After being 76 for 7, Australia win by 107 runs
An incredible turnaround. Australia were absolutely cooked here, seven wickets down, except for one thing: Beth Mooney.
Pakistan were right on top. Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal, and Rameem Shamin, the three spinners, bowled so well, and the fielding was magnificent, led by wicketkeeper Sidra Nawaz. Her magnificent stumping off Ellyse Perry was the moment when Pakistan really seemed like they were in this contest, backing up the wickets of the openers. Then it was all Pakistan for a while, some fine catches inside the circle.
But Mooney wasn’t one of those seven wickets, and she has saved the day so often. She got together with Kim Garth first, who barely scored but batted long, and then with Alana King who did the same until the last four overs, then exploded as Mooney flagged with exhaustion having neared a century. King made sure she was there late enough in the innings that her big hitting had its right time to come out, and so it did, ransacking 36 off the last two overs of seam, with Pakistan’s spin quotient exhausted.
That left 222 looking far too many for a deflated Pakistan, and so it proved, with some pretty tame dismissals to standard seam bowling in the opening overs. Australia get away with one, and Pakistan stay bottom of the table.
WICKET! Rameen Shamim b Sutherland 15, Pakistan all out 114
It’s been 64 balls, but Rameem’s vigil comes to an end. Left-hander, facing the right-armer around the wicket, and just defends down the wrong line as the incoming ball beats the outside edge into middle stump.
36th over: Pakistan 113-9 (Shamim 15, Sadia 1) Off the mark for Sadia Iqbal, inside edge from King while pushing forward.
35th over: Pakistan 112-9 (Shamim 15, Sadia 0) Last batter in is Sadia Iqbal. Shamim gets hit by a lifting Sutherland ball, has a slog at another that lands short of the fielder at cover, then defends the rest of the over. Only a wide from the over.
34th over: Pakistan 111-9 (Shamim 15) Finally the breakthrough! Last ball of the over, Alana King throws a ball right up high, turning away. Nashra Sandhu can’t help aiming a big drive through cover, but she only gets a nick. Fine take by Healy.
33rd over: Pakistan 110-8 (Shamim 14, Sandhu 11) Sutherland with a maiden. We are going nowhere slowly…
32nd over: Pakistan 110-8 (Shamim 14, Sandhu 11) Alana King conceding a single from her over. Nothing doing.
31st over: Pakistan 109-8 (Shamim 14, Sandhu 10) Sutherland to resume after drinks, a couple of singles only. She’s got 1 for 13 off six overs, given most of the extras don’t go against the bowler. What’s the plan, Pakistan?
30th over: Pakistan 107-8 (Shamim 13, Sandhu 9) More runs here for Pakistan! Nashra Sandhu cuts a couple through cover, and ends the over with a sliced drive through deep third for four. Add in a couple of wides and a single, that’s 9 from the over, and the hundred up. The win is 115 away from 120 balls.
29th over: Pakistan 98-8 (Shamim 12, Sandhu 3) This is ever so slightly interesting. Another bad review from Healy: a left-hander facing a leg spinner, around the wicket, sweeping off the glove, with contact outside the line of off stump. And Healy still disputes the lack of an lbw. Ok. It means that Australia have used up all their reviews. Can the Pakistani tail bat for long enough to make them regret that, with a couple of close calls going Pakistan’s way? I’m not suggesting they’ll win from here, but they could make some problems for Australia.
28th over: Pakistan 94-8 (Shamim 9, Sandhu 2) Now a maiden over from Gardner. So Pakistan need another 128 to win from 132 balls, which would be possible with wickets in hand, but not so much from here. If they are going to hope for a miracle, though, they have to keep scoring.
27th over: Pakistan 94-8 (Shamim 9, Sandhu 2) A couple more singles from the Wareham over, the innings drifting along.
26th over: Pakistan 92-8 (Shamim 8, Sandhu 1) Nothing but a wide from Gardner’s over, but this pair are still there.
25th over: Pakistan 91-8 (Shamim 8, Sandhu 1) Wareham settling into her spell, including a first run for Nashra Sandhu that is squeezed into the leg side.
24th over: Pakistan 89-8 (Shamim 7, Sandhu 0) A wild review from Healy behind the stumps, after Gardner rags a ball from way outside off stump. It hits in line with the off stump but it’s going way too far. Gardner the bowler had no interest in checking it.
23rd over: Pakistan 87-8 (Shamim 5, Sandhu 0) Wareham should be in every team Australia picks, in my humble. So should King. Pick two leggies all the time, if they can both bat like these two. King the only Aussie bowler without a wicket today, though she’s only had the three overs. Wareham 1 for 7 after this over.
WICKET! Diana lbw Wareham 7, Pakistan 86-8
Georgia Wareham on for her first over, gets driven for four, then joins today’s wicket-taking club. Diana reviews but there is faint hope of changing that call: a leg-break that straightens down the line of the stumps, evades the sweep shot, and hits her in the stomach in front of middle stump. Yeah, nah.
