Women’s World Cup: Ellyse Perry and Rachael Haynes shine as Australia beat West Indies to stay top

Sport

Australia continue to establish themselves as clear title favorites as they defeated the West Indies by 7 wickets to record their fourth straight win and retain their place at the top of the 2022 Women’s World Cup table.

Australia top the 8-man points table with 4 wins in as many games. Two days after they beat New Zealand by 141 runs, Australia sidelined two of their strike bowlers in Darcie Brown and Amanda Jade-Wellington but still managed to throw West Indies for 131.

Ellyse Perry broke the West Indies batting order by removing the top 3, Diandra Dottin (16), Hayley Matthews (0) and Kycia Knight (0). Perry batted twice in their first over and took the big wicket from Dottin in the first 10 overs as the West Indies were reduced to 34/3.

Ashleigh Gardner helped take down the middle order, sacking Shemaine Campbelle (20), Chedean Nation (0) and West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor, whose 50-of-91 deliveries saw her team go from losing Matthews and Knight to consecutive Balls in the second half rebounded the innings.

In response, Rachael Haynes scored an unbeaten 83 as Australia won by 7 wickets and almost 20 overs to go.

Haynes’ innings and her late, uninterrupted partnership of 74 with Beth Mooney (28) allowed Australia to cross the finish line without breaking a sweat while boosting their net run rate.

‘GREAT DEPTH’

“That’s the beauty of our squad, we have such depth,” said captain Meg Lanning.

“Everyone who comes in has an impact on the game. Not only are they part of the team, they can change the game. I thought early wickets made a difference in the game ahead of time today, putting us ahead and putting them under pressure.”

West Indies had pressured Australia when they sacked Alyssa Healy and Lanning within the first four overs. But Haynes was steadfast, scoring her 17th half-century in one-day internationals and her fourth at a World Cup.

After a century against England in Australia’s opening game and 34 points against Pakistan and 30 points against New Zealand, Haynes has averaged 92 points so far in the tournament.

The West Indies started the tournament strong with victories over New Zealand and defending champions England but have now lost heavily to India and Australia.

Australia take on India led by Mithali Raj in a highly anticipated clash on Saturday.

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