'Hopefully we can prove people wrong' - Hayley Matthews aims to replicate 2016 success at upcoming Women's T20 World Cup

West Indies captain Hayley Matthews felt nostalgic ahead of the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup in England. It will be 10 years since the Windies star guided her team to their first and so far only T20 title at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Matthews was declared Player of the Match in the final, where West Indies defeated Australia by eight wickets in a nervy end to the game. The right-handed batter scored 66 off 45 balls while also taking an important wicket of Alyssa Healy in the first innings. 

The 28-year-old to date takes pride in the West Indies’ achievement of winning the 2016 Women’s T20 World Cup. The all-rounder aims to replicate the feat in England, even though her side are not amongst the favourites to do so next month. 

“It is hard to believe it is 10 years since we lifted this trophy on that famous night at Eden Gardens. I was only a teenager, but that night defines what this team can achieve at its very best. Winning a World Cup is the pinnacle of a cricketing journey, so we certainly take a lot of pride from that experience,” Hayley Matthews wrote in her ICC column.

“Ten years on, it would be great if we could redo a feat like that. It might mean even a bit more in a time like this, where we probably aren't one of the top three or four teams people have pinned to win it. Hopefully, we can prove those people wrong,” Matthews added. 

West Indies find themselves in Group 2, alongside hosts England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Scotland and Ireland. With the top two sides qualifying for the semi-finals, the Caribbean outfit will need to get the better of either New Zealand or England to reach the latter stages of the tournament. 

Matthews’ side last played T20I cricket against Australia in March on home soil, where they suffered a 3-0 series defeat.