Thanks for your company. We’ll be back with the OBO for the semi-finals on Thursday. Until then, bye for now!
The match report (and Ellyse Perry’s injury).
Meg Lanning speaks. A lot of love for Beth Mooney and a love of interest in Perry’s injury. “There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes to make sure we are [physically] ready.” Says the group are calm going into the semi-final. Believes today was a statement in a big game, giving them confidence for the finals.
Sophie Devine speaks. She’s typically classy, giving credit to Australia. Had she her time over, might have bowled Kerr earlier. Very disappointed to fall short at a major tournament again. Of course, they host the next one: the ODI World Cup this time next year.
But what about Ellyse Perry? She came into the tournament with one injury, picked up another along way and has now succumbed to a third. Her hamstring is about to become a major national talking point with the semi- three days away.
Georgia Wareham is player of the match. Too right she is - a super performance, claiming 3/17. She is talking to Nasser Hussain, declaring, unsurprisingly, that she was happy to bowl well in a big game. The leggie confirms that Alysssa Healy made the call to send the Bates decision upstairs - an excellent review.
New Zealand finish on 151-7
20th over: New Zealand 151-7 (Martin 37, Kasperek 3) Target 156 Gardner to bowl the final over for Australia. Kasperek does the right thing and takes one first ball to fine leg. But Martin returns serve, giving the strike right back - that doesn’t help. Kasperek takes another, leaving Martin 17 to get from the final three balls. She slaps two to midwicket - the result now a formality. Australia are going through! Martin gets hold of the penultimate delivery down the ground for four and launches a six through the hands of Carey on the rope from the final ball to reduce the winning margin to four runs but it matters not a jot... the hosts have done it.
AUSTRALIA ARE IN THE SEMI-FINAL!
The hosts win by four runs!
19th over: New Zealand 136-7 (Martin 24, Kasperek 1) Target 156 Shot! Martin gets back on strike and nails Schutt inside-out through cover. Kasperek ends up on strike for the final ball of the over and takes a leg bye when the ball spills away to third man. I’m not sure about the wisdom in that. Alas, 20 needed from six balls!
WICKET! Peterson b Schutt 9 (New Zealand 129-7)
Bowled again! Peterson tried to pop Schutt out of the ground over midwicket but didn’t make contact. Schutt has three wickets in five balls. New Zealand still require 27 runs in ten balls and Martin has to do almost all of that.
18th over: New Zealand 128-6 (Martin 18, Peterson 9) Target 156 Peterson does her job as the new batter, taking Jonassen on and getting her away through midwicket with a fantastic strike. With a couple more to finish, it makes 12 from the over leaving 28 from 12 balls for New Zealand to pull off something remarkable. What is certain: Ellyse Perry won’t be bowling either of the overs. Word from the CA camp is that the superstar has hurt her hamstring. How serious? We’ll find out later.
17th over: New Zealand 116-6 (Martin 16, Peterson 0) Target 156 The hat-trick isn’t to be, Martin digging out a full delivery from middle stump for one to keep the strike. But that doesn’t matter. The important informaton is that Megan Schutt has put Australia into a near impregnable position. Surely they do this easy from here.
WICKET! Jensen c Carey b Schutt 0 (New Zealand 115-6)
Jensen tried to take Schutt on first ball but only managed to shovel a catch to Carey on the circle at mid-off. The South Australian is on a hat-trick!
WICKET! Kerr b Schutt 2 (New Zealand 115-5)
Bowled! Schutt runs her fingers down the seam at Kerr with the extra bounce enough to sort her out. The ball crashes into the top of middle stump. Super stuff.
16th over: New Zealand 109-4 (Martin 10, Kerr 1) Target 156 Kerr is off the mark to finish the successful Wareham over, down to third man. She finishes her spell with the outstanding figures of 3/17, picking up New Zealand’s three best players: Bates, Devine then Green. “Pure legspin at its best,” says Mel Jones on TV. 47 runs are needed from the final four overs. But we know Kerr can hit the long ball.
