Priest masterclass had captain in awe

Thursday was one of those days when Rachel Priest’s bat had only a middle.

Earlier this week against Australia in the ICC Women’s World Cup, she played out a painful 30 balls for an uncharacteristically sedate eight, to go with two from the first game. But in Taunton against the West Indies, she was into double figures by the end of the second over of the innings.

That over, which gave Akeira Peters a tough initiation into international cricket, was a marker of all of Priest’s strengths that came through in the eight-wicket win. Risk-taking – check. Short and widish – it’s there to be punished. Timing the ball well and striking it better, the New Zealand opener and wicketkeeper got her runs behind square on either side of the wicket.

She was strongest on the off-side, with fielders in the backward point and third-man regions kept on their toes. Her two big sixes – the second of which brought up her half-century in 29 balls – went sailing over mid-wicket. It’s the kind of batting that’s not easy to put the brakes on, and definitely not by a bowling side missing big names, low on confidence and with only 150 to defend.

With two fours already in the over and into her 90s, she didn’t consider curbing her instinct to hit out. When she was caught by Shanel Daley at extra-cover off Anisa Mohammad, Suzie Bates, her captain and a patient spectator through that 55-ball 90, was more upset than her at the non-striker’s end.

“I was disappointed for her – once you get a score like that, to not turn it into triple-figures,” said Bates after the game. “But she’s there to play that role, and if she plays that way, you do give chances and I’m sure she’d take 90 any day.

“When she lets herself go, that’s how she is. The first two games she wasn’t quite feeling like that and wanted to feel bat on ball a little bit and she knows that’s not the way she plays her best. And she’s come out today and shown how she can play. Some of the shots were some of the best I’ve seen.”

With Priest’s blitz helping it chase down a target of 151 in 18.2 overs, New Zealand did its run-rate an immense favour. Bates, however, insisted that wasn’t the memo given to the team at the break.

“It wasn’t a massive focus for us. Obviously we had talked about it, if we were in a position to go after it, but this week we’ve just talked to Priesty about just going out there and being really confident to play her shots,” she said. “When she got on a roll, the net run-rate took care of itself.”

The stage for Priest had been set by the bowling group, with Leigh Kasperek, the young off-spinner who had been the star of its ICC Women’s World T20 2016 campaign, and Lea Tahuhu, the pacer, making early, vital strikes.

The Windies have struggled with pace taken off the ball, and Kasperek’s deliveries, even while not turning much, were taking an eternity to get to them. Add to that the drift she got, and she could finish with three wickets and six maidens in her 10 overs. She only went for 17 in her allotment because of a six off a loose full-toss.

With injuries having been a concern for Kasperek in the run-up to the tournament, she was playing her first game of the World Cup and found herself operating with the new ball.

“It was more of an injury concern for Erin (Bermingham),” said Bates, explaining Kasperek’s inclusion. “It’s not major, but we felt that with Amelia Kerr (the other legspinner) still in the side, it was an opportunity to add Leigh.

“It just shows that we’ve got real competition and three world-class spinners. It’s going to be a tough team to pick, and hopefully in Derby, where the wicket is a little bit slower, our spinners will come into play.

“We actually planned to open with Holly (Huddleston) and Lea (the pacers), hoping there was a little bit of juice in a new wicket, but they opened with (Kycia) Knight, who had just come into the side as a left-hander, and we do like to use the off-spin against the left-handers, so it was just a change at the time. Leigh was outstanding.”

Kasperek, who represented Scotland in her younger years, said, “I was just grateful to get the opportunity today, so I think whatever happened, I was just stoked to be back playing with the girls. It’s good to get a couple of wickets and feel like you can contribute.”

The youngster sent back the dangerous duo of Stafanie Taylor and Deandra Dottin off back-to-back deliveries. While Taylor was trapped leg before trying to sweep, Dottin handed the bowler a soft return catch. According to Bates, her bowler’s success was because she remained unintimidated by the big names in the opposition.

“Before the game, she said she doesn’t know much about the West Indies. We’ve played Australia so much and she knows (those) players, and she said, ‘I don’t really know too much about them.’ So when players like Dottin and Taylor come out, she just bowls!” laughed Bates.

With two wins from four games, New Zealand knows it will need more such performances with bat backing ball, and vice-versa. In a tournament where batters have come to the fore, Bates urged her line-up to kick on: “With the bat, it’s just being really greedy, our top order being really selfish with the bat, and not giving any team a sniff."