Category: Games

Dubai, March 31, 2022 (PPI-OT):Danni Wyatt admitted there was a point when she did not think a final was possible as her 129 sent England into the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 showpiece on Sunday.

England fought back from opening their tournament with three defeats to advance and will take on Australia after setting South Africa 294 to win before more spin brilliance from Sophie Ecclestone saw the Proteas bowled out for 156 denying them a place in a maiden major final.

Wyatt, however, achieved a first, scoring her debut World Cup century in a 116-run partnership with Sophia Dunkley to set South Africa a World Cup record chase they never got close to achieving.

“I woke up this morning and really wanted to contribute to a win today and that’s what happened,” she said. “I obviously got dropped a few times, but that’s cricket and you’ve got to cash in on days like today so I’m really happy with how it went.

“Every game since that India game has been a knockout match. So today was like any other match that we’ve played in the last few games.

“After those first three games, I didn’t think this would be the case, so we’ll prepare well for the final and we obviously really want to win that trophy.”

Wyatt took home the Player of the Match trophy for her crucial knock, the opener digging in as England slipped to 126 for four.

But she could quite have easily seen Ecclestone take the award, the spinner settled for the match ball as she earned a maiden international five-fer on her way to figures of six for 36, the best of the World Cup so far.

Wyatt added: “Sophie bowled exceptionally well again today she’s an absolute GOAT [Greatest of All Time] and I’m so chuffed for her, that’s going to be the first of many five-fers.

“She was absolutely unplayable today especially with that pace and dip and a bit of turn as well which she was getting.

“I actually said to Nat [Sciver] on the pitch how she would actually go in men’s international cricket. I think she’s bowling exceptionally well at the minute and she’s not fun to face in the net, that’s for sure.”

For South Africa, they have fallen at the penultimate hurdle for a third time in recent tournaments, having been knocked out of the 2017 World Cup semi-final by the same opponents.

Captain Sune Luus, who is leading an experienced side at the age of just 26, explained how the toughest thing to take was her veterans potentially missing out on their last chance at a World Cup final.

She said: “Obviously it’s a very sad changing room tonight, different to all of our games that we’ve been playing.

“There’s a couple of players who it might be their last World Cup and I think for us as younger players it breaks our hearts that we couldn’t give the final to them and help them get that trophy that they’ve been working towards for 15 years.

“I think that breaks our hearts more that we couldn’t support them if it’s their last World Cup.

“It’s going to be a hard pill to swallow this one especially just in the way we lost. I felt like that was a bit disappointing.

“It still doesn’t take away from how we’ve been playing so I think we just need to look back at that and reflect on that and enjoy the fact that we are in the semi-final and although it didn’t go our way, I think we can still be very proud of ourselves.”

Wyatt was dropped five times, three coming before she made her century, with Luus admitting their fielding may have cost them a place in Sunday’s showpiece.

“We didn’t really take our chances. I think we were given a couple and I don’t think it was our best fielding performance,” the all-rounder added.

“If we took our chances, it might have been a different score. But at the end of the day, I still think 290 was a good score to chase, we just didn’t apply ourselves with the bat tonight.

“We always pride ourselves on our fielding and to not take those chances tonight, as a fielding unit we are very disappointed in that.

“It’s been a good campaign for us, so we are not going to define ourselves by the game we played tonight.”

For more information, contact:
Headquarters,
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Street 69, Dubai Sports City,
Sh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Phone: +97-143828800
Fax: +97-143828600
E-mail: enquiry@icc-cricket.com
Website: www.icc-cricket.com

Dubai, March 30, 2022 (PPI-OT):Australia earned their place in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 final with a comprehensive 157-run victory over the West Indies in a rain-reduced game.

Meg Lanning’s side were at their destructive best with the bat, Alyssa Healy making 129 as she and Rachael Haynes put on 216 for the first wicket, to set up a mammoth total of 305 for three from 45 overs.

The West Indies never looked like getting close in their chase, captain Stafanie Taylor was her side’s top-scorer with 48 as the West Indies could only manage a total of 148.

Play got underway one hour and 45 minutes late as thick mist and drizzle started to give way to sunshine with the match reduced to 45 overs.

Having been put in to bat, Australia were undeterred by the West Indies’ fast bowlers running in on a green wicket in gloomy Wellington as they made 37 from the nine-over powerplay.

Healy took her time getting going, she made just 10 from 25 balls through the first ten overs but then picked up the pace to bring up her fifty from 63 balls.

Her second fifty would come off just 28 balls as she achieved a maiden World Cup hundred as she and Haynes earned their 200-partnership within 32 overs.

Healy eventually departed for 129 from 107 balls, including 17 fours and one six, as the West Indies held on to their first catch of the day, substitute Shakera Selman, on for the injured Anisa Mohammed, diving in.

A mini fightback ensued as Chinelle Henry took two wickets in an over, Haynes going first for 85 from 100 balls before Ashleigh Gardner’s promotion from seventh to third ended after 12 runs as the West Indies dragged Australia back to 235 for three.

Lanning and Beth Mooney were there to steady the ship however, the two batters with the highest averages in the tournament, taking Australia to 305 for three from their 45 overs, the largest-ever score in a World Cup knockout game.

In reply, the West Indies made a steady start once again led by Deandra Dottin but soon lost their first wicket as Rashada Williams went for a 10-ball duck, Mooney holding on to a stunning grab off the bowling of Megan Schutt.

Annabel Sutherland did what the Windies could not, safely holding on to a looping catch at long-on to dismiss Dottin for 34 from 35 balls as she had just started finding the boundary regularly.