22nd over: Pakistan 79-7 (Shamim 5, Diana 1) It was a tough day with the ball for Diana Baig. Now is her chance to find something with the bat. Off the mark through square.
WICKET! Sidra Amin c Sutherland b Gardner 35, Pakistan 78-7
Australia were 76 for 7, now Pakistan are 78 for 7, but Australia still had their best player in Mooney. Pakistan have just lost theirs. Sidra’s first aggressive shot playing straight, but it doesn’t work. Wants to hit the spinner over mid on, with the fielder up, and she hits it hard but flat for Sutherland to catch.
21st over: Pakistan 76-6 (Sidra Amin 35, Shamim 5) Suddenly a Sutherland over comes to life. The ball is jumping. One leaps at Healy and clips her gloves on route to the boundary for four byes. The next comes off Shamim’s glove and away for a single. Then a short ball off Sidra’s gloves, hooking, and over the keeper for four runs, Healy standing up to the stumps. A single to follow, 10 from the over, and Pakistan at 76 for 6 are in a better spot than Australia were at 75-6.
20th over: Pakistan 68-6 (Sidra Amin 30, Shamim 4) Just a couple of singles from the Gardner over.
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19th over: Pakistan 66-6 (Sidra Amin 29, Shamim 3) Bonus runs for Pakistan, Sutherland off the left-handed Shamim’s pad and away to the rope. Shamim reaches for the next ball and pushes a run behind point. Sidra nudges one square, keeps building.
18th over: Pakistan 60-6 (Sidra Amin 28, Shamim 2) Ash Gardner into the attack. Getting serious turn from her off-breaks, into the right-hander. There’s a visit from the physio after Gardner scrapes her hand diving forward in a futile attempt to create a catch.
17th over: Pakistan 58-6 (Sidra Amin 27, Shamim 1) Sutherland is sucking all the oxygen out of the game. Bowls one wide first up, then six dots in a row, Shamim not being game to try a single thing against her.
16th over: Pakistan 57-6 (Sidra Amin 27, Shamim 1) First run for Shamim, working King around the corner after Sidra did something similar.
15th over: Pakistan 55-6 (Sidra Amin 26, Shamim 0) Just the one run from Sutherland’s over, a little nick onto pad for what was otherwise a good-looking lbw shout. That’s the first ball, Sidra adding that single, and Shamim blocks out the rest.
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14th over: Pakistan 54-6 (Sidra Amin 25, Shamim 0) A clever sweep from Sidra, top edge but she knows there’s no fielder at short fine, that fielder is squarer. So she’s happy to take that risk against King to get the ball fine.
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13th over: Pakistan 49-6 (Sidra Amin 20, Shamim 0) Rameem Shamim is next in. Somebody needs to stay with Sidra.
WICKET! Fatima b Sutherland 11, Pakistan 49-6
Again, spoken too soon. Flash and fizzle for the captain, who gets a shorter ball from Sutherland, gets on her toes to try hitting it through point, but plays too high over the ball and chops it back onto her stumps.
12th over: Pakistan 48-5 (Sidra Amin 19, Fatima 11) Alana King goes with the leg-spin classics. Bowls the beauty that curls past the right-hander’s outside edge. Bowls the drag-down that gets cut for four. Bowls the leg-side pie that gets eaten on the sweep shot. Fatima Sana giving Sidra support with those boundaries.
11th over: Pakistan 39-5 (Sidra Amin 18, Fatima 3) They keep bowling short to Sidra Amin and she keeps hooking. This time Schutt keeps the scoring to one, grabbing a top-edged ball on the bounce at fine leg. Garth the bowler.
10th over: Pakistan 37-5 (Sidra Amin 17, Fatima 2) Four for Sidra Amin, deliberately played even if fortunate – she reaches outside off stump and jabs at a ball, edging it down and past the fielders behind the wicket through deep third.
9th over: Pakistan 32-5 (Sidra Amin 13, Fatima 1) A single nudged square by Fatima Sana, to go one better than Eyman Fatima.
WICKET! Eyman b Garth 0, Pakistan 31-5
Three wickets have fallen since Sidra Amin has added to her score. She finally gets the chance, pulling Garth for a single. Eyman rewards her by aiming an almightly slog across the line at a ball aimed at middle stump. The attempt ends poorly.
8th over: Pakistan 30-4 (Sidra Amin 12, Eyman 0) Next in is Eyman Fatima. She almost doesn’t last the over, given not out lbw on the field with Schutt’s ball swinging in, and the DRS shows a yellow light on leg stump.
WICKET! Natalia c Mooney b Schutt 1, Pakistan 30-4
Oh dear, it’s becoming shambolic. Natalia tries to play Schutt similarly to how she played Garth, deflecting behind point, but she dabs that far too fine, just teeing up the slip fielder for some practice.
7th over: Pakistan 30-3 (Sidra Amin 12, Natalia 1) An early run for Natalia Pervaiz, backing away so she can stab Garth off a length behind point, via several ricochets off members of the cordon for a rushed single.
