

The new era for watching World Cup cricket in Australia continues.

All 23 matches of the tournament will be shown live on Amazon's Prime Video online subscription streaming service after the internet giant recently acquired the Aussie broadcast rights for all ICC events for the next four years. There is no free-to-air Australian broadcast of this World Cup as a result.

You can sign up to Prime Video by clicking here.

How to recap

If you can't catch the match live, you can catch on demand highlights packages on Prime Video.

The rest of the information you need will be right here on cricket.com.au: scores, recaps, interviews and highlights will all review what took place and keep you informed on the key takeaways. 

The squads

West Indies: Hayley Matthews (c), Shemaine Campbelle (vc), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Nerissa Crafton, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Chinelle Henry, Zaida James, Qiana Joseph, Mandy Mangru, Ashmini Munisar, Chedean Nation, Karishma Ramharack, Stafanie Taylor

Players used: 14

New Zealand: Sophie Devine (c), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Fran Jonas, Leigh Kasperek, Jess Kerr, Melie Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu 

Players used: 13

Possible starting XIs

West Indies: Hayley Matthews (c), Qiana Joseph, Shemaine Campbelle (wk), Deandra Dottin, Chinelle Henry, Aaliyah Alleyne, Chedean Nation, Zaida James, Afy Fletcher, Ashmini Munisar, Karishma Ramharack

The big question heading into the semi-final will be around the fitness of Stafanie Taylor, who missed the final group game against England with a knee injury. The Windies have made use of 14 members of their 15-player squad so far, with only Nerissa Crafton yet to feature.

New Zealand: Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine (c), Brooke Halliday, Maddy Green, Izzy Gaze (wk), Rosemary Mair, Lea Tahuhu, Eden Carson, Fran Jonas

New Zealand made various changes to their bowling attack throughout the group stage depending on conditions and match-ups, with quick Jess Kerr and spinners Fran Jonas and Leigh Kasperek rotating in and out of the XI, while speedsters Rosemary Mair and Lea Tahuhu have been staples alongside star allrounder Amelia Kerr and off-spinner Eden Carson.

Local knowledge

West Indies played just one game in Sharjah during the group stage but it was a successful one, as they held Bangladesh to 8-103 and chased their target in 12.5 overs.

New Zealand split their group matches 2-2 between the venues, and also split their results in their two games in Sharjah. First up was a 60-run loss to Australia, but they fared better in their second outing, beating Sri Lanka by eight wickets.

Key players

Amelia Kerr has been brilliant with the ball, taking 10 wickets and maintaining an economy of 4.9 in four matches and she will be vital if New Zealand are to keep West Indies' aggressive line-up under control.

There was pressure on young opener Georgia Plimmer coming into the tournament but she has grown into the role, hitting a half-century against Sri Lanka while her strike rate of 122.72 is New Zealand's highest. 

It is obvious but West Indies will look to their skipper Hayley Matthews to fire with the bat at the top and the order and deliver with her off-spin.

Deandra Dottin's return has been paid off for West Indies, with her 87 runs for the tournament coming at a strike rate of 167.30, while she has also returned to bowling. 

Road to the semi-finals

Past 10 T20 matches, most recent first. W: win, L: loss, N: no result 

West Indies: WWWLWWLWLW

West Indies were soundly beaten by South Africa in their opening game of the tournament but rebounded with important wins over Bangladesh and Scotland, before their shock upset of England secured their place in the semi-final.

New Zealand: WWLWLLLLLL

The White Ferns started their tournament with a massive win over India that snapped a 10-game losing streak. A heavy defeat to Australia followed, but they rallied to see off Sri Lanka and Pakistan and seal their first T20 World Cup semi-final berth since 2016.

Best T20 World Cup result

West Indies: Champions (2016)

New Zealand: Runners-up (2009, 2010)

ICC T20I Rankings

West Indies: 5th; New Zealand: 4th 

Last time they met

West Indies and New Zealand have not met in T20Is since October 2022, when the White Ferns claimed a 4-1 series win in Antigua.

West Indies won the first game in that series by one run, before New Zealand bounced back to win the remainder of the series.

Head-to-head

Played: 23

 

West Indies wins: 5

 

New Zealand wins: 17

 

No result: 1

It seems unlikely… but what if it rains?

The good news is there is currently no rain forecast for Dubai, which has consistently produced temperatures in the high 30s Celsius since the tournament started. But in the very unlikely event of wet weather, there are provisions for a reserve day in the ICC's tournament playing conditions. A minimum 10 overs a side are required to constitute a match in the semi-finals – if that isn't possible, West Indies would progress after finishing top of Group B.

And what happens if it's a tie? 

If the final is tied, the teams shall compete in a Super Over. And if the Super Over is a tie, subsequent Super Overs will be played until a winner is determined.

If weather conditions or other circumstances prevent the Super Over from being completed on the scheduled day or reserve day, West Indies would progress after finishing top of Group B.

Rapid stats

• This will be the fifth women's T20 World Cup match between New Zealand and West Indies; each team has recorded two wins apiece from the previous four meetings – West Indies have won each of their last two clashes in the tournament.
  
  
• This will be New Zealand's fifth women's T20 World Cup semi-final; the White Ferns have lost in each of their last two appearances at this stage, to West Indies in 2016, and to England in 2012.
  
  
• West Indies have won only one of their five women's T20 World Cup semi-finals.
  
  
• West Indies scored 57 per cent of their 467 runs from boundaries in the group stage of this tournament, the best rate of any team and 10 percentage points more than the next best England. Their batting strike rate (124.5) was also the best of any team.
  
  
• New Zealand had a bowling strike rate of 13.7 in the group stage, the best of any team; in addition, the White Ferns took nine wickets during the Powerplay, two more than any other team during this period.
  
  
• Hayley Matthews (415 in 2024) is 101 away from surpassing Stafanie Taylor (515 in 2016) for the second most runs in a calendar year for West Indies in women's T20Is.

Where to next?

The final! The winner of Friday's second semi-final will meet either Australia or South Africa in Sunday's final (1am Monday AEDT) at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup

Australia's Group A fixtures

October 5: beat Sri Lanka by six wickets

October 8: beat New Zealand by 60 runs

October 11: beat Pakistan by nine wickets

October 13: beat India by nine runs

Finals

October 17: Semi-final 1: Australia v South Africa, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 18 AEDT

October 18: Semi-final 2: West Indies v New Zealand, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 19 AEDT

October 20: Final, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 21 AEDT

For the full list of fixtures click here. All matches live and exclusive on Prime Video. Sign up here for a 30-day free trial