ICC Women World Cup 2022: Meg Lanning lauds openers after dominating win over West Indies

Australia Women sealed their ICC World Cup 2022 final spot after a crushing win against West Indies as they won by a mammoth margin of 157 runs at the Basin Reserve, Wellington on Wednesday for the seventh time. Stefanie Taylor won the toss for West Indies and she decided to bowl first after the match was reduced to 45 overs per side due to rain.

Australian openers Alyssa Healy and Rachael Haynes provided a perfect start to their team as they added a gargantuan alliance of 216 runs for the opening stand. West Indies bowlers bowled well initially but Healy and Haynes respected the conditions as they left balls outside the off-stump.

Healy scored a match-winning knock of 129 runs off just 107 balls with help of 17 fours and one six whereas Haynes contributed with a fine innings of 85 runs with the help of nine boundaries.

Beth Mooney and Meg Lanning added the finishing touches for Australia as they posted a par score of 305 runs in 45 overs. West Indies, on the other hand, were skittled out for a paltry score of 148 runs as all the Australian bowlers were amongst the wickets except for Darcie Brown.

Meg Lanning said in the post-match presentation, “I thought Healy and Haynes set it up nicely for us. West Indies bowled really well up front. I thought we planned it well and set a really good base. We felt that the first hour was really important. We’ve played here a number of times on a fresh wicket. The way Healy and Haynes played was great, they left a lot of balls which is important in these conditions. We often speak about how to make maximum use of our batting line-up and today it meant sending her (Gardner) up the order. Yes, it was (almost the perfect game). Anytime you win a semifinal, you got to enjoy the moment but we were quite good in all departments. We don’t mind whoever we face to be honest, both are really good teams and we’ll be watching tomorrow’s game.”

On the other hand, Alyssa Healy continued her good form and she was awarded the Player of the Match for her fine show. Healy has now scored 339 runs in eight matches of the ODI showpiece.

She said after the game, “Probably not as clinical as I wanted to be (speaking about her previous individual best in World Cups), but once I got to 73 I thought I better make sure I go a little bit further. The group has been so amazing, everyone in the top six has been contributing and haven’t really cost us so much. It is just about patience. In One-day cricket, you gotta ride the ebbs and flows and come back through the middle period and batting with someone like Rach, just that level head and calm nature about her keeps you in the moment and just sort of kept ticking along which is nice. I don’t miss too many at the training (direct hits), so I made it count and it feels good.”

She added, “Coming into this World Cup, we wanted to be at the Hagley Oval on the 3rd and it’s been at the forefront of our minds and I guess today was another stepping stone. I thought the girls played outstanding today given the conditions that are thrown at us. There’s been a bit of waiting around (before the start) and bit of darkness at the end and I thought everyone did an amazing job. We will just sit back and watch the game tomorrow and see who we are gonna come up against and prepare really well for Sunday. It’s a nice place to be in this group in the middle at the minute and hopefully, we can enjoy the next few days leading into the final.”

Australia will face either South Africa or England in the final.