WICKET! Sidra Nawaz c Healy b Garth 5, Pakistan 29-3
But that cover drive is as good as the change gets. Garth bowls a conventional seamer’s delivery, upright threads as the ball travels down the wicket, bit of bounce, and playing down too straight a line, Sidra Nawaz pushes at it and offers a healthy deflection through to the keeper.
6th over: Pakistan 29-2 (Sidra Amin 12, Sidra Nawaz 5) Double Sidra. Here is the wicketkeeper-bat at 4, getting promoted after her fine work with the gloves earlier. And cracks her first ball for four! Through cover, right-handed.
WICKET! Muneeba c Sutherland b Schutt 3, Pakistan 24-2
Forget about rotating strike. Muneeba faces a couple of dots, decides she’s had enough, and walks at Schutt before slapping the ball straight with a horizontal bat. Doesn’t get it cleanly, the ball is dying on its way to mid off, but Sutherland is able to get low and stretch forward to get her fingers just underneath the ball. The close-up replay confirms that. Very understated celebration from the fielder, just nods at her teammates.
5th over: Pakistan 24-1 (Muneeba 3, Sidra 12) Decent over from Pakistan – they only need four an over, and they exceed that thanks to a couple of Garth wides and three singles. Crucial that Muneeba keeps rotating strike like that.
4th over: Pakistan 19-1 (Muneeba 1, Sidra 11) Great start from Sidra! Schutt learns nothing from the way Diana Baig got belted late, and bowls two short balls. Sidra hammers both of them on the pull for four. Then a low full toss, tucked square for two.
3rd over: Pakistan 9-1 (Muneeba 1, Sidra 1) Sidra Amin needs to go big with the bat. Gets off the mark quickly as Muneeba did to start the over. These two have to take a chunk out of this target, and can’t afford to soak up overs early.
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WICKET! Sadaf c Healy b Garth 5, Pakistan 8-1
The azan rings out loudly around this ground in Colombo from a nearby mosque but the Australians choose a different way to look upstairs for an intervention, asking the third umpire to overturn a not-out decision for an inside edge. Sadaf was pushing at Garth outside the off stump. Healy was sure. DRS vindicates that, finding a tiny nick that the umpire quite reasonably didn’t hear.
2nd over: Pakistan 6-0 (Sadaf 5, Muneeba 0) An edge early! Megan Schutt’s inswinger doesn’t come in as far as Sadaf expects, and she nicks it. But that inward movement has Healy going the other way behind the stumps, and the nick goes between keeper and slip for four.
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1st over: Pakistan 1-0 (Sadaf 1, Muneeba 0) Kim Garth to start things off, the Irish-born seamer who now plays for Australia, and aside from a single first ball, she settles into her line immaculately, outside the left-handed Muneeba’s off stump with the field well set at point and backward point, cutting off several deflections in that direction.
Thanks Megan. Another ridiculous bail-out by Beth Mooney, she is the Obama of the Australian team. Pakistan should by rights have been chasing 120 at most from that early position. I’m tipping now that they’ll be so discouraged at having let it slip that they won’t bat with any command. But they have their chance to prove otherwise.
It’s been great fun guiding you through this first innings, but it’s time for me to say farewell. I’ll leave you in the incredibly capable hands of one of my favourite colleagues, Geoff Lemon. Enjoy the rest of the match and I’ll catch you next time!
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Australia sets Pakistan 222 for victory
Well, what an intriguing match this has been so far! It started out with Healy and Litchfield looking pretty comfortable – taking runs where they could to set a nice platform for the team to launch from. But Healy was the first to fall and Litchfield tried to slash across the line inexplicably soon after. Perry, Sutherland, Gardner, McGrath and Wareham never looked confident and appeared completely rattled by the bowling. Mooney and Garth started the fightback, but Garth’s visible frustration with her lack of scoring buoyed the Pakistan bowlers and eventually they were able to get her with a beautiful stumping.
Momentum really started to swing Australia’s way when King came to the crease. She was immediately comfortable with the support role and was happy to wait out the maiden overs, not throw away her wicket and start to build the pressure on the fielders with quick singles and twos.
Mooney was at her brilliant best. Even though she wasn’t scoring a lot of boundaries for most of her innings, she never looked unsettled or impatient, she was happy to keep playing on the back foot to create space for herself and play those nice shots for ones and twos.
Once the two got deep into the innings, they were able to lift and take it to another level, scoring 34 runs from the final two overs of the match. Some great late hitting from King got her to her first ODI half century.
Pakistan will rue the lost opportunity to close the innings out early. At one stage it looked like they might keep Australia under 100 runs and give themselves a huge chance of taking the upset win. But 222 is a tricky target – especially considering they were all out for 159 against India and 129 against Bangladesh. They’ve kept the Australians well under their ideal total, but have they done enough to get a win? It’s certainly not impossible, but they will have to maintain the belief they had when they were taking all those wickets earlier on in the match.
