Australia v West Indies: ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 semi-final – live! | Sport

4th over: West Indies 14-0 (Haynes 7, Healy 5) More bounce off a length and again Haynes is rapped on the glove! The next ball is a beauty from Henry – wobble seam and it rasps past the forward poke from Haynes. A single down the ground gets Haynes off strike. Just one from it and a decent start by the West Indies.

3rd over: West Indies 13-0 (Haynes 6, Healy 5) Connell sends down a wide ball, decreed so by the pink cagouled umpire Kim Cotton. Another wide! Connell loses her footing slightly in her gather to the crease. Healy glides the final ball from outside off away for a couple.

2nd over: West Indies 9-0 (Haynes 6, Healy 3) Chinelle Henry’s pace from the other end. She drops short and Haynes pulls her into the leg side. The outfield is a touch slow after the rain and they scamper two. Healy gets off the mark with a dabbed single and Haynes flicks away for a couple more. The last ball of the over rears up and hits Haynes on the glove, evidence of some extra bounce in the wicket.

1st over: West Indies 4-0 (Haynes 4, Healy 0) The first ball from Connell is right on the spot and blocked by Haynes, who scored 83* when the sides met in the group stages. West Indies know how key her wicket is. And she proves it… pouncing on a half volley to score Australia’s first boundary. Four off the first.

Not that it counts for much, and far be it from me to start any diplomatic incidents from my sofa-bed – BUT West Indies have hands down the best anthem of the two sides, nay of the whole tournament/international cricket.

The teams head our for the anthems. It looks brighter in Wellington, Ian Smith on commentary says the sun is due to make an appearance later in the day. West Indies will be buoyed by winning the toss and being able to stick the Aussies in to bat in what will probably be the dodgiest conditions of the day.

An email! From David Stewart*

“I remember back when Steve Waugh’s side was at its peak it was held up as the most successful international sporting team in any sport in the world. Apparently no other national team at the time dominated their sport like Waugh’s men. Can the Aussie women now claim the same title? Is there an international sporting team who are as successful? Or is that just wishful aussie thinking?”

I reckon if Meg Lanning’s side add the ODI World Cup to their recent Ashes whitewash and their 2020 T20 World Cup victory then they’ll certainly be part of that discussion, Dave.

(*Don’t think it is that one, this Dave is from Melbourne and will therefore be hoping that West Indies don’t prove to be a thorn in the Aussie side…)

Stafanie Taylor says it was a no brainer for her, even though their three previous wins have come after batting first. Meg Lanning says: “We weren’t too fussed.”

Still no Perry so Australia are unchanged: Alyssa Healy (wk), Rachael Haynes, Meg Lanning (c), Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Annabel Sutherland, Ash Gardner, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown.

West Indies are forced into making one change: Alyssa Mohammed comes in for Afy Fletcher, who has Covid: Deandra Dottin, Rashada Williams, Hayley Matthews, Stafanie Taylor (c), Shemaine Campbelle (wk), Chedean Nation, Anisa Mohammed, Kycia Knight, Chinelle Henry, Karishma Ramharack, Shamilia Connell.

We are set for some cricket! Each side will face 45 overs, due to the delay. The toss is coming right up. Nine overs permitted for each bowler.

Update: There will a 12:15pm local time toss for a 12:45pm start of play (in 10 minutes). Just waiting on confirmation if the amount of overs will be affected by the delayed start.

In the meantime, have a read of Megan Maurice’s interview with Alana King, on the Australian leggie’s slow rise to prominence.

I’ve obviously had to wait a few more years than others, but it’s meant that I’m really happy with where I am and I’m confident in where my cricket is. I think you’ve got to, first and foremost, be comfortable in your own skin. And I have done that over the last few years.

More below:

That’s about 25 minutes from now.

Hearing it’ll be at least an hour once the drizzle has definitively stopped before the game will get going. I’ll bring updates as and when they come through. If you’re out there then do get in touch, it’s not like it has been quiet in the cricket world of late? Save me from eating my 10th custard cream of the hour.

It isn’t raining in Wellington but it is grey and misty. There are no floodlights and the light is pretty poor at the moment. It all looks a bit like the backing for a Kate Bush music video. The clouds are bust.

And then there were four. Just.

This Women’s World Cup has had it all – runs, wickets, diving catches, form defying upsets and fingernail gnashing finishes. None more so than the final over, final (no) ball drama that infolded between India and South Africa that decided the semi-final line ups. Indian heartache on the field was met simultaneously by West Indian jubilation off it.

Welcome to the Basin Reserve, Wellington for this first Women’s World Cup Final between yella-hot favourites for the trophy Australia and the maroon, mercurial, sometimes-maddening-but-definitely-capable-of-giant-toppling, West Indies.

Both sides are missing key players for today’s ding-dong in Wellington. The big news is that Ellyse Perry hasn’t had quite enough time to prove her fitness after suffering back spasms – Meg Lanning will be unable to call upon her talismanic all-rounder. All hasn’t been calm in the West Indies camp either, with leg-spinner Afy Fletcher testing positive for the Covid and Mandy Mangru, the 19 year old all-rounder being allowed to take her place as a Covid sub.

All the recent match-ups (including a thumping 7 wicket win for OZ when the sides met earlier in the tournament) suggest it will be the Aussies who secure a place in Sunday’s final. But you just never know. If the tournament has shown us anything so far it is that anything can and just well might happen. Cricket eh?

Jim here with the call, sadly not from Wellington (where there’s a bit of drizzle around) but from a front room in South London (where it’s fine. Y’know, fine.)

I’ll be back with news of the teams and the toss shortly, play gets underway at 11am local time/ 11pm BST and 9am AEDT.