England head coach Jon Lewis admitted his side had “drifted off” when under pressure during their six-wicket defeat to West Indies as they exited the Women’s T20 World Cup.
After setting West Indies a target of 142 runs to qualify for the semi-finals, Hayley Matthews (50 off 38) and Qiana Joseph (52 off 38) got off to a blistering start, reaching 89-0 at the halfway point of their innings and leaving England visibly shocked.
Their electric batting was coupled with some troublesome moments for England in the field as they dropped five catches, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey and Sophia Dunkley unable to keep hold of chances.
The loss for England means they miss out on the T20 World Cup semi-finals for the first time since 2010, West Indies progressing for the first time since 2018.
Lewis was honest in defeat and admitted he noticed his side visibly start to change the way they were approaching the crunch contest when things got tough.
“That is not a reaction you want to see as a coach when you are on the sidelines,” said Lewis.
“You could see after six or seven overs we were starting to be like ‘oh crikey, we are up against it here’.
“You could see a lot of the players starting to drift off, especially our energy in the field and we played a lot slower.
“It isn’t helpful that our captain (Heather Knight) was off the field and then someone else has to take over the job, so there is probably a lot more discussion happening on the field than would happen.
“I went on at the drinks’ interval to remind them what we are about as a group and a team, and they responded to that really well, I thought.
“There was a period of three or four overs where we looked deflated as a side because we had taken some punches. When you have taken some punches and you are on the ropes, it can be hard to keep bouncing back, but I thought they did after the drinks interval.
“We executed much better after that point but it was a tricky period of time for us and is something we will reflect on for sure.”
Although it is a “brutal” defeat for England in a tournament they entered as second favourites to win behind Australia, Lewis insists they will bounce back.
“It is a World Cup, it is brutal and it will take a bit of time. The players will be reflective and this is a strong group, the group will stick together,” he said.
“That is something they definitely will do. They work well together and for each other, and they will support each other and the staff will rally around them and support them as best we can.
“The reality of the situation is we didn’t play well enough and we got beaten by the better side on the day. That is sport and that is World Cup sport.
“The bit we probably didn’t get quite right was reacting to what the opposition were doing and obviously our execution of our skill.
“But we have got a very young bowling group and they will be better for this experience. While they might not feel that now, they will be better for this and come back a stronger team for it.”
Knight: We will be judged by this defeat
Captain Heather Knight, who had to retire hurt with a calf injury during England’s innings and did not field for her side, was visibly emotional after the defeat.
She is aware England will be judged on what they produced in the tournament-defining game, their slip-up proving “costly”.
“It was frustrating, tough to watch. Credit to West Indies, they came at us really hard and put us under the pump,” Knight said.
“We made a few mistakes. It wasn’t our best performance, so it is a tough one to take.
“I don’t think we were far off with the bat. There was a little bit of turn in the surface – but West Indies batted brilliantly.
“We probably bowled a little bit too short, there was a bit more bounce than we were used to (from Sharjah) but the partnership from Joseph and Matthews was top quality.
“We will be judged on today.
“We have played some really good cricket (in the tournament) but you slip up once and it can be costly.
“It is frustrating but I am still really proud of the girls and the fight they showed.”
Watch the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup semi-finals live on Sky Sportsahead of the final in Dubai on Sunday October 20. You can also stream the tournament and more with NOW