A huge innings to come, so stay with us!
50th over: Australia 221-9 (King 51)
The final over of this innings and it’s the captain Fatima bowling it. King starts the over with a slog for six – a beautifully clean hit. She pulls the next ball for a six as well and brings up her first ODI half century. She gets an edge on the next ball that flies to Sidra’s gloves very quickly, but it hits her thumb and she can’t hold on to it. They run through for a single and then Mooney gets in on the boundary action with two fours, bringing up the 100 partnership between these two batters. Mooney loses her wicket on the last ball, but what a sensational performance from her to save this innings from near certain disaster.
WICKET! Mooney c Sadaf b Fatima 109 (Australia 221-9)
It’s a consolation wicket to Pakistan at the end, but they finally get Mooney and more importantly, stop any scoring opportunities on the final ball of the over. It’s an easy catch for Sadaf, but no big celebrations – it’s all about their batting performance now.
49th over: Australia 200-8 (King 38, Mooney 101)
King takes strike to start Diana’s final over and she swings hard at the first ball and misses. Now that they’re into the final two overs, perhaps she wants to go hard and push the run rate up. Next ball she pulls one for six, so yes – I think we can confirm that intention. Then it’s another pull shot for four. She looks like a different player all of a sudden! It’s a productive over for Australia, bringing up the 200.
48th over: Australia 187-8 (King 26, Mooney 100)
This truly has been an amazing fightback from Australia, as they creep towards 200. That number wasn’t even in consideration when Wareham fell for a duck, but this partnership has put on quite a rescue mission. Fatima is bowling her ninth over, desperate for a breakthrough. Sweat is dripping off Mooney and her shirt is soaked, but she keeps on persisting, to the frustration of Pakistan, bringing up her century with yet another determined single.
100 to Beth Mooney!
What an innings from Mooney, she has made all the difference today and despite the heat, she has pushed through to rescue a flailing innings.
47th over: Australia 181-8 (King 23, Mooney 97)
Mooney has overcome that slight rattling and she smacks the first ball of Diana’s over for four. And then Diana gives her too much width, so she hits the next ball for four as well. Diana finds her length and fights back well with a dot. There’s a bit of sloppy fielding creeping in from Pakistan and Mooney and King run a three, despite the heat and fatigue.
46th over: Australia 168-8 (King 21, Mooney 86)
A quick single from King to get Sadia’s final over of the day underway. Pakistan think they’ve got Mooney LBW and the umpire agrees, but Mooney reviews and the third umpire finds that the ball was going on to miss the stumps. But they might have rattled her a little, because soon after she pops one straight up in the air and is lucky that it lands safely. King relieves the pressure with a four on the last ball of the over to bring up the 50 partnership between these two.
45th over: Australia 162-8 (King 16, Mooney 85)
Sidra starts the over with another stumping attempt, but Mooney is very quick to get her foot back in her crease – call it wicketkeeper’s instinct. It’s incredible how often Mooney looks completely cooked, but manages to keep on going and scoring runs as if her face isn’t the reddest, sweatiest item on the planet. Diana is bowling a good line and length for most of the over, but gives a bit too much width at the end, which gives King an easy single.
44th over: Australia 158-8 (King 15, Mooney 82)
Sadia continues her spell and Mooney starts it with a single. Sadia looks once again to try to build the pressure on King, but she and Mooney are too good at darting through for those quick singles to put the pressure back on the field.
43rd over: Australia 155-8 (King 14, Mooney 80)
Mooney plays probably her most productive shot this innings – the flick off the hips – to the first ball of Diana’s over. Aaron Finch in commentary refers to it as a ‘professional single’ – giving the single to the recognised batter to get the other batter on strike. But King is able to keep turning the strike over and Australia bring up the 150. That’s a feat that seemed impossible when they were 76-7, but this has been an impressive fightback. Mooney finishes the over with a boundary and a single - she continues to be excellent.
42nd over: Australia 146-8 (King 13, Mooney 72)
Sadia starts her eighth over well, building the dot ball pressure on King. Pakistan are hoping to lure her into playing a false shot, but she doesn’t fall into the trap. However, it’s a maiden from Sadia, so not a bad result for Pakistan either.
41st over: Australia 146-8 (King 13, Mooney 72)
Diana is back for another spell and Mooney beats two fielders with a straight drive to get the ball past the boundary and relieve some more of that pressure. King has a big swing and a miss when she gets on strike – can she keep that frustration and impatience at bay to close this game out?
40th over: Australia 140-8 (King 12, Mooney 67)
Mooney is absolutely dripping with sweat, but she still manages to look unbothered as Fatima peppers the ball in and around her. Fatima gives away a wide early on, but Sidra is very quick to pick it up and even attempts a stumping, but Mooney is in her crease. Despite the frustrations of the Australian fightback, there still appears to be a lot of joy in the Pakistan team and they’re not letting the pressure rattle them.
