ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers 2025: Bangladesh qualifies, West Indies misses out for first time since 2000
West Indies missed out on a Women’s ODI World Cup spot for the first time in six editions despite beating Thailand by six wickets at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan, on Saturday.
West Indies, the semifinalist in two of the last three editions of the World Cup, needed to chase 167 in 9.6 overs or secure victory with a boundary, that would take it to 171 from 10.5 against the Thais. It could extend the chase to 11 overs if it levelled the scores at 166 and then sealed the win with a six.
However, it scored 168 from 10.5 overs, missing out by the barest of margins.
Hayley Matthews was the Player of the Match, scoring a 29-ball-70 and taking a wicket for the Windies but the valiant effort, followed by the win proved to be too late.
“We feel like we definitely let ourselves down, probably earlier on in the tournament, and yeah, I guess we’re just paying the price for that now,” skipper Hayley Matthews told reporters afterwards.
“At the same time, it was really good to see the fight shown by the team in the last match against Bangladesh — the way the girls were able to get up, fight with the ball, and then knock off the runs. The fight today was obviously incredible, but yeah, probably just a lack of consistency killed us this tournament.”
Meanwhile Bangladesh qualified for the final spot in the tournament, making the cut in successive editions. Though the side lost to Pakistan by seven wickets on Friday, it finished with a run rate of +0.639, merely +0.013 more than West Indies.
