Mighty Australians seeking revenge against powerful West Indies in 1st semi

By Brandon Corlette

In 2016, Australia and West Indies were involved in one of the most remarkable cricket matches in history, the Women’s World T20 finals. West Indies won that final by eight wickets with Hayley Matthews and Stafanie Taylor stroking superb half-centuries as the Caribbean side comfortably chased 149. Will West Indies repeat this spectacular performance against the mighty Aussies?

The defending champions, West Indies will take on Australia in the first semi-final at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua on Thursday November 22, from 16:00h local time. West Indies have had an exceptional World T20 campaign thus far, winning group matches against Bangladesh, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and England.
West Indies’ women opened their campaign with an unbelievable 60-run victory in Guyana over Bangladesh. It was a record-breaking match for Deandra Dottin, who picked up five wickets to help bowl Bangladesh out for their lowest total – 46.
In their second match of the tournament against South Africa, the West Indies bowlers continued to dominate, with Stafanie Taylor taking four wickets to restrict South Africa to 76. West Indies batters were due to score runs and the bats of the top three did the talking against Sri Lanka. Twenty-year-old Hayley Matthews reminded the world that she is amongst the brightest cricketing prospects when she stroked a magnificent 62 and picked up three wickets to lead the Windies to a 83-run win. However, in the most recent match, West Indies were challenged to play out of their skins against a tough England team. Both Dottin and Shemaine Campbell played responsible knocks to see Windies clinch a four-wicket win.

Meanwhile, Australia won three matches in Group B, finishing behind India. Australia kick-started their World T20 campaign with a 60-run win over Pakistan, with Alyssa Healy being the star performer. In their second match, Australia and Healy outplayed Ireland to complete a nine-wicket victory. Australia then met with New Zealand in a trans-Tasmania clash, with Healy leading the Aussies to a 33-run win. The confident Australia team then met with India where they suffered a 48-run defeat.
Dottin is West Indies’ leading run scorer and the only batter with over 100 runs with 115 runs in four innings averaging 28.75. Dottin has also been the tournament’s leading wicket taker with nine wickets for 54 runs from the 70 balls she bowled in this tournament. Taylor has also been among the wickets with seven scalps from 70 balls conceding 62 runs in this tournament. Shakera Selman has also been consistent with the new ball, with six wickets to her name.
Veteran Aussie seam bowler Megan Schutt has been Australia’s leading wicket taker with seven wickets while Healy, who suffered a concussion and is doubtful for the semis, has 157 runs at a staggering average of 78.50 with a strike rate of 160.20. Beth Mooney has crossed 100 runs in this tournament with 107 runs averaging 26.75.
This inspiring Stand-alone International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s World T20 tournament has proved to the world that women’s cricket has greatly evolved; the performances and support showed throughout the preliminary phases have been tremendous and the women have perfected the gentleman’s game.