Hayley Matthews fell for the same score, this time from 49 balls, as Jess Jonassen took the first wicket from spin for the day with her fourth ball, Alana King holding on to a poorly-timed shot at mid-off.

Matthews’s wicket did not spark the West Indies into life as they slipped to 91 for three in 22.4 overs, Taylor joined by Shemaine Campbelle as the required run-rate climbed above 10 an over.

Sutherland chipped in with a wicket as Campbelle sent a delivery straight to Jonassen to depart for eight from 22 balls.

Chedean Nation came out with intent cracking a six from her first ball but could add only more before being run out by Healy.

Kycia Knight followed for a two-ball duck as Jonassen moved to 10 wickets for the tournament and reduced the West Indies to 126 for six.

Gardner then looked to catch Jonassen up getting her ninth of the World Cup to dismiss Ramharack LBW a ball after she was dropped by Sutherland.

Taylor eventually departed for 48 from 74, with four fours, and with it the West Indies innings and run in the World Cup came to an end as the injured Mohammed and ill Henry did not take to the field.

It gave Australia a 157-run win as they advance to their seventh World Cup final, while the West Indies search for a first Women’s ODI World Cup title goes on.

Scores in brief

Australia beat West Indies at Basin Reserve, Wellington by 157 runs

Australia 305 for three in 45 overs (Alyssa Healy 129, Rachael Haynes 85; Chinelle Henry 2/51, Shamilia Connell 1/46)

West Indies 148 all out in 37 overs (Stafanie Taylor 48, Deandra Dottin 34, Hayley Matthews 34; Jess Jonassen 2/14, Megan Schutt 1/8)

Player of the Match: Alyssa Healy (Australia)

For more information, contact:
Headquarters,
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Street 69, Dubai Sports City,
Sh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Phone: +97-143828800
Fax: +97-143828600
E-mail: enquiry@icc-cricket.com
Website: www.icc-cricket.com

Dubai, March 30, 2022 (PPI-OT):Alyssa Healy has the nickname Midge due to being short in stature but make no mistake, she is a big-game player.

And she proved that yet again with a knock of 129 against the West Indies to power Australia into the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 final.

Australia have been utterly dominant throughout this tournament, but it has often been without Healy’s help.

Twice Healy has made 72 in the tournament, against Pakistan and India, but had added only 66 runs from the five other group games.

In the semi-final she vanquished any demons she may have had to make her first World Cup century and spearhead a comprehensive 157-run victory.

And it was a different kind innings from the ones Healy has made us accustomed to seeing from her – when she made 75 off just 39 balls in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final in 2020 she started with a four off her first all and earned two more in the same over.

That was an innings right out of the Healy playbook, in comparison in Wellington she was practically pedestrian at the start.

Against the West Indies, she went the entire nine-over powerplay without a boundary, but it showed that not only has her position in the batting risen, so has her ability to time an innings.

During the innings break, she said: “I’d hope I’d learned my lesson by now that it doesn’t always have to happen at once! But I like batting with Rach [Haynes], she’s a calming influence.

“We knew that if we just invested a bit of time, we’d be able to cash in and we did just that.”

‘Did just that’ is perhaps a fair description of what Healy and Rachael Haynes did, their run-making simple and unflustered.

Their hundred-partnership arrived bang on the 20-over mark, the 200 came up only 11.1 overs later.

The dynamic duo traded singles as they edged towards their fifties, Haynes’ coming first off 66 balls, Healy’s brought up one of her own four balls later from 63 deliveries.

Haynes was then dropped twice in the space of two Karishma Ramharack overs, and while it may have steadied her scoring, it seemed to light a fuse in Healy.

She cracked a six off Ramharack’s next over and six deliveries later reached her hundred.

In the deliveries leading up to her maiden World Cup ton, Healy was as patient as she was when sitting on 11 from 29 balls.

Her restraint paid off as she pushed a single through the off-side to bring up her century, she waved her bat in appreciation to the Basin Reserve crowd before it was back to business.

Healy was eventually the first wicket to fall, substitute Shakera Selman taking the diving catch, by then the damage was done as Australia had plundered 216 runs in just 32.4 overs.

But still, Healy showed some frustration at not having gone even bigger.

Perhaps her frustration came from letting her average in ODIs tick to just under 50, she now sits at 49.35, but it is a remarkable turnaround from the 2017 World Cup.

When Australia were knocked out of the World Cup semi-final by India five years ago, Healy was batting down at seven and averaging just 15.96.

Opening the batting from the 2017 Women’s Ashes onwards saw her move from a frustrated cricketer to a free one.

She admitted: “Being given an opportunity at the top does help that but I think it’s more about self-belief and confidence every time you walk out to bat.

“For me, that’s really just what changed. I was given a role, I was given a purpose and a responsibility and I really enjoyed that.

“Knowing that you’re being backed, gives you a little bit of self-confidence as well. That’s really been the shift for me and learning how to build in innings in ODI cricket is something that I never really got the opportunity to do, coming in for the back 10 overs, just trying to slog away like I do in T20 cricket.

“It’s been a learning curve over the last five years, but I’ve really enjoyed being given that responsibility at the top of the order.

“I love facing some of the best bowlers in the world, it’s always a good challenge. From that side of things, it’s been a really pleasing run.”

It is a run that Healy will hope has at least one more big game in it when Australia take to the Hagley Oval field in the World Cup final on Sunday.

For more information, contact:
Headquarters,
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Street 69, Dubai Sports City,
Sh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Phone: +97-143828800
Fax: +97-143828600
E-mail: enquiry@icc-cricket.com
Website: www.icc-cricket.com