Hear us roar
POP star Katy Perry will bring star power to the final, but Australia is very much the headline act at this year’s Women’s T20 World Cup. From left, Alyssa Healy, Ellyse Perry and Meg Lanning will lead the charge when it all starts on Friday.
BATTING star Alyssa Healy’s run of outs has continued in Australia’s last practice match before the Women’s T20 World Cup.
Healy made just nine as Australia defeated South Africa by four wickets yesterday at Adelaide’s Karen Rolton Oval.
Set 148 runs to win, Australia reached 6-150 with three balls to spare.
Healy, after making just 19 runs from five innings in the recent tri-series, was desperately seeking time at the crease before the tournament hosts’ opener against India on Friday night in Sydney.
But she faced only seven balls and was caught from a sweep shot which went straight to backward square leg.
“We’re not worried,” Australian captain Meg Lanning said. “She plays a high-risk game so she is going to take bowlers on and sometimes it just doesn’t work for you.
“She keeps hitting the ball well, she just keeps getting out early. No doubt she would love to be scoring a lot more runs but we also understand that’s cricket, you have your ups and downs.”
Healy’s opening partner Beth Mooney (10 from seven balls), Ashleigh Gardner, who made a six-ball duck, and Ellyse Perry (five from five) fell cheaply as Australia stumbled to 4-35 in the sixth over.
Lanning (47 from 36 balls) and Rachael Haynes (39 from 35) featured in a 90-run stand which laid the platform for victory.
Earlier, Australia’s bowlers copped some stick from South African captain Dane van Niekerk who cracked seven fours and three sixes in making 62 from 51 balls. Lanning deployed eight bowlers with Megan Schutt (1-22 from four overs) and Jess Jonassen (1-21 from four) the picks.
The win rounds off what Lanning described as “perfect” preparation as Australia seek to capture consecutive T20 cups.
“We get to play the real cricket now,” she said. “We have been looking forward to this for a long time and I think our preparation has been really good, we couldn’t have asked for any more really. Now it’s just about going out there and putting it on the park.”