Saint Lucia's Qiana Joseph scores maiden 50, pushes West Indies to ICC Women's T20 World Cup semifinals

West Indies women’s opening batter hailing from Saint Lucia, Qiana Joseph, scored her maiden International fifty (52 runs). She claimed the Player of the Match to help the West Indies secure a semifinal berth in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup currently being played in the United Arab Emirates.

Joseph along with Haley Matthews (captain) added 102 for the first wicket in 12.2 overs, a new record for the first wicket, beating Mathews and Gajnabi 97 versus Australia in Brisbane in 2023.

Chasing 142 for victory, the West Indies scored 144 for the loss of four wickets with 12 balls remaining.

Joseph's 50 came off 34 deliveries which included (6x4, 2x6), which was quickly followed by Matthews's 50 off 37 balls (7x4, 1x6) and Deandra Dottin 27.

Sent into bat by the West Indies, England scored 141 for 7, with Nat Sciver-Brunt top-scoring with 57. Heather Knight 21, Danni Wyatt-Hodge 16, and Maia Boucher 14 were the only other batters to reach double figures. For West Indies, Afy Fletcher picked up three for 21, and Hayley Matthews two for 35 to be the leading wicket-takers.

With this win, West Indies secured their place alongside South Africa as the two teams advancing from Group B, while England, who had shown promise form earlier in the tournament, were knocked out.

Following the match, captain Hayley Matthews praised Saint Lucian Joseph and outlined, “She is always up for it, man, and it is great to have characters like that within the dressing room, especially as a West Indies team who are probably always underdogs. We need fighters within the team, and she is a great example of that.”

The Ministry of Youth Development and Sports extended its congratulations to Qiana Joseph on her maiden International 50 and the West Indies team, by extension, for securing a semi-final berth in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

Following her extraordinary performance, netizens also lauded her and said that she had produced a knock for ages.