39th over: Australia 138-8 (King 12, Mooney 66)
Nashra bowls her final over for today – she has been outstanding. Mooney is just timing her shots so beautifully, waiting on the ball and getting on the back foot to find the gaps in the field. But it speaks volumes about the quality of the bowling and the trickiness of the pitch that even these shots are often just getting singles, where usually she’d be finding the boundary with them. King does find the boundary on the last ball, but it’s a dangerous-looking shot that fortunately lands safely and races to the boundary for four.
38th over: Australia 133-8 (King 8, Mooney 65)
Fatima is back into the attack after a short break and King and Mooney keep putting the pressure back on the field with quick running between the wickets. Fatima fights back with two dots – it’s a fascinating battle between bat and ball at the moment. King is playing her role well here, offering great support to Mooney and looking more comfortable in that support role than Garth did.
37th over: Australia 128-8 (King 5, Mooney 63)
Nashra is back and there is almost a run out on the first ball of the over. Diana picks up the ball cleanly and releases it quickly, but it just misses the stumps. She gets King edging, but there’s no slip in and the ball lands safely and King scampers through for a single. She gets a slip in next time King is on strike and it’s almost a replay of the previous ball, but it goes slightly wider this time and even the slip can’t reach it.
36th over: Australia 123-8 (King 2, Mooney 61)
I’m surprised to see Diana back – she lost her shape late in that last over, despite the wicket of Garth. I thought they would give her a little rest here, but she starts the over well with four dot balls to King and I have no doubt Fatima is much more on top of her bowling rotations than I am! She loses her line a little and gives King too much width and she cuts it well to run a single and get off strike. Mooney finishes the over off with another single.
35th over: Australia 121-8 (King 1, Mooney 60)
Shamim is back to bowl her final over for the game. She would love another wicket here. King is picking up where Garth left off and is running well with Mooney to turn ones into twos and dots into ones. Shamim can’t get that wicket she was after, but it’s been a fantastic performance from her.
34th over: Australia 117-8 (King 0, Mooney 57)
Diana continues and Mooney brings up her half century with a pull shot to deep backward square. Diana gives away a wide and then a misfield gives Mooney another boundary, which she follows up with a well-run two. She has found a way to put the pressure back on to Pakistan here. But once Garth is back on strike, Sidra makes magic with the stumping and King comes to the crease. The first ball to King is a wide and so is the second – Diana needs to take a little moment to calm herself after that Garth wicket. She manages a legal delivery and King plays it safely to a fielder.
WICKET! Garth st Sidra b Diana 11 (Australia 115-8)
Sidra has a huge celebrappeal and I wasn’t convinced and neither was the umpire. But we were both wrong and Sidra is right – Garth’s foot was millimetres out of her ground and Sidra was all over it.
33rd over: Australia 104-7 (Garth 11, Mooney 49)
We return from the drinks break with Shamim bowling her ninth over. A little misfield from Fatima lets Garth take a quick single to get the over moving from the first ball. Mooney flicks one off her hips and senses a little bit of hesitancy in the field and uses it to push for a second run. There’s a lot more confidence in this batting after the drinks break – clearly some good wisdom imparted to them along with the hydration.
32nd over: Australia 100-7 (Garth 10, Mooney 46)
Diana returns for her second spell after bowling two of the opening overs of the match. Her first ball is very good, narrowly missing the stumps. It comes off Garth’s pads, but she’s credited with the runs and she won’t be unhappy with that! Australia bring up their 100 runs with a good cut shot from Garth – it’s just a single, but the confidence in the shot is a good sign. Drinks are on the field now.
31st over: Australia 97-7 (Garth 7, Mooney 46)
Shamim comes back into the attack, after her two crucial wickets earlier in the match. The ball pops up off the turf and hits Eyman in the chin, so we have a short break as the concussion protocols are followed and she is assessed on the field. Garth is beginning to look a little more comfortable out there and these two batters will be looking to take this partnership as deep as they can.
30th over: Australia 94-7 (Garth 5, Mooney 45)
Fatima continues and Garth drives the first ball and looks to get off strike, but it’s straight to the field. Fatima is bowling an uncomfortable line to Garth – Pakistan are really focusing in on her to try to break this partnership. She manages the quick single with a flick off her hips late in the over.
29th over: Australia 93-7 (Garth 4, Mooney 45)
A very difficult length ball from Sadia to start the over, Garth can’t do anything but play around it. She’s visibly frustrated at her lack of ability to get the ball away. Sadia gives away a wide midway through the over, a blip in an otherwise great over so far. Pakistan will want to keep Garth on strike and build that frustration to force her into an error.
28th over: Australia 91-7 (Garth 3, Mooney 45)
As is customary, Mooney is very bright red in the face, but she continues to hold this batting innings together. Fatima brings herself back into the attack for the first fast bowling we’ve seen in a while. That’s good news for me, because all these overs of spin have meant I have to type very fast indeed. Nice of Fatima to think of me with her decisions. It turns out to also be a pretty good tactical decision as she starts the over with four dots before Mooney plays one off her hip for two. There’s very nearly a run out on the second run, but Fatima isn’t in a good position to take the ball and she is too far away to effect the run out in time.
