Deandra Dottin came out to bat at No. 8 after a "medical issue" before the start of West Indies' innings during the T20 World Cup semi-final against Australia. Dottin was assisted off the field by her team-mates shortly after the national anthems and was treated in the medical room for about 30 minutes after play began, was then taken out in a wheelchair and only appeared in the dugout at the end of the 14th over.
The exact nature of Dottin's illness was not confirmed after she warmed up with the team before the match started and lined up at the national anthems. After West Indies' Caribbean rallying cry, and during the Australian anthem, players were seen calling for assistance for Dottin. She was carried off the field by Zaida James and a member of the support staff and taken to The Oval medical room.
But less than an hour later, Dottin walked unassisted down the changeroom steps to get ready to bat. She walked out with West Indies 83 for 6 in the 16th over, after initially being slotted at No. 5 in the team sheet at the toss. Dottin's blitz gave West Indies a late lift as she struck three fours in the last seven balls and her 26 off 16 helped them post 125 for 7 after a collapse of 5 for 26. Australia chased down the target with 42 balls remaining and made it to their eighth T20 World Cup final.
"I think it was a bit scary," West Indies captain Hayley Matthews later said at the presentation. "She's obviously a massive part of the team. To see her almost passing out during the national anthems was a bit scary. But she was able to come back and also play, that speaks to her character. I feel we wanted to get off to a good start and probably put Australia under a bit of pressure. We weren't sure if she was coming out so we needed to take the game deep."
"I just know she had a medical emergency at the moment, at the time," Matthews said at the press conference. "I think what's really important is the way she was able to come back and come out. She showed a lot of heart and fight by playing the way she did after that happened. And it was obviously a bit worrying for us at the time. But at the same time, trying to put that behind us and go out there and get the job done."
Dottin is one of West Indies' most experienced players but has had a lean tournament. She had not passed 21 in five innings at this tournament before this innings. West Indies reached a second successive semi-final in T20 World Cups after missing out on the 2025 ODI World Cup.