Read Raf Nicholson's report from Antigua
That’ll do us. Australia now have their chance to pick up a global trophy for the first time since 2014. The Windies, gutted, are left pondering how it all went so terribly wrong. I’m going to grab a bite to eat before joining you for the second semi, England v India. Keep an eye out for that link; I’ll talk to you in a bit. Bye!
Stafanie Taylor is up in the post-game. “I thought the last six overs was crucial. We let them get away. Even though we let them get 142 we, as batters, didn’t bat properly. Everyone is different but I know we came into this with a lot of onfidence, it as just one of those days when we didn’t come off where the bat was concerned. I just want to thank all the crowds for supporting us, we are sorry we coudln’t et across the line.”
Meg Lanning too: “We were so ready for tonight’s game. We just had to come out here and stay really calm. It is a very happy group at the moment but we have one more to go. I thought we played well tonight, the batting conditions were tough but we knew we were around par with our batting and knew if we could get some pressure on them early with some wickets that we could get the job done. We have got great depth with our batting and we knew that if we got down to those players they will get the job done. Rach (Haynes) did a great job getting us to that 140 mark.”
A shocking performance from the hosts. Truth told, they’ve had a dreadful couple of years since winning the World T20 in 2016 but it was hard not to get carried away given what we saw in St Lucia. Alyssa Healy in the post-match interview said that Australia were underdogs tonight (not sure about that), but they will go into the final on Saturday as favourites, regardless of what happens in the second semi.
AUSTRALIA ADVANCE TO THE WORLD T20 FINAL! WEST INDIES ALL-OUT 71! (Selman st Healy b Wareham 3)
The Windies all out for 71, which is the margin they have been defeated by as well. Wareham gets the final wicket after Selman goes for a dance and misses, Healy doing the rest to complete the job. “It was quite astonishing,” says Charlotte Edwards of the Windies capitulation, all ten wickets falling in 17.3 overs.
17th over: West Indies 71-9 (Connell 6, Selman 3) What did I say a couple of overs ago about Perry never having dropped an outfield catch? Yeah, scratch that. She puts Connell down at deep midwicket, which denies Kimmince the chance to wrap it up with three overs to spare.
#wt20. W Indies beaten by a far superior team on the night.
— Graemefowler (@GFoxyFowler) November 22, 2018
Only played in one World Cup, 1983. We lost in the semi final. It’s heartbreaking.
16th over: West Indies 65-9 (Connell 2, Selman 1) Natsha McLean is sobbing on the boundary with the camera grabbing the moment. “A really sorry sight this,” says Henry Moeran on TMS. “The reaction of the West Indies team and crowd has been the heartbeat of this tourament.” Too right.
WICKET! Fletcher b Gardner 3 (West Indies 60-9)
Well spun by Gardner, too good for Fletcher who has a pop at dragging it to midwicket but can’t make contact. Stumps everywhere. Tears in the West Indies dug out.
WICKET! Henry c Wareham b Schutt 8 (West Indies 60-8)
Another ugly dismissal, catching practice to Wareham at mid-off. It gets Shutt in the book, who has bounced back well after a poor first over.
15th over: West Indies 60-8 (Fletcher 3, Connell 0)
14th over: West Indies 56-7 (Henry 7, Fletcher 1) Gardner has turned into such a consistent option for Lanning, racing through another brisk over, giving away just a couple.
Would you look at that sky in Antigua...
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) November 22, 2018
😍
Live commentary 👉 https://t.co/Z65ME42CkS#WT20 #bbccricket pic.twitter.com/v5LEPtdy6J
WICKET! Cooper c Healy b Kimmince 2 (West Indies 53-7)
Limp top edge, skied, taken by Healy. Grim cricket, this. Kimmince is into the book for a second time. She’s having a very good tournament.
13th over: West Indies 54-7 (Henry 5, Fletcher 0)
12th over: West Indies 50-6 (Cooper 1, Henry 4) Henry gets to the pitch and drives Gardner nicely through cover for four to bring up the West Indies 50. Gentle applause. From the moment that Dottin capitulated in the 19th over of their bowling innings, the crowd has not been a factor.
WICKET! Knight c Perry b Gardner 7 (West Indies 45-6)
This is ending early. Nothing wrong with the intent from Knight trying to launch Gardner with the spin over midwicket, but she picks out Perry who, to the best of my knowledge, has never dropped an outfield catch in any game of cricket, ever.
