END OF OVER:13 | 15 Runs | AUS-W: 127/2 | RR: 9.76
- Ashleigh Gardner35 (20b)
- Beth Mooney61 (36b)
- Aaliyah Alleyne3-0-22-0
- Karishma Ramharack2-0-17-0
5.45pm Right then, that's one finalist decided. Now the Aussies will go and rest up as Molineux said, and wait for Thursday to find out who among South Africa and hosts England they will be facing at Lord's come Sunday. We have two more potentially cracking contests awaiting us in this T20 World Cup. Don't miss out on any of the action. But for today, it's Abhimanyu signing off on behalf of Ashish Pant, Chetan Kumar and everyone else at Cricinfo. And as I go, I'll leave you with the comment I loved the most from today.
AD: "Aussie Women can lose if they have a desire to do so. That desire is missing "
Sophie Molineux: "I think the T20 World Cup, you just have to ride it. It's full of momentum, swings. But I've really enjoyed it, the group's really enjoyed it and I think that's the important thing. I actually had no idea (about Dottin), but yeah she made an impact. I think with the new ball, Garth always bowls really well in the powerplay and Lucy did a great job as well and I thought they were a good matchup for the openers. (On the chase) I think we just wanted to get it done as quickly as we can. (On Perry) Yeah just precautionary. She should be okay for Sunday. (What they have planned ahead of the final) Looking forward to a good night's sleep tonight. We'll make sure to celebrate what's been a pretty cool couple of weeks for the group. And then just rest and recover ahead of the weekend."
Hayley Matthews: "I feel like we did not have our best game or played to our full potential through the entire tournament. We weren't able to execute in any of the matches a full team performance. (On the Dottin situation) I think it was a bit scary. She's obviously a massive part of the team. To see her almost passing out during the national anthems was a bit scary. But yeah, she was able to come back and also play like 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. So it was a bit difficult to assess how we wanted to go about it. I think as a group we can still hold our heads high. Alleyne and Taylor were very good. We didn't have any super standout performances from any individual performances, so to get to the semi-finals shows we all chipped in as a team. We have a lot more players playing roles and we'll only get better."
The POTM is Ash Gardner: "We always knew it was going to be a nice wicket, and it was a short travel to London. But really pleased to get the win. I felt like I haven't had much of an impact with the ball this tournament so to save my best for now was pleasing. To get a couple of scalps is nice as well. (On the spin attack) We knew this wicket was actually going to be a good one, but it was actually quite inconsistent with the bounce. We knew this team has players who like to hit boundaries so even dots and ones are wins. So it was just about making sure their key batters aren't hitting. I just feel like confidence is a big one for me, with bat in hand, it's about giving myself a chance. I feel I have thrown my innings away too early and I do better when I can assess the conditions and get in for the first few balls as best as I can, hitting the sweepers hard and running hard with my partner."
5.25pm Australia, for the most part in this tournament, have looked inevitable. And inevitably, they are in the final, just one step away from reclaiming the title of world champions. It was yet another dominant display, with no doubt at any point in the match as to what the final result would be. Their bowlers kept West Indies in check, even as the openers put up a defiant stand. Then they effected a collapse, with Gardner, Wareham and Molineux picking two wickets each. Then, Beth Mooney's calm, unhurried half-century along with Gardner's quickfire 35 have seen Australia complete their win in 13 overs. West Indies were hit by a medical issue that forced Deandra Dottin off the field before the game started, and she only came out to bat at No. 8 - three spots below where she usually does - and even her late heroics were not enough. And they know that, even if Dottin had been fine, they were far behind their opponents in terms of quality.
Alleyne runs in but doesn't deliver, stopping to remind Mooney to not wander out of her crease. Smiles all around
Rahul Rajan : "I feel everyone is much eager to give aussie girls the trophy. England has been playing equally good cricket. It will be a battle of equals if they get over south Africa."
Jim Wickham: "hello from an Aussie fan working in Bahrain. Please forgive my savage ignorance - what's happened to Allanah King?" -- A victim of their unreal squad depth, I suppose!
END OF OVER:12 | 7 Runs | AUS-W: 112/2 (14 runs required from 48 balls, RR: 9.33, RRR: 1.75)
- Ashleigh Gardner25 (15b)
- Beth Mooney59 (34b)
- Karishma Ramharack2-0-17-0
- Hayley Matthews3-0-23-1
"Geez, the praise for a team that holds 0 WC titles is off the charts. The winner will be from the other semifinal!" -- Joe has the jokes for you today.
