This post is devoted to today’s match at the Women’s Cricket World Cup, between Australia and South Africa to decide who would finish top of the league stage, setting up a semi-final against fourth placed India, while the losers would face England in the other semi-final. Yesterday, which should have been Sri Lanka versus Pakistan, saw only 4.2 overs of play before the rain finally and decisively settled things, underlining yet again the folly of using Colombo as a venue in that city’s wettest month and the further folly of making all matches there day-nighters when the rain is generally at its worst in late afternoon/ early evening.
7-2-18-7
The heading for this section is simply the figures in standard Overs-Maidens-Runs-Wickets form recorded by Alana King for the nearest thing to an absolutely perfect display of leg spin bowling that you could ever hope to see.
King came on to bowl with South Africa looking a bit rocky at 43-2 after 11 overs, and by the time she rattled Nadine de Klerk’s stumps with the last ball of 24th over (her seven overs being numbers 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24 of the innings) the Proteas had subsided to a miserable 97 all out. The one wicket not to go to King in this period, that of Ayabonga Khaka was arguably the leggie’s by proxy as well – in the previous over bowled by King there had been five dots and then a single off the sixth ball as de Klerk, who was batting competently, demonstrated her opinion of Khaka’s chances against King. Khaka was on strike to the fourth ball of the following over, bowled by Ash Gardner, and was comprehensively bowled by the off spinner. King took four of her wickets before conceding a run, and her final figures of 7-18 were an all time record for a World Cup match and an all time ODI record for an Australian woman, relegating Ellyse Perry’s 7-22 to second place and current bowling coach Shelley Nitshke’s 7-24 to third.
After what had happened in South Africa’s innings there was very little chance of an upset. South Africa did take two early wickets, but a 75 run stand between Georgia Voll and Beth Mooney did most of the work for them, and some good blows by Annabel Sutherland after the stand was broken did the rest. Sutherland hit each of her first two balls to the boundary, and after one dot ball she then got her fourth ball away for the two runs Australia still needed. The margin was seven wickets, and Australia had taken only 16.5 overs to knock off the runs. There was of course only one candidate for Player of the Match.
South Africa have overall been very convincing in this phase of the tournament, but in both their first and last matches they came a cropper against quality spin – in their first match England’s spinners shared the wickets as the Proteas slumped to 69 all out, while in this one Alana King almost single-handedly destroyed them. They now have to face England in the semi-final. In view of what has happened today England must be looking at ways to include leg spinner Sarah Glenn. One possibility if they feel like going all in on ‘spin to win’ would be to rest Lauren Bell for the semi-final and rely purely on Natalie Sciver-Brunt’s medium pace for any seam they might need.
PHOTOGRAPHY
My usual sign off…
aspiblog 