27th over: Australia 89-7 (Garth 3, Mooney 43)
A very determined pull shot from Mooney delivers the first boundary in nine overs. She looks like finding the boundary on the other side next ball, but a diving effort from the skipper Fatima makes it a dot instead.
26th over: Australia 84-7 (Garth 3, Mooney 38)
Mooney starts with a very quick single to Sadia’s bowling after driving the ball straight to the fielder and manages to put the pressure back on Pakistan, forcing a misfield. Garth doesn’t find it quite as easy to get off strike and can only play defensively for the rest of the over. The final ball catches the edge of her bat, but it falls safely due to her soft hands coming through the ball.
25th over: Australia 83-7 (Garth 3, Mooney 37)
Nashra continues and Mooney again turns the strike over with a nice cut shot. The second ball looks like a dot, but Nashra lets it get past her and Garth can get off strike straight away, rather than building the pressure on her. Pakistan need to stop every run they can to give themselves the best chance to win this game and beat Australia for the first time ever.
24th over: Australia 80-7 (Garth 2, Mooney 35)
Sadia returns for her second spell, replacing Shamim. She immediately gets Garth cramped right up, hitting the toe of her bat – for some reason Pakistan appeal for LBW, maybe just to keep the umpires on their toes? Garth doesn’t look overly comfortable out there, but Australia will need her to hold on and go with Mooney to help them compile a defendable total. A maiden from Sadia, very well bowled.
23rd over: Australia 80-7 (Garth 2, Mooney 35)
Mooney plays a beautiful cut shot to Nashra to start the over. She is still looking relatively calm and in control, but she’s not going at a particularly quick rate either. Finally Pakistan have the umpire interested in an LBW. Garth reviews it immediately and it turns out she got an inside edge on it, so Australia have a reprieve. Mooney sprinted down to the boundary to take a message from sub Heather Graham while the review took place. Another good over from Nashra.
22nd over: Australia 78-7 (Garth 1, Mooney 34)
Shamim resumes to Mooney, who is finding singles easily enough at the moment – it will be interesting to see how she responds as the pressure increases and more runs are needed. Wareham can’t manage the same and she just prods the ball back to Shamim when she really needed to stay with Mooney. Garth comes to the middle with a lot of work to do.
WICKET! Wareham c&b Shamim 0 (Australia 76-7)
An incredible diving catch from Shamim off her own bowling sends Wareham back to the sheds without troubling the scorers. This is a sensational bowling (and fielding) peformance from Pakistan against the reigning world champions.
21st over: Australia 75-6 (Wareham 0, Mooney 32)
Nashra bowls her fifth over and Mooney gets off strike with a nice back foot shot. McGrath loses her wicket and Wareham comes to the middle.
WICKET! McGrath c Diana b Nashra 5 (Australia 75-6)
What a spell from Nashra – she has her third now, drawing McGrath in with a very slow delivery, just 62km/hr. A diving catch from Diana at short extra cover seals the wicket.
20th over: Australia 74-5 (McGrath 5, Mooney 31)
After a frustrating over, McGrath looks more comfortable against Shamim and immediately comes down the pitch to turn the ball into a full toss and runs a quick single. There is work to be done to rebuild this innings, but Australia will be confident in their bowling and will know that every run they score here gives them a better target to bowl at, so they will just continue to try to rack up some runs without panicking.
19th over: Australia 70-5 (McGrath 3, Mooney 29)
A long spell from Nashra in the context of this game, but she is continuing to deliver. McGrath can’t seem to get her away and Mooney comes down the pitch to chat to her. Finally she sweeps one on the last ball of the over – it doesn’t look fully controlled, but it lands safely and she runs one.
18th over: Australia 69-5 (McGrath 2, Mooney 29)
Shamim appeals for an LBW on McGrath early in the over, but that is one mode of dismissal they’re not having much luck with so far today. Mooney is starting to look more comfortable now after a decent amount of time in the middle and she’s managing to accumulate some runs.
17th over: Australia 66-5 (McGrath 1, Mooney 27)
Another over from Nashra now. Mooney is able to turn the strike over thanks to a misfield from Pakistan that releases a little of the pressure. But Nashra turns it back on with some good line and length bowling. McGrath is able to get off the mark with a single and Mooney comes very close to chopping on, but the ball just misses the stumps and then another misfield the next ball gives Mooney a much-needed boundary.
16th over: Australia 60-5 (McGrath 0, Mooney 22)
Shamim continues with her offspin and Gardner tries to cut the first ball, but it’s a swing and a miss. She looks frustrated and then she throws her wicket away with a mis-timed shot that is an easy catch for Fatima. A great over from Shamim – a wicket maiden.