WICKET! Green st Healy b Wareham 28 (New Zealand 108-4)
A fantastic piece of bowling! Just as it was with Devine’s dismissal, Green jumped down the track but missed with her swing. Healy, once again, did the rest. Such lovely loop and turn. That’s the legspinners’ third. What a spell this has been.
15th over: New Zealand 103-3 (Green 24, Martin 9) Target 156 But Maddy Green isn’t going to give it up! A huge swing to begin, a fat inside edge beating Healy and running away for four. She’s far more convincing next up, launching Carey over long-off for her second SIX. Excellent timing. Schutt drops her at cover next ball! A straightforward chance, in and out. Martin’s turn to take control here, dancing at Carey before pulling over square leg for four. 16 off it! Game on again? Possibly.
14th over: New Zealand 87-3 (Green 13, Martin 4) Target 156 Six runs after the wicket, all acquired with a degree of urgency. I’ll be very surprised if we don’t look back at the Devine dismissal as the defining moment of this game.
WICKET! Devine st Healy b Wareham 31 (New Zealand 81-3)
Huge! Devine leaps down the track at the first ball of Wareham’s over but misses a big-turning legbreak well outside the off-stump. Healy does the rest. With the skipper back in the shed, it will take something miraculous for New Zealand now.
13th over: New Zealand 81-2 (Devine 31, Green 11) Target 156 Lanning throws the ball back to the ever-reliable Jonassen. Including a wide, six runs are taken. Devine is smart enough to know that this isn’t the right bowler to take risks against, not yet anyway. She has one over still to bowl. The required rate is 10.7.
12th over: New Zealand 75-2 (Devine 29, Green 9) Target 156 There it is: Devine has waited to go hard and picks the first ball of Ash Gardner’s spell to swing hard, getting down low to sweep her over the square leg boundary for SIX! One, two, three, four, five further singles follow. That’s the template from here for NZ.
Ellyse Perry leaves the ground injured
11th over: New Zealand 64-2 (Devine 20, Green 7) Target 156 With 101 needed from the final ten overs it’s Maddy Green who goes big with a fluent slap over long on, clearing the rope for SIX! Great timing hitting with the wind, the first big one in this chase. Ooh, another Carey ball keeps low later in the over. That’s pretty disappointing for a T20 track, much as it was at Sydney yesterday. Back to Devine, who takes one to mid off to finish. Nine off it, which is just below the asking rate.
Oh hold on.. Perry hits the deck after fielding that final ball. Is it her shoulder? The hip? A hamstring, even? In any case, she’s straight off the field. Well, then.
10th over: New Zealand 55-2 (Devine 18, Green 0) Target 156 Devine is moving at the crease, trying to find something. She can’t beat point with a cut, played after charging Wareham. She then picks out mid-off on the circle with a powerful drive. The pressure is piling up on her here; the degree of difficulty grows. And what a fine over from the young leggie, going for just the one run. As we saw during the World T20 Final in Antigua in 2018, she has the temperament for big games.
9th over: New Zealand 54-2 (Devine 17, Green 0) Target 156 Oooi, Carey gets one to keep low at the new batter, Maddy Green. That’s one of four dots she absorbs in this most effective over for Australia. They hosts are right on top again now. Over to Sophie Devine. How does the New Zealand skipper go about this now? Not easy.
WICKET! Bates lbw b Wareham 14 (New Zealand 53-2)
A huge review! Healy talked her captain into that and she was spot on. Bates went deep into her crease and was struck just below the waist but ball tracking showed the delivery going on to the top portion of the middle stump. That’s good enough! Just when New Zealand were starting to control the chase, they have lost their most important player. Suddenly, it’s now a long way to that finish line.
8th over: New Zealand 53-2 (Devine 16) Target 156
IS BATES OUT LBW TO WAREHAM’S STRAIGHT ONE? Lanning sends it upstairs.
7th over: New Zealand 45-1 (Devine 15, Bates 11) Nicola Carey has a big job ahead of her here, bowling the first of these middle overs. She starts well but Bates profits from a Sutherland misfield at mid-on, the fumble turning one into four. It all helps. But the all-rounder keeps her cool, giving up just two other singles.
