Australia dodge the rain to reach final

Australia dodged the Sydney rain to beat SA by five runs yesterday and set up a Women’s Twenty20 World Cup final against an Indian team who earlier progressed to the final for the first time without a ball being bowled.

Wet weather washed out the first of the back-to-back semifinals at the Sydney Cricket Ground, leaving frustrated England to head home because they had finished second in Group B while India had topped Group A.

With no reserve day scheduled under tournament rules signed off by the boards of all competing nations, hosts and reigning champions Australia, who finished second in Group A, looked set to suffer the same fate as the rain pelted down.

An evening lull in the downpour and the SCG’s extraordinarily efficient drainage allowed a window for them to complete their innings, however, and captain Meg Lanning led the way with a battling 49 as they mustered a total of 134 for five.

The rain started to fall again during the final over and an extended break between innings left SA chasing a revised victory target of 98 runs from 13 overs under the Duckworth Lewis method.

Group B winners SA would have progressed had they been unable to complete 10 overs, but the rain mostly stayed away and Australia’s bowlers restricted them to 92 for five despite a blistering 41 from Laura Wolvaardt.

England captain Heather Knight earlier admitted that a loss to SA in their tournament opener had ultimately cost them a place in the final, with their semifinal against India abandoned in midafternoon.

“We’re just gutted we didn’t have the chance to fight for a place in that final. There’s not a lot we can do,” she said. —