WICKET! Gardner c Fatima b Shamim 1 (Australia 60-5)
Gardner can’t pull off the rescue mission today. After trying to smash the first ball of the over and missing, she gets back on ball but can only lob it straight to Fatima. Pakistan are well on top of the batting here.
15th over: Australia 60-4 (Gardner 1, Mooney 22)
Another over from Nashra after she got that big wicket of Perry last over. Mooney plays it uppishly, but not near a fielder and she scampers away for a single. Sutherland tries to defend, but the ball goes straight through the gap between bat and pad and takes out middle stump. Gardner is in now – can she pull off another rescue mission? She gets off the mark with a single to end the over.
WICKET! Sutherland b Nashra 1 (Australia 59-4)
What a ball from Nashra – it goes straight through Sutherland and takes out middle stump. Sutherland looks bemused as she walks off. An excellent bowling performance so far from Pakistan – can they keep it up? Drinks are on the field now.
14th over: Australia 58-3 (Sutherland 1, Mooney 21)
Shamim continues and Mooney drives it nicely for a single to start the over. Sutherland remains cautious as she settles into her innings and gets off the mark with a straight drive past the bowler for a single. Pakistan appeal for an LBW on Mooney, but the umpire doesn’t feel the need to respond to that one.
13th over: Australia 55-3 (Sutherland 0, Mooney 19)
Nashra comes on to replace Sadia and Mooney likes the look of her bowling straight away, sending a ball that is slightly too full and too wide for four. She follows it up with a single and there’s a lot of work in getting the field adjusted for the right-handed Perry. Nashra gets the big wicket of Perry, but that only brings Sutherland to the crease. She starts defensively against the turn that Nashra is getting.
WICKET! Perry st Sidra b Nashra 5 (Australia 55-3)
A huge moment in the match – Nashra got Perry all caught up and completely lost. Sidra with the quick reflexes behind the stumps caught her out of her crease.
12th over: Australia 48-2 (Perry 4, Mooney 13)
Some great fielding from Diana to start the over, cutting off two Mooney cut shots in a row to restrict her scoring. It takes Mooney four balls to get off strike and she looks a little frustrated, but resists the urge to slash at the ball unnecessarily and eventually gets her opportunity.
11th over: Australia 45-2 (Perry 3, Mooney 11)
Sadia resumes her spell, giving us spin from both ends. She bowls a wide early – just drifting slightly down leg side. Mooney gives us a little scoop down to fine leg, fielded well on the boundary by Shamas to keep it to two. It’s a more productive over from the batters, but they’re not completely on top of this bowling yet.
10th over: Australia 40-2 (Perry 2, Mooney 8)
Shamim comes on for her first over, replacing Fatima. It definitely seems like Pakistan is trying to use these shorter spells to good effect. Her off spin bowling is finding its mark and she flies through her over, not giving the batters much time to settle.
9th over: Australia 38-2 (Perry 1, Mooney 7)
Another strong over from Sadia, who is bowling very well to her field. Perry and Mooney play her cautiously as they try to rebuild this innings.
8th over: Australia 36-2 (Perry 0, Mooney 6)
Two wickets in quick succession, with Litchfield losing hers on the third ball of the over. It’s great bowling from Pakistan, but things don’t get easier for them with Perry and Mooney at the crease. There’s a big appeal for LBW on Mooney, but it appears she got a little inside edge on it before it hit her pads. Mooney then gets off the mark with a two and follows it up with a boundary.
WICKET! Litchfield c&b Fatima 10 (Australia 30-2)
Now it’s Litchfield who gets frustrated and slashes across the line. The ball is straight up in the air and Fatima is strong underneath it to hold the catch.
7th over: Australia 30-0 (Perry 0, Litchfield 10)
Sadia continues her spell and the batters start rotating the strike more freely after being cramped up in the previous over. Sadia bowls some very good length balls, but then loses her length and offers up a low full toss that Healy gleefully drives past deep cover for four. But the next ball she loses her wicket and the Australians are one down.
WICKET! Healy c Diana b Sadia 20 (Australia 30-1)
Healy gets impatient and loses her form with a flick to midwicket that’s easily caught by Diana. Healy shakes her head as she walks off, disappointed with her mistake.
6th over: Australia 24-0 (Healy 15, Litchfield 9)
A big appeal on the first bowl of Fatima’s over for a stumping on Litchfield. The umpire shakes her head and Pakistan make a polite enquiry about whether she wants to check with the third umpire, but she declines. The replay shows Litchfield was well in her crease. It’s very good bowling from Fatima, who is hitting a line and length that Litchfield is finding uncomfortable. A maiden from her – the first of the match.
5th over: Australia 24-0 (Healy 15, Litchfield 9)
Sadia Iqbal bowls her first over – a very early bowling change from Pakistan, perhaps looking to keep Australia on their toes, or keeping their bowlers fresh in this heat with shorter spells. It almost pays off, when Sadia catches the edge of Healy’s bat, but it sails just wide of the slips for four. Late in the over, Litchfield gives us the first reverse sweep of the match – it’s just a single, but it’s a bit of a warning to the Pakistani bowlers about what she can do.
