Before her matchwinning half-century to e book Australia’s T20 World Cup semi-final spot in South Africa, Tahlia McGrath, the No.1 batter on this planet, had solely had one innings within the match.
Picked for her energy hitting, middle-order slugger Grace Harris has additionally had simply two hits, going through solely seven balls, because the defending champions romped by means of the group phases with 4 straight wins.
Even Ellyse Perry solely batted twice and the undefeated run got here regardless of Beth Mooney beginning the match with scores of zero and two.
Those dominant victories have additionally include first-choice leg-spinner Alana King not taking a single wicket, upstaged by comeback child Georgia Wareham.
That Australia might cruise to an unbeaten run, securing a semi-final showdown, most definitely with India this Friday, having hardly acquired right into a gallop says a lot concerning the power of the reigning champions, who’re going for a third-straight T20 title.
It’s a truth not misplaced on McGrath, who was a “specialist fielder” till it was her flip to face up. That’s the mentality driving the world champs in direction of one other title. Stand up when it’s your flip.
“I‘ve been a specialist fielder the last couple of games, but this is my first T20 World Cup. I’m loving it,” she stated.
“I love every chance I get to put on an Aussie shirt. So, I knew I was going to have an opportunity where the team needed me and I had to be ready. So, I’ve been loving watching.
“We’ve all been doing so well with the bat, with the ball. And I knew that when I had my opportunity, I needed to be ready.
“That’s the biggest strength of our squad is how much depth we have.”
But whereas Australia has dominated, the champs are but to face England and India, their best rivals for the title.
Australia will head from Port Elizabeth again to Cape Town for the semi-finals this weekend intent to make use of the additional time to “explore what South Africa has to offer”.
“And then the business end of the competition,” McGrath stated.
“We’re playing some really good cricket, but four wins means nothing when you get to knockout finals.”
Opening bowler Megan Schutt, who has a team-high eight wickets, stated it was time for the group to “click” with the top aim now in sight.
“Going through the rounds undefeated is really cool, it‘s something we’ve not done in a little while in a T20 World Cup,” Schutt stated.
“I think our cricket is finally starting to click a little bit in all three facets, so that’s pretty nice heading into the semis.
“There’s some games that we’ve kind of cruised through, there’s no doubt about that, but that’s what we train hard for.
“I think the fact we haven‘t had an absolute test isn’t really too much of a concern. We know we can hold ourselves in good stead when we come to the competition.”
Source: www.news.com.au
