West Indies women sit second-from-last in the Women's World Cup Qualifier table ahead of their final two games. Here's what they need in order to qualify for the competition later this year.
West Indies' loss to Pakistan on Monday (April 14) left their hopes of World Cup Qualification hanging by a thread. Bangladesh's win over Scotland further compounded their worries, with two teams now on six points while the West Indies still only have two.
They have a huge match coming up on Wednesday (April 17) against Bangladesh, before their final match against Thailand on Saturday (April 19). If they slip up, they will not participate in a women's 50-over World Cup for the first time in 25 years.
Why are West Indies in this position?
West Indies have only won one of the three matches they've played so far in the competition. They lost a thriller to Scotland in their opening match, with Hayley Matthews left stranded on a century, batting with severe cramp, as her side fell 11 short of their 244-run chase. Their next match was another tight game, this time ending up in a six-run win in a rain-shortened contest against Ireland. The loss to Pakistan three days later, however, was comprehensive. They were bowled out for 126 within 40 overs in pursuit of 191.
High drama in the final moments of the Scotland-West Indies ODI as Hayley Matthews was stretchered off on 99* due to cramps.
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) April 9, 2025
She returned to complete her ton, but her heroic effort wasn’t enough in the end 💔
Read more: https://t.co/RUICmNP727 pic.twitter.com/kwYBHZUBbN
Quite simply, West Indies have struggled with a lack of runs and depth outside of captain Matthews, who is by far their leading run-scorer of the tournament so far. They are missing Deandra Dottin, who picked up an injury in the latter stages of the WPL. Matthews has also been putting in a largely lone performance in the wickets column as well. She is currently the tournament's leading wicket-taker, having taken four-fors in both the Scotland and Ireland games.
Those lone performances have left the side reliant on other results to qualify for the main tournament.
What do West Indies need from the final rounds of the tournament?
First up, West Indies must win their last two games of the tournament. If they lose either, they will be automatically out of the running. This is because Bangladesh and Pakistan both have six points, which is the maximum number West Indies can get to. If West Indies don't reach that number, they will finish below both Bangladesh and Pakistan on points, and be outside of the top two - the only qualification positions.
Even if they win both of those games, they will have to hope other results go their way. If two teams reach more than six points, which is a possibility for both Bangladesh and Pakistan, who both also have two games left, West Indies will finish outside of the qualification positions.
Assuming West Indies beat both Bangladesh and Thailand, they will also need to rely on a superior NRR to qualify. While their NRR isn't currently terrible (-0.526) due to the closeness of their loss to Scotland, it will need a boost in order to surpass those above them. The most likely opportunity for this will be in their final match against Thailand, who have lost all of their games so far.
This scenario relies on one of Bangladesh or Pakistan losing both of their remaining games, in order to keep the points threshold for the second qualifying position at six. Pakistan would be the most useful for West Indies in that case, as they have a smaller NRR difference than Bangladesh for West Indies to overhaul. West Indies could also find themselves in a points tie with Scotland, who will finish on six points if they beat Ireland on Friday (April 18).
In short, West Indies' best chance of qualification is to beat current table-toppers Bangladesh, and thrash Thailand in their final match. That will give them the best chance of boosting their NRR to come out on top in a points tie. Outside of that, they must hope one of Bangladesh or Pakistan lose both of their final matches, preferably by big margins, to stay on six points and keep their NRR down. If both win just one of them, West Indies will be eliminated.
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