11th over: West Indies 45-5 (Knight 7, Cooper 0) Knight gets a single from the next ball but Cooper can’t get Molineux away, four dots finishing the over and the West Indies’ campaign. There are tears shown in the crowd on the big screen and the players have their heads in their hands.
WICKET! Taylor c Wareham b Molineux 16 (West Indies 44-5)
Taylor tries to take it on from the very next ball, but can’t lift Molineux over mid-off, Wareham running back with the flight to take an excellent catch two-thirds of the way to the boundary. Game over and Australia know it.
10th over: West Indies 44-4 (Taylor 16, Knight 6) The leggie Wareham into the attack. She’d be mindful, having come into the side tonight, that she will need to bowl well here to guarantee her spot in the final on Saturday if Australia make it from here, as they should. Cricketers pretend they don’t think about these things, but they must. To that end, the pressure is back onto the 19-year-old when Taylor sweeps the first ball for four. But she fights back well, finding her groove. When will Taylor push the button for all-out attack? It must be coming of it’ll be too late.
9th over: West Indies 37-4 (Taylor 11, Knight 4) Kimmince is a bowler of considerable experience and knows the drill here, running her fingers down both sides of the ball to take full advantage of the sluggish surface and make life as tough as possible for Taylor, who scores from just two of the six deliveries.
8th over: West Indies 34-4 (Taylor 8, Knight 4) On comes Ash Gardner, the big-spinning Sydney offie. She races through her first set in 60-seconds flat, happy to concede the four singles if it means sucking a bit more life out of the contest and lifting the required rate a little bit more. It is above nine an over now.
Cracking stat alert.
Ellyse Perry has bowled 24 deliveries to Deandra Dottin in T20Is, the Aussie dismissing the West Indian five times. #WT20
— Ben Jones (@benjonescricket) November 22, 2018
7th over: West Indies 30-4 (Taylor 6, Knight 2) It is just about game over here now. If they can get Taylor, it definitely will be.
WICKET! McLean c Lanning b Kimmince (West Indies 27-4)
McLean completely misreads Kimmince’s second delivery, pulling out of a lavish shot at the last moment, instead spooning to Lanning at cover who completes the easiest of catches. The pitch is again a contributing factor in the dismissal, I’m afraid.
6th over: West Indies 26-3 (Taylor 4, McLean 0) Schutt is back in her happy place now, landing six deliveries just where they need to be. The captain Taylor is only able to score from the fifth ball, a single. A fantastic power play for the Australians, all-but silencing the huge local crowd.
WICKET! Campbelle c Molineux b Perry 7 (West Indies 25-3)
Campbelle walks straight into a trap of sorts, pulling a ball from her stumps right into the hands of Molineux at a shortish square leg. Poor batting, but once again the product of some excellent bowling. Perry has backed up her wicket maiden with another successful over, giving away only two. Her figures are 2-1-2-2.
5th over: West Indies 25-3 (Taylor 3) By the way, I wasn’t the only fool who speculated that Perry might have dropped back a yard or two over the last couple of years. But she’s bowling swiftly here, just as she did when the heat was on against New Zealand, hitting the radar at near-enough to 120kph.
4th over: West Indies 23-2 (Taylor 2, Campbelle 6) Much better from Taylor and Campbelle, the latter so important in steadying the ship on Sunday when the Windies also lost two wickets early in a chase. Molineux misses her line, allowing the number four to sweep hard and well behind square for her first boundary.
WICKET! Dottin b Perry 6 (West Indies 15-2)
Make that two! Perry has gone through the gate of Dottin, crashing into her off stump. There might have been a small inside edge on the way through looking at the replay but the celebration says it all: Australia are UP AND ABOUT. Perry, forever the big game player.
3rd over: West Indies 15-2 (Taylor 0, Campbelle 0) Sure enough, Perry completes her wicket maiden. That’s why she’s the number one player in the world.
WICKET! Matthews run out (Healy) 5 (West Indies 15-1)
Matthews runs down the track after dabbing a Molineux delivery before Healy, collecting the ball, whips off the bails with the opener well short. The pressure built up by the young spinner had plenty to do with the error. That’s one of the West Indies big three gone.
2nd over: West Indies 15-1 (Dottin 6, Taylor 0)
Updated
1st over: West Indies 10-0 (Matthews 5, Dottin 1) Poor start from Schutt, who twice slides down the legside to Dottin to cough up a couple of early wides. She then gives enough width to Matthews for her to throw her hands at the ball and clear the loaded offside ring, running away for four. To finish, she deflects a couple more off her thigh pad, another delivery that has missed the mark.