6th over: New Zealand 39-1 (Devine 14, Bates 6) Devine isn’t at her most dynamic but she’s making it work for her, placing a couple past square leg for two then sweeping Jonassen from leg stump down to the rope. That’ll help the captain’s confidence. A quick single to finish - nice running. 39 runs from the power play, leaving a required rate of 8.4 an over as the Australians push the field back.
5th over: New Zealand 31-1 (Devine 7, Bates 5) Bates takes the attack to Perry, walking down the track at her before pulling through midwicket. It’s not the most attractive shot she’s ever played but that doesn’t matter as it races away for four. They have one over left in this power play - will they take some calculated risks?
Uh oh... rain forecast for the semi-finals in Sydney.
Weather for semi-final day looking increasingly dodgy - top spot in the groups could yet be vital #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/gbbQ5FDpnY
— Andrew McGlashan (@andymcg_cricket) March 2, 2020
4th over: New Zealand 25-1 (Devine 6, Bates 0) Out walks Suzie Bates, the world’s top-ranked T20 batter. New Zealand’s entire tournament rests on how she goes alongside Devine. So much experience and talent. Can they turn it on today?
WICKET! Priest lbw b Jonassen 17 (New Zealand 25-1)
Lanning turns to Jonassen and the spinner delivers! Mixing her pace up through the over, she sorts the opener out with a straighter, faster delivery. Playing all around it, Priest is trapped right in front of middle stump. No DRS required there.
3rd over: New Zealand 23-0 (Priest 16, Devine 5) They’re taking it up to the Australians! With Schutt bowling again, Priest hops on the front foot to slam a straight drive. It’s in the air but that doesn’t matter early on. To finish, it’s touch more than power from Devine, leaning into a push past point for four more.
2nd over: New Zealand 13-0 (Priest 11, Devine 0) Perry now from the Fitzroy Street Kisses End, having passed a fitness test to play today. She’s on the mark to begin but her foot isn’t - the third umpire calling an overstep - allowing Priest a free hit. She doesn’t miss out, smashing it through midwicket for the first boundary of New Zealand’s chase. Perry’s yorker lands next up but Priest picks the full length to finish, slamming a cover drive through the gap for four! She’s timed that so well. It was in the air for a fraction of a moment in the direction of Lanning but she couldn’t make it with a one-handed dive. Nine off the over. That’ll do.
1st over: New Zealand 4-0 (Priest 3, Devine 0) Schutt was wide down the legside to begin but got into her zone soon enough, sending down four dots at Devine.
HERE WE GO! Schutt to Priest to begin, with Devine down the other end. The New Zealand skipper made 769 runs in the WBBL late last year at an average of 77. What she would give for a hand like that over the next hour or so. PLAY!
The hosts will be happy with that. Beth Mooney was outstanding once again, adding 60 from 50 balls. She is talking to Michael Clarke, saying what you would expect her to during the mid-match interview. Around that primary contribution, Australia had four scores between 19 and 21, which was enough to set New Zealand the better part of eight an over. A touch odd from the visitors that, after winning the toss and bowling, they only used their main quick - Lea Tahuhu - for one over. Maybe she’s injured? Alas, the focus now turns to their batting. Can their their very capable top order pull it off in a major game? Over the years, they have struggled in these situations at tournaments. But Devine and Bates - their two matchwinners - know this ground well. This is going to be fun. Back shortly.
AUSTRALIA FINISH ON 155-5
20th over: Australia 155-5 (Haynes 19, Carey 1) Carey can’t get Kerr away, finishing the innings with a single to midwicket. Earlier in this final over, Perry pulled into the gap at square leg for four. Shot. Austalia were then assisted by some sloppy fielding Jensen failing to complete a rudimentary dive on the midwicket rope.
WICKET! Perry st Priest b Kerr 21 (Australia 154-5)
Perry dances and misses, Kerr’s googly sneaking through to give the Kiwis some respite during this final flurry. Nic Carey walks out with one ball to go.