4th over: Australia 17-0 (Healy 10, Litchfield 7)
Another over from Fatima and Litchfield again starts it watchfully. She turns the strike over on the next ball and then there’s a big appeal for LBW on Healy, but the umpire isn’t interested and Pakistan decide not to review. It turns out to be a good decision, as the ball tracking technology shows the ball would have missed the stumps. A good over from Pakistan, just one run from it.
3rd over: Australia 16-0 (Healy 10, Litchfield 6)
Diana continues her spell and Healy starts the over defensively once again. It looks like Australia’s game plan is to take a few overs to work their way in, take their opportunities when they arise and build a good platform to launch from. Both Healy and Litchfield are playing good shots, but they aren’t launching anything out of the ground as yet. When the ball is on their pads, both are enjoying that length and scoring quite freely.
2nd over: Australia 10-0 (Healy 5, Litchfield 5)
Captain Fatima Sana Khan opens the bowling from the other end, with Healy on strike to start the over. Healy flicks the first ball off her pads down towards fine leg for a single. Litchfield turns the strike over immediately – both players are looking comfortable, but are paying respect to the bowling. They run a rare three midway through the over when Healy sends a delivery out to the longest part of the boundary.
1st over: Australia 5-0 (Healy 1, Litchfield 4)
I’m so pleased to see Colombo in the sunshine – it looks like a cracking day for cricket out there. Diana is bowling the first over for Pakistan and she starts with a good line and length and Healy is forced to defend the first couple of balls, before a wider one down the leg side appeals to Healy and she flicks it to deep backward square for a single, to give Litchfield her first look at Diana’s bowling. She also plays defensively for the first two balls she faces, then gets her footwork going and drives the last ball of the over to the boundary for four.
The teams are on the field for the anthems now, not too long to go until the first ball is bowled.
Just two changes to Australia’s team from their first match. Georgia Wareham comes in for Sophie Molineux, which captain Alyssa Healy notes is partly due to Molineux being managed in her return from injury. Megan Schutt coming for Darcie Brown was a change many predicted, after Brown struggled against New Zealand.
Pakistan have made just one change from their match against India, with Eyman Fatima coming in for Aliya Riaz. Fatima Sana Khan said that was just about trying to get the best match ups against their opponent.
Updated
Pakistan XI
1. Muneeba Ali
2. Sidra Amin
3. Natalia Parvaiz
4. Sadaf Shamas
5. Eyman Fatima
6. Sidra Nawaz (wk)
7. Fatima Sana Khan (c)
8. Rameen Shamim
9. Sadia Iqbal
10. Nashra Sundhu
11. Diana Baig
Australia XI
1. Alyssa Healy (c, wk)
2. Phoebe Litchfield
3. Ellyse Perry
4. Beth Mooney
5. Annabel Sutherland
6. Ash Gardner
7. Tahlia McGrath
8. Georgia Wareham
9. Alana King
10. Kim Garth
11. Megan Schutt
Updated
Pakistan win the toss and choose to bowl
Pakistan captain Fatima Sana Khan believes the conditions are right for bowling today. After their batting performances in the past two games, it makes sense they would want to start with their strength as well.
Ooh an email! This one comes from friend of the OBO Maddy.
Hey Megan,
Cool to see there’s an email for you!
What’s the weather looking like today?
Because of course… multitasking netball & cricket tonight. Why are they always on at the same time?!
Very good questions Maddy! The weather forecast is looking great – sunny skies and a dry outfield, which is very good news indeed. As for the cricket and netball scheduling, I am as baffled and annoyed as you are! My attention is all on the cricket, so any netball updates from multiscreeners would be much appreciated.
If you want to know more about Australia’s last match, please enjoy three hours of rain updates and a chronicle of my slow descent into madness.
If you’re looking to learn a bit more about how Pakistan fared in their last match, you can check out this match report – featuring unscheduled insect breaks and pitch fumigation.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to Match 9 of the Cricket World Cup! Today we’ve got Australia taking on Pakistan, which should be an interesting match up.
Pakistan are yet to win a game, but they bowled admirably against India. Their batting hasn’t yet really fired at this tournament, which left them with a big defeat to India and unable to match it with Bangladesh. Against a very strong Australian bowling attack, they will need a hugely improved batting performance if they want to be in the game today.
Australia will be feeling a little uncomfortable with we’re they’re sitting on the ladder at the moment, after their match against Sri Lanka on the weekend was washed out. Had they had a good win and boosted their net run rate, they might have been prepared to experiment a little more with their team make up today, but that washout has created a little more pressure for the defending champs and I’d expect to see a pretty similar line up to the one they used in their opening match against New Zealand.
Their is plenty on the line for both teams, so let’s get into it. If you have any thoughts on the match, or just feel like a chat, my email link is at the top of the page, so feel free to drop me a line!