“Bemused by so many writing Windies off,” tweets my excellent colleague Francis Kelly. “There was a similar reaction in the 2016 final. Who can forget how that one ended.”
Sir Vivian Richards Stadium 😍🇦🇬#WT20 #WatchThis #WIvAUS pic.twitter.com/zAjZ6YgWD3
— ICC World Twenty20 (@WorldT20) November 22, 2018
If you’re awake and watching in Australia, drop me a line. I have an email from Andrew Benton, keeping it short and sweet: “And all I’ve got from Anya Shrubsole anagram-wise is Baroness Hulay,” he writes. “Struggling.” That you are. The Australians are back on the field with Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin following. A lot of pressure on their shoulders, along with the captain Staf Taylor who will bat at three. Megan Schutt has the ball in her hand, the world’s top-ranked seamer. She has five fielders in the ring on the off-side between gully and mid-off. PLAY!
Australia set West Indies 143 to win
20th over: Australia 142-5 (Haynes 25, Perry 3) The Australian pair score from five of the six deliveries in the Taylor over to stick the landing nicely. It includes Haynes’ fifth boundary, smacking through the gap at square leg. She’s had a blinder, adding an unbeaten 25 from 15 balls at the death. And that is that. 142 is a wonderful score on this turgid surface, worth at least 20-30 more than that.
19th over: Australia 133-5 (Haynes 17, Perry 2) All the experience in the world on display from the veteran Haynes, hammering Dottin’s first ball to the midwicket boundary (confirmed as four by the TV ump, despite Selman’s dive) which prompts a wide next ball. On top, the left-hander now digs out a yorker perfectly, steering it to the third man rope for a second boundary. And now another wide! “She’s gone in the swede here,” Charlotte Edwards says of Dottin, as she gives Haynes a gimme on the hip for a third boundary from three legal deliveries. A couple of singles makes 17 runs from the 19th. Might we be talking about that over later tonight? I suspect we will. “The crowd has gone very quiet here,” adds Edwards. “Dottin looks devastated.”
18th over: Australia 116-5 (Haynes 3, Perry 1) Just about the perfect over from the West Indies captain, picking up the always-dangerous Villani then giving up just three further singles. 140 was on the cards a few minutes ago, now the hosts will be thinking 125.
WICKET! Villani c Cooper b Taylor 6 (Australia 113-5)
What a catch! This Windies were the best fielding side in the comp by so far it doesn’t matter through the group stage. Urged on by the Party Stand behind her, Cooper ran off the midwicket rope and timed her dive to perfection. Cue the brilliant celebration, both on and off the field.
WICKET! Lanning b Dottin 31 (Australia 109-4)
Dottin straight through Lanning! The Australian captain, who has looked so good in working the ball around, is bowled when trying to make room for herself. What a tournament this West Indies all-rounder is having.
17th over: Australia 113-4 (Villani 6, Haynes 1) Dottin doesn’t take full advantage, sending down two wides before the over is done. 10 taken from it, but she did pick up Lanning.
16th over: Australia 103-3 (Lanning 29, Villani 5) “I think they’ve batted beautifully in the conditions,” says Charlotte Edwards on TMS after Villani walks across her crease to sweep for four, a useful bit of innovation from the newcomer to the crease. With Lanning still turning the board over, 130 is in the frame, which will be very competitive.
WICKET! Gardner c Henry b Matthews 14 (Australia 95-3)
Gardner falls much as Mooney did earlier, trying to force the ball over the mid-off fielder but failing clear her. The miscue lands with Henry, who makes no mistake, giving Matthews a wicket from the penultimate ball of her final over. Earlier, Lanning jumped down at the off-spinner to reach it on the full before smacking her down the ground for four. Expect more of that in these final five overs.
15th over: Australia 95-3 (Lanning 27, Villani 0)
Chinelle Henry celebrates the dismissal of Ashleigh Gardner for 14. Photograph: Randy Brooks/AFP/Getty Images
Updated
14th over: Australia 88-2 (Lanning 22, Gardner 13) BOOM! After battling through Fletcher’s over, absorbing three dot balls, Gardner picks up the final delivery, clobbering it over the long-on boundary. That’s got to be her strategy moving forward from here.
.@collinsadam Australia not exactly racing away, but worth noting that West Indies' highest 2nd innings total at home is 124.
— hypocaust (@_hypocaust) November 22, 2018
130 may be enough. Thinking about the WI batters, I'm not confident that they will adapt quickly.