19th over: Australia 144-4 (Perry 16, Haynes 14) That’s classic Rachael Haynes, making room to flick Jensen over midwicket, into the gap for four. Scoring off every ball, the pressure transfers back to New Zealand. And to finish the over, a BIG one! Haynes shuffled across her crease and Jensen tried to follow her but she had enough skill to adjust in the crease to clip high and handsome over the fine fielder and boundary boards! They might be back on track for 160 after all.
18th over: Australia 130-4 (Perry 14, Haynes 2) Haynes gives the strike back to Perry who gets down the pitch at Peterson and flicks her with authority through midwicket for a well-needed boundary. Eight runs and the wicket from the over, Peterson finishes with 2/30 from her four overs. I said at the start of the death overs that Australia should make 160 - that’ll take some getting now.
WICKET! Mooney c Bates b Peterson 60 (Australia 122-4)
WHAT A CATCH! Suzie Bates, what a star! The sort of snaffle that can change a big game. To start this Peterson over, Mooney lofted the spinner back over her head but there was the former captain racing around from long-on, taking a catch above her head with both feet off the ground, no more than a foot inside the rope.
17th over: Australia 122-3 (Mooney 60, Perry 8) Two death overs gone for New Zealand, zero boundaries conceded. Perry took a classy three using Kasperek’s angle and pace down to third man - you don’t see many 3s in womens cricket with the shorter boundaries, certainly not in T20. Mooney keeps the strike; eight off it.
16th over: Australia 114-3 (Mooney 56, Perry 4) New Zealand will take that, a quick belt-and-braces over of off-spin from Peterson, five singles taken.
Mooney to 50!
15th over: Australia 109-3 (Mooney 54, Perry 1) Earlier in the successful Kasperek over, Mooney advanced to 50 for the fifth time in her last nine innings. What a consistent opener she has been over the last few years, getting to the milestone in 42 balls. Perry is off the mark first ball with to cover giving the Queenslander one more opportunity and she doesn’t miss out, bisecting the cover fielders to earn another boundary. From here, Australia should have to the firepower to get to 160.
WICKET! Gardner b Kasperek 20 (Australia 104-3)
Gardner dances, swings and misses, Kasperek beats her in flight - comprehensively.
14th over: Australia 100-2 (Mooney 49, Gardner 17) Michael Clarke makes a good point on telly: they can play Kerr out here. The base they have is a solid one, there is no need to take risks against such a potent spinner. Granted, Gardner does go for a dance and a slap through midwicket at one stage - bringing up the 100 with that stroke - but the overall approach is as Clarke suggests. They are up for leg before to finish but the wrong’un is pitching well outside Mooney’s leg stump.
13th over: Australia 97-2 (Mooney 48, Gardner 15) Oh you cannot be serious. Devine has been pinged for a wide outside the off-stump with a ball that is clearly inside the tram tracks at Mooney from around the wicket, beating her edge in the process. And guess what? She hits the next ball for four, lifting the New Zealand captain over mid-off. And she does it again to finish, putting away a poor ball on her hip. A very good over turns into a poor one, turning on that dreadful call. How often do we say it about the officiating at major women’s tournaments?
12th over: Australia 86-2 (Mooney 39, Gardner 14) Amelia Kerr is back for her second over now as well - they need her to run amok and break into Australia’s lower-middle order. But can’t do so here, missing down the legside to begin before giving Gardner a full toss - she’s lucky it doesn’t end up in Albert Park Lake, a single out to deep midwicket instead. Oooh, she’s where she needs to be to finish though, beating the outside edge with a pearler. That’s done plenty.
11th over: Australia 83-2 (Mooney 38, Gardner 13) Kaspersek back for her second over and wins a false stroke straight away, but Mooney’s leading edge doesn’t go to hand. The hosts finish it in far better shape though, Gardner walking down the track and slapping the spinner straight back over her head for four. Top footwork.
10th over: Australia 77-2 (Mooney 37, Gardner 8) Another SIX for Mooney! Two in two overs if you don’t mind! With that in the can early in the Peterson over, they’re happy collecting singles elsewhere. Fantastic middle-overs batting.
