Shemaine Campbelle leads West Indies to clinical win over NZ

West Indies defeated defending champions New Zealand in their Women's T20 World Cup match on Saturday (June 13), led by Shemaine Campbelle's career-best performance.

Their total of 163 runs, the second-highest in Women's T20 World Cup history and the highest by an individual batting second in tournament history, was set by Campbelle's 90 runs not out.

When the penultimate ball gave WI their winning run off a leg bye, an emotional Campbelle burst into tears. This was arguably her greatest moment of glory in her 17-year T20I career. It gave the West Indies crucial first points, and also proved to be a big setback for New Zealand, who ended up ruing a spate of missed chances on the field.

While Georgia Plinmer was silently sent back as the first of Aaliyah Alleyne's four victims, the day began with Isabella Gaze dominating the Powerplay and accumulating a string of boundaries. In her 100th T20I, Amelia Kerr was also cheaply run out; after eight overs, they were 56/3.

After that, Brooke Halliday and Sophie Devine stopped the slide by scoring 25 runs in the 11th and 12th overs to keep New Zealand from slowing down significantly. However, NZ went through three quiet overs after that, and at the end of over 15, they were 110/4 and desperately needed a strong final push. Maddy Green's 35 runs off 22 balls got NZ past 160.

Qiana Joseph was run out in the second over after getting mixed up with Hayley Matthews, and West Indies needed a strong start to respond. As a result, Campbelle was brought in, and he stayed put until the end of the chase, replacing Chinelle Henry and Stafanie Taylor.

The Powerplay wasn't impactful: they managed 35/1, and followed it up with another period of consolidation. As early as the third over, Matthews got a break at fine leg, just the break WI needed in a tough chase. For New Zealand, those fumbles would only add up.

In the tenth over, Campbelle appeared to be addressing Amelia Kerr by placing her hands on her helmet in despair. Replays showed impact outside off after a failed reverse sweep was ruled lbw, reversing a decision that would be crucial for the West Indies.

They were at 69/1 at the halfway point, with wickets in their bank but a mountain to climb. Both batters were crucially dropped in the 11th over as a result of New Zealand's poor fielding.

Matthews was snatched away by Jess Kerr, whose 2-17 spell threatened to derail the chase and left her just short of fifty. After a 14-run over off the other Kerr sister and a 10-run over off Rosemary Mair, Campbelle and Dottin marked the turning point. Campbelle scored her first fifty in a Twenty20 International match with a six. She cleared Amelia twice, separated by a difficult chance that the bowler was unable to hold onto. She took some time to locate the big hits, and Matthews later confirmed that she initially struggled with the timing, but she stayed put and held on to her wickets.

WI were 119/2 after five overs. The tempo did not slow down for Campbelle. "I talk to myself a lot, so I said I am going to do this for the team," she later revealed.

Despite their errors in fielding, New Zealand remained in the game thanks to a Maddy Green stunner that brought Dottin back and added another twist to the chase. It occurred immediately following a stumping chase and a dropped catch.

However, another over by Amelia Kerr turned the tide: the 18th over saw 13 runs, and Mair gave 10 in the penultimate over, reducing their final run requirement to just four. That was accomplished without any further drama by Campbelle and Jahzara Claxton, prompting celebration in the West Indies camp for their first Women's T20 World Cup victory over New Zealand since 2016.