Merciless Australia rapidly end West Indies’ World Cup dream

Australia (127/2) beat West Indies (125/7) by 8 wickets with 42 balls remaining

• West Indies crawl along to set an inadequate 125/7

• Cameo by Dottin fails to take total much past a run a ball

• Gardner’s exceptional bowling a highlight for Australia

• Australia knock off the runs with 42 balls to spare

• Frustrated Matthews bemoans lack of investment by West Indies cricket. 

As Australia clinically pulverised the West Indies in today’s World Cup semi-final at The Oval, the stadium sound system played these most apt words from Abba’s disco anthem “Voulez-Vous” at the end of the game: “We’ve seen it all before and now we’re back to get some more”. 

Australia, who have won six of the previous nine T20 World Cups are currently holders of neither this trophy nor the ODI World Cup, and are going about their business in this tournament in a way which must make them red hot favourites to win the final on Sunday, regardless of whether they are playing England or South Africa. They are indeed out to get some more World Cup victories.

Having won the toss and invited West Indies to bat, there was immediate drama. West Indies star player Deandra Dottin was shown on the big screen being carried from the dug-out area by team mates and coaching staff in some distress. Something seemed to have happened between the anthems and the start of the game, but nobody knew what.

Regardless of the off the field drama, Hayley Matthews and Qiana Joseph had some work to do: compile enough runs quickly enough to defeat Australia. Bearing in mind that 170 was nowhere near enough for India to overcome the Australians at Lord’s on Sunday, it appeared that nine or 10 runs per over would be the minimum requirement. With Barbados’s Matthews, West Indies’ inspirational skipper and stand out player at the crease, alongside the St Lucian Joseph, the slayer of England in the last World Cup, the scene was set for an explosion of runs.

What we got instead was Australia’s bowlers dictating the play and dominating proceedings. West Indies did not lose a wicket in the powerplay, but were striking at less than a run a ball, a strike rate that reduced further when the fielding restrictions were lifted. Ash Gardner, Sophie Molineux, Kim Garth and Lucy Hamilton all sent down overs which cost three runs or less.

In Gardner’s case, she sent down three such overs alongside taking the wickets of Stafanie Taylor and Jahzara Claxton. Georgia Wareham, Annabelle Sutherland and Molineux all chipped in with wickets of their own as the team from the Caribbean spluttered hesitantly like a rusty old jalopy, reaching 83/6 midway through the 16^th over when Shemaine Campbelle was dismissed for 22 from 25 balls. 

Enter, Lazarus-like from the medical room, the riddle wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma that is Deandra Dottin.

The World Boss strode to the crease as if nothing had happened and proceeded to show the previous six batters how it should have been done all along as she took down Kim Garth, Sophie Molineux and Annabelle Sutherland in the final three overs, during which she hit four boundaries on her way to 26 from 16 balls.

Could this late cameo, boosting West indies’ score to 125/7 be enough to bring down Australia and cause one of the big upsets of the tournament? Of course not.

Australia, it would be fair to say, treated the West Indies in the same way they had treated South Africa, the Netherlands, Bangladesh and Pakistan in the group stage. They made it the most one-sided semi-final you could imagine.

First of all, they struck at 10 runs per over throughout. Australia don’t really worry too much about losing wickets. Georgia Voll, the world’s number one T20 batter has had a poor tournament by her own high standards, but in Australia’s team, to score 16 from 10 balls like she did today is fine. It means that Phoebe Litchfield can come in and play her shots (which didn’t come off for her today), but that doesn’t matter, because Ellyse Perry can then come in (except she felt a bit of a muscle twinge, so retired out) – but that didn’t matter either because then Ash Gardner can come in. And so it continues down their order.

Today it was Gardner who stuck around with Beth Mooney to bash 35 from 20 balls. Mooney, who is consistently brilliant, scored an unremarkable 61 from 36. And without any fuss or difficulty or any sign of strenuous hard work, Australia overtook West Indies’ total at the end of the 13^th over. There is no reason to doubt that had they batted all 20 overs, they would have scored a total well in excess of 200. And they made it look so easy.

For the West Indies, Hayley Matthews is a class act, but has to bear so much of the burden in carrying this team, a burden which showed itself in the group game against England when her dissent towards the third umpire’s decision and subsequent meltdown will certainly result in severe disciplinary action from the ICC after the tournament.

Many of their other players are just not up to the standard required. After the game, Matthews was clear about this, saying that a lack of investment by the West Indies board means that players are not being developed sufficiently in the islands and the resulting team they select cannot compete. In reality, making the semi-finals was an amazing achievement, but also a bit of an accident. Teams like Scotland, Ireland, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh could well be overtaking the West Indies in the next few years unless something drastically changes.

And so Australia march on to Sunday’s final. And it is difficult to imagine anyone else’s name being engraved on the trophy on 5^th July.