Mooney hit just two sixes in the WBBL this season on her way to 743 runs. She has struck two overs here now. Going very nicely. #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/DWM63WmN6h
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) March 2, 2020
9th over: Australia 68-2 (Mooney 29, Gardner 7) Stand and deliver from Mooney! She clocks the first six of the day, launching Hair over long-off for a big SIX. That’s not usually her game as we see in the WBBL data, Mooney hitting only a fraction of sixes compared to players who make comparable runs in the competition. It is Gardner’s though, getting her first boundary via a nice steer behind point. “This is what the pressure does,” Mel Jones says on telly as Nair responds with a legside wide. With another single to finish, it makes 15 off the over - the biggest so far.
8th over: Australia 53-2 (Mooney 21, Gardner 1) Gardner is off the mark down the ground first ball, in at the fall of the second wicket today. There was a case for elevating Perry at this stage of the innings but, equally, if Gardner faces 20 balls she will leave a real dent in a hurry. We’ve seen her do that so often.
WICKET! Lanning c Tahuhu b Peterson 21 (Australia 52-2)
Four, four... out! An eventful start to Anna Peterson’s spell and it brings her the vital wicket of the Australian skipper! Lanning cut the offspinner’s first ball brilliantly, then lofted her second over the top for the same result. But sweeping at the third, a top edge landed safely in the hands of Tahuhu at short fine leg. She is absolutely furious with herself as the New Zealanders celebrate BIG time.
7th over: Australia 44-1 (Mooney 21, Lanning 13) The first over with the field back brings a mechanical response from this experienced Australian pair, collecting six risk-free singles off Hayley Jensen’s second over. That’s good batting. On the TV coverage, we see that Beth Mooney was handed her 50th cap before play today.
Updated
6th over: Australia 38-1 (Mooney 18, Lanning 10) Lanning gets one more blow in before the power play ends, lifting a Kerr full toss to the square leg rope. But putting that one poor delivery aside, the legspinner looked threatening.
NOT OUT! Not close, in the end. Missing her sweep, Lanning was struck outside the line of the off-stump and wasn’t hitting the stumps in any case.
HAS KERR TRAPPED LANNING LBW? She thinks so. They are going upstairs!
5th over: Australia 33-1 (Mooney 17, Lanning 6) It’s captain to captain, Devine bringing herself into the attack. Of course, the New Zealand number one knows this ground so well. I remembe watching her at Juction Oval in the inaugural WBBL season in 2015, striking 28 in an over with blade in hand from the bowling of Nat Sciver. It’s with the ball she needs to deliver first though and Lanning doesn’t let her settling, stroking a picture-perfect cover drive for four early in the set. Mooney’s turn later in the over, repeating the dose with a drive through the offside of her own. 11 from the over with one left in the power play.
4th over: Australia 22-1 (Mooney 11, Lanning 1) Rosemary Mair continues the seam attack in the power play as we get the TV analysis on Healy’s downfall, showing that the Jensen delivery was the widest on the crease of the over - that change of angle earning such a huge reward. This is a top over to begin at Lanning, right on the mark from the tall medium pacer, at the stumps for the most part. The captain is off the mark from the final ball, cutting a purposeful single to third man.
WICKET! Healy c Kerr b Jensen 9 (Australia 20-1
Hayley Jensen gets the massive breakthrough, Healy chipping Amelia Kerr a catch at midwicket! Earlier in the over, the opener smashed a boundary through that part of the ground but the medium pacer gets the wicket they needed early.
3rd over: Australia 20-1 (Mooney 11)
2nd over: Australia 14-0 (Healy 4, Mooney 10) Shot, Beth. Quick Lea Tahuhu gives Mooney a bit of width to work with and she doesn’t miss out, stroking a lovely square drive away for the first boundary of the afternoon. Later in the over, the Queenslander pulls a bouncer with authority, racing away for four more. Away.
1st over: Australia 6-0 (Healy 4, Mooney 2) Healy is off the mark first ball, pulling Kasperek hard into the legside, straight to the sweeper. Mooney gives the strike back via a leg bye before the right-hander uses the pace to steer a couple more to third man. A far less convincing stroke follows, Healy miscuing a straight drive after dancing at the tweaker, only just clearing mid-off. A bit of nervous energy.