— Snehal Pradhan (@SnehalPradhan) November 22, 2018
13th over: Australia 78-2 (Lanning 21, Gardner 5) Lanning gives the strike to the big hitting Gardner, who will need to find a way to make some of her own pace with the blade given none will be coming off the pitch. Swinging from the crease, she edges to the rope, just past the gloves of Knight.
WICKET! Healy c Connell b Fletcher 46 (Australia 71-2)
Big moment. Healy was on the move in the crease before the ball was bowled, top edging a sweep into the waiting hands of Connell at short fine leg. It’ll be doubly frustrating as she was right on top in the early part of that over, adding back to back boundaries via a perfectly struck reverse sweep then hammering a full toss that she created after dancing down the strip. All told, another fine contribution.
12th over: Australia 71-2 (Lanning 19)
Updated
11th over: Australia 61-1 (Healy 37, Lanning 18) Very clever batting from Healy to start the new Matthews over, using the depth of the crease before deflecting with class beyong the gloves of Knight and down to the rope. After a series of singles she attempts to smack the first ball over midwicket but doesn’t get all of it, landing not far from Connell doing the sweeping. Needs, must.
10th over: Australia 53-1 (Healy 31, Lanning 16) Leggie Ayf Fletcher gets her chance in conditions that should suit. Both Lanning and Healy are on the move before she delivers in an effort to open up the legside. It works a couple of times but there are only singles on offer.
9th over: Australia 48-1 (Healy 29, Lanning 13) Lanning TWICE on the ground with sprawling dives, getting back to her ground by inches after running by Matthew’s first delivery then again next ball when Dottin fires a throw in from backward point with the captain on the advance. The second dive is outstanding, “9.8 out of 10” according to Mel Jones on TMS. It’s a very good first over from the off-spinner, giving away just three singles.
Jeez, this pitch! Biggest concern ahead of #WT20 was sluggish wickets. Can only hope the other marked out strip is for Saturday's final
— Francis Kelly (@_Franciskelly) November 22, 2018
8th over: Australia 45-1 (Healy 28, Lanning 11) Taylor to Healy, who slaps her down to the long-on sweeper, again through the air. Lanning forces a misfield at cover with a firm drive, taking another, before Healy’s edge is located, running away for a third single. The captain makes it a fourth, to midwicket along the carpet. It’s a grind, but they’re going okay.
7th over: Australia 41-1 (Healy 26, Lanning 9) Selman is bowling out her fourth and final over. After exchanging singles through the posh side, Lanning plays the best shot of the day so far, timing a length ball to the long-on boundary through the air with a flick of her rubbery wrists. The aerial route looks the correct one, as the outfield is as slow as the pitch.
6th over: Australia 35-1 (Healy 25, Lanning 4) Excellent from Stafanie Taylor, getting herself on for the final over of the power play and conceding just four runs in the smaller denominations. The Windies captain is getting considerable spin here too. That’s a sign, I am sure, of things to come. I know that Mark Robinson, the England coach, is watching this game before picking his XI later. He might select all four tweakers on the evidence of what we’ve seen so far.
5th over: Australia 31-1 (Healy 22, Lanning 3) Brilliant from Dottin at backward point, preventing a Healy boundary and causing some confusion from the experienced Australian pair before Lanning gets down to the danger end with just enough time to spare. Healy goes at Selman’s penultimate delivery through midwicket but Campbelle keeps it to three rather than four with an excellent chase and dive. Hard graft out there.
Updated
4th over: Australia 25-1 (Healy 18, Lanning 1) Connell nearly gets Healy! Again, it’s the lack of pace, the opener trying to play through the line but getting nowhere near enough of it. Henry wasn’t far away, sticking out the one hand running back from inside the circle. “What is a good power play score?” Nat Germanos ponders on TMS. Not many, for mine.
3rd over: Australia 21-1 (Healy 15, Lanning 0) Before the Mooney dismissal, Healy did get down the track and middle Selman just over the rope at long-on for the first six of the day. I’m a bit worried about this pitch, which might be why Meg Lanning has elevated herself to number three. Ash Gardner is meant to bat there during the power play but with so little pace about, they will need Lanning’s all-round class and placement.
WICKET! Mooney c McLean b Selman 6 (Australia 20-1)
The Queenslander is done by the lack of pace in this track, miscuing to mid-off. Not a lot in that. Not great cricket to watch.
