‘She’s been threatening for a long time’ – Australia’s depth delivers as Wareham
Australia’s Depth Delivers as Wareham Shines
Australia have dipped into their enviable depth at this T20 World Cup, which could give them a powerful platform over the latter stages of the tournament.
A quad injury meant that Phoebe Litchfield missed their last match, a 98-run thrashing of Netherlands at Southampton on Saturday, and is expected to keep her out of Tuesday night’s game with Pakistan at Headingley.
Georgia Voll and Beth Mooney
Georgia Voll kept wicket against Netherlands while Beth Mooney nursed some tightness in her back which prompted her to retire hurt on 74 in a move Australia said was precautionary, while Ash Gardner bounced back with a half-century after missing the nine-wicket win over Bangladesh due to a sprained ankle.
All the while, allrounder Georgia Wareham has bolstered Australia’s middle order, scoring a boundary-laden 32 in the opening-match win over South Africa – when she also took 3 for 13 to stand out in a spin-heavy attack – and 41 off 18 against Netherlands. She is now Australia’s second-highest run-scorer at the tournament so far, behind Mooney.
Wareham’s Recent Performance
Wareham was named Player of the Tournament at the last WBBL after finishing the season for Melbourne Renegades as the competition’s leading wicket-taker with 19 at 10.94 and an economy of 5.47 and scoring 277 runs in the middle order at 39.57 and a strike rate of 147.34. She also enjoyed a good ODI series in the Caribbean in March, with two Player-of-the-Match awards and a superior strike rate.
I don’t think [it’s] probably surprising to any of us that see Wolfie [Wareham] go about her work day in, day out, Shelley Nitschke, Australia’s head coach, said. She’s probably been threatening with the bat for a long time.
We all know what she’s capable of. She’s had a really good 12 months and was excellent again [against Netherlands]. She’s playing a really critical role there for us through the middle.
Australia’s Next Opponents
Australia have endured a gruelling travel schedule at this World Cup, starting their campaign in Manchester before heading to Leeds, then traversing the length of the country to Southampton then back to Leeds by coach. And Mooney has attributed her back soreness to long stretches of time spent on the road.
With three wins from three and a final group-stage game against India at Lord’s on Sunday looming, Australia can – and must – take a good deal of calculation into their risk-taking at this point.
Their next opponents don’t have that luxury, having watched Fatima Sana single-handedly offer them some hope before being swept aside by South Africa. Pakistan are yet to record a win at the tournament, having lost their opening match to India and to Bangladesh on Sunday.
Pakistan’s Hopes
Sana scored an unbeaten 55 off 38 balls and took 3 for 16 in 2.5 overs to send an almighty scare through the South Africa camp but Marizanne Kapp’s all-round effort saw the Proteas home by two wickets. Sana’s efforts haven’t gone unnoticed by Australia.
She’s been outstanding, Nitschke said. Since she’s stepped into the captaincy role, she’s really grown as an allrounder and one of the world’s best at T20 cricket. We haven’t had a chance to get our plans ready.
We’ve got a five-hour bus trip, so there’s a bit of an opportunity for us to have a look at that. But we certainly know that she’s the sort of player we need to be well planned for and be able to execute against her because she’s showing that she can take a game away from a team.
After that last defeat to Bangladesh, Pakistan coach Wahab Riaz lamented that his side had defeated themselves, ruining their already slim chances of progressing to the knockouts after going from 70 for 2 in the 12th over to ending on 100 for 8 chasing 124.
On the eve of their encounter with Australia, Pakistan opener Muneeba Ali vowed that her team would look to rectify the mistakes we have been making in the last three games against a side they had 76 for 7 at last year’s 50-over World Cup before losing by 107 runs. In that game, Australia bowled Pakistan out for 114 chasing 222.
Of the lessons from losing to Bangladesh, Muneeba said: When I was settled in, I should probably have finished that match, but unfortunately when wickets fall we have a cluster of wickets in the last three games.
That is the main thing we need to rectify and identify what we were doing in those situations. Are we not taking good, right decisions mentally in those pressure times? That is what we have talked about and we will try to rectify.