The players are on the field! Off-spinner Leigh Kasperek has the ball in her hand. She was crucial for New Zealand defending 91 against Bangladesh, picking up three wickets in that win. Alyssa Healy is facing the first ball. PLAY!
Anthems in the middle. It’s difficult to overstate how big this game also is for tournament organisers. If Australia get over the line, and do so again in the semi-final, they will probably get the World Record crowd they crave at the MCG on Sunday. If they fall short here, the chances of that drops considerably.
Australia’s Plan A in this tournament was to chase. That’s the approach they took against India then Sri Lanka. However, in neither outing they were convincing - bowled out by India and reduced to 10/3 by Sri Lanka in pursuit of 132. Against Bangladesh they changed it up and elected to bat first, getting their mojo back. To that end, I think the way the coin fell probably suits both sides. Set up perfectly.
Amy Sattherthwaite has played a lot of cricket at Junction Oval and urged Sophie Devine to bowl first at this venue. #ausvnz
— Daniel Cherny 📰 (@DanielCherny) March 2, 2020
Australia: Alyssa Healy (wk), Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner, Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Jess Jonassen, Nicola Carey, Georgia Wareham, Megan Schutt.
New Zealand: Sophie Devine (c), Rachel Priest (wk), Suzie Bates, Maddy Green, Hayley Jensen, Katey Martin, Amelia Kerr, Anna Peterson, Leigh Kasperek, Lea Tahuhu, Rosemary Mair.
Perry passed a fitness test in the nets in order to get the final nod. My colleagues at the ground say that she took some time to build into her full run-up but got there in the end, alongside the team doctor. She then had a bat and won the all clear.
It’s a mild afternoon in Melbourne, 18 degrees currently. Lisa Sthalekar, on the TV pitch report, suggests that spinners will get plenty of help from the surface.
The Junction Oval pitch: Would you rather set the total or chase here?#T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/Ql93Ta7ea7
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) March 2, 2020
Sophie Devine has won the toss, New Zealand are bowling
Why? “Because we want to,” the New Zealand captain laughs. They want to put Australia under early pressure, she adds. “It is with the bat now that we need to step up.” The XI is unchanged from the side that defeated Bangladesh.
Meg Lanning says it is a good toss to lose. Ellyse Perry has “pulled up pretty well” so Australia are also unchanged from their win in Canberra on Thursday.
Remember the time Perry bowled Australia to a World Cup Final win on a broken ankle? She has form. Let’s go back t0 2013 in Perry’s words, recounted to Russell Jackson in 2015. Of all her matchwinning efforts, this is the most absurd.
Ellyse Perry is marking her run up
According to reports on twitter, from trustworthy sources! What a gem.
Preamble
From the moment Australia dropped the tournament opener against India, it was all bound to hinge on what happened in their final group game at the Junction Oval. There was never going to be any latitutde against New Zealand, the Trans-Tasman rival they know better than any other. And here we are, awaiting this virtual quarter-final to determine which team advances to the semis with India.
Since that initial loss, Australia have steadily worked through the gears with the bat, piling on 189 in Canberra against Bangladesh in their previous start. Granted, if their top order was going to find form against anyone it was bound to be the coompetition’s ninth seed, so they did arrive in Melbourne for this do-or-die affair with openers Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney both back in business.
As for the Kiwis, however, it was Bangladesh who nearly eliminated them from the tournament on this same ground two days ago. Then, inexplicably, Sophie Devine’s charges went from 36/0 to all-out 91 - a chaotic collapse of 10/51. But their bowlers got them out of trouble to win the low-scoring scrap by 17 runs.
The last piece of the puzzle as we wait for the toss: has Ellyse Perry’s hip recovered in time to play? The superstar didn’t train yesterday and has generally been in the wars after shoulder surgery in October. Stand by for news from Melbourne in about ten minutes when Meg Lanning throws the coin. Buckle up!
Updated
