Ellyse Perry’s 3-22 and Ashleigh Gardner’s 3-25 helped Australia break through the top half of the West Indies batting lineup, before Rachael Haynes’ unbeaten 83 helped her team reach their goal 132 with just 20 overs to spare. .
Rachael Haynes has been in excellent form so far in the tournament
Rachael Haynes scored an unbeaten 83 as Australia took another step in its inexorable progress to a seventh Cricket Women’s World Cup title, beating the West Indies by seven wickets on Tuesday to remain unbeaten after four group matches.
Coming back just two days after they beat hosts New Zealand by 141 runs, Australia rested top bowlers Darcie Brown and Amanda-Jade Wellington and still edged out the West Indies by 131.
Haynes’ innings and her late, unbroken 74 partnership with Beth Mooney (28) allowed Australia to reach their goal with almost 20 full overs remaining.
The day started well for Australia in advantageous bowling conditions. Light rain delayed the start of the game by 30 minutes at no cost and the game started in very windy and cloudy conditions.
There was an ominous sign for the West Indies batsmen from the first ball when Megan Schutt hurled a rimshot to Deandra Dottin, aided by the wind. Schutt continued to move the ball right-handed, while Ellyse Perry had the ability to take it from her on either side of the wicket.
Perry eliminated the first three West Indies batsmen – Dottin (16), Hayley Matthews (0) and Kycia Knight (0) – in an opening period of eight consecutive overs and finished at 3-22.
Ashleigh Gardner helped dismantle the middle order, firing Shemaine Campbelle (20), Chedean Nation (0) and West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor, whose 50 of 91 deliveries led her team to bounce back from the loss of Matthews and Knight with consecutive balls in the second over. of the tickets.
Australia’s field stands above other teams in the tournament and their reception is also on another plane. Australia’s sheer depth also allows it to rotate players at will, without losing any of its considerable strength.
“That’s the beauty of our team, we have great depth,” captain Meg Lanning said. “Anybody that comes in has an impact on the game. They’re not just part of the team, they can change the game.”
“I thought the first wickets up front today made the difference in the game, put us up front and put them under pressure.”
The early loss of Matthews and Knight was a blow to the West Indies from which they could not recover. Continued pressure applied later by the Australian spinners also made scoring difficult, but Taylor made it to his half-century with little support.
The West Indies, in turn, had Australia under some pressure as they dismissed Alyssa Healy and Lanning within the first four overs. But Haynes remained unmoved, recording his 17th half-century in one-day internationals and his fourth in a World Cup.
After a century against England in Australia’s opening match and scores of 34 against Pakistan and 30 against New Zealand, he is averaging 92 in the tournament so far.
The West Indies started the tournament strong with wins over New Zealand and defending champions England, but have now lost heavily to India and Australia.
“It wasn’t the best hitting performance on our part,” Taylor said. “I think we just didn’t assess the conditions well and losing early wickets took a toll on the hitting.”
Australia leads the tournament by two points from the only other undefeated team, South Africa, who have three wins from three games. They have games remaining in the eight-team round-robin against India, South Africa and Bangladesh.