2nd over: Australia 13-0 (Mooney 6, Healy 7) Nice steer from Healy from Shamilia Connell’s second ball. The big quick then briefly pins Mooney down but the left-hander sways back in the crease to take advantage of another short ball that balloons up, clearing the midwicket fielder to record her first boundary.
Updated
1st over: Australia 8-0 (Mooney 2, Healy 6) Mooney away with a quick single to cover then Healy does likewise with a checked drive off to the sweeper at deep point. Charlotte Edwards is sitting to my left, and I can hear her muttering as Mooney takes another off her hip “this pitch is slow.” This view is supported by Selman’s following offering, a short ball that sits up perfect for Healy to cash in, smashing a boundary to midwicket. Crunch. She has another pop from the final ball, which is wider outside the off-stump, but she holds her pose to land the lofted drive just in front of long-off.
Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney are on their way. They’ve had a fantastic 2018 at the top of the list for Australia and it is a major win before a ball is bowled that the former has been ruled fit to play. Shakera Selman has the new ball in her hand; she’ll be runnings towards us from the Andy Roberts End. PLAY!
Anthems! Out come the players to the Pirates of the Caribbean music, holding the hands of some local kids as they walk to position, as is the custom nowadays. We’re into Advance Australia Fair with the women in gold arm-in-arm. And now Rally Round the West Indies, belted out by the party stands filling up either side of our vantage point in the Curtly Ambrose Stand (who I had a chat with earlier - more on that later). Nicely done.
Play. #WT20 pic.twitter.com/wZf5L8avKR
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) November 22, 2018
Before you ask... the TMS commentary links. If you’re in the UK, tune in here. If you’re not in the UK, pick it up on the ICC website. I’m hiding out in their commentary box throughout this tournament and can confirm that they’re doing a super job.
A lot of questions about whether the Australians can bounce back. Fair questions too, given the way they =tumbled out of last year’s World Cup at this same semi-final stage. I had a chat with Meg Lanning yesterday about this and how they’ve completely changed their approach between then and now. Quite interesting.
One change for Australia. They’re brought back young leggie Georgia Wareham, who is back for quick Tayla Vlaeminck, her Melbourne Renegades teammates. The West Indies are unchanged. So that gives us...
West Indies: Hayley Matthews, Deandra Dottin, Stafanie Taylor (c), Shemaine Campbelle, Natasha McLean, Britney Cooper, Kycia Knight (wk), Chinelle Henry, Afy Fletcher, Shakera Selman, Shamilia Connell.
Australia: Beth Mooney, Alyssa Healy (wk), Meg Lanning (c), Ashleigh Gardner, Elyse Villani, Rachael Haynes, Ellyse Perry, Sophie Molineux, Delissa Kimmince, Georgia Wareham, Megan Schutt.
Stafanie Taylor has won the toss and has popped Australia in
No surprises there. The track hasn’t a blade of grass on it so any advantage for the local seamers will be early in this match. Full teams in a tick.
Updated
Welcome to semi-finals day at the Women's World T20!
And hello from Sir Viv Richards Stadium in northern Antigua! It’s a hot and bright day, the ground looking a treat as the crowd streams in. We’re told that every ticket has been sold, which is certainly the impression we were left with yesterday with an official public half-day holiday issued by the government. Brilliant, ay?
To begin, it is the West Indies, who topped pool A, playing Australia, who were runners-up in pool B. The former went through the group undefeated, their final win a low-scoring thriller against England on Sunday in front of a heaving St Lucian audience. The latter was swamped by India, their matchwinning wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy unable to bat in the chase after copping a whack to the head in the field.
On Healy, the good news to report from the ground is that she will be playing today. Cricket Australia have confirmed as much in the last half an hour, successful in winning the nod from the team doctor after a couple of days of stringent testing. As the player of the match in the Southern Stars’ first three games, having rattled off six T20 international half-centuries in the last seven weeks, she is the defintion of vital.
The the big test for the home side is whether they can fire with the bat. So far, their top order has virtually struck out three times in four. They’ve had the bowling depth (and exceptional fielding) for it not to matter, but it is different gravy when Australia are involved, the number one ranked side in the world for a reason.
Right then, we’re about ten minutes from Meg Lanning and Stafanie Taylor walking out for the toss so I’ll leave it here for now. I’m looking forward to your company througout the day on the OBO in the usual ways, via email or twitter. This should be fun. Watch it!
All in good working order at Viv Stadium. An hour from the toss in the #WT20 first semi-final between the West Indies and Australia. pic.twitter.com/YhVL507SO3
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) November 22, 2018
