Suzie Bates smashes White Ferns towards the semi-finals
India beats Pakistan but not convincingly as women’s section of the ICC World Twenty20 heats up
Olympic athlete Suzie Bates bludgeoned West Indies into submission as New Zealand powered towards the semi-finals in the ICC Women’s Twenty20 2009 tournament on Saturday.
Bates, who went to the Beijing Games with New Zealand’s basketball squad, hammered 60 off 39 balls, including 11 fours out of a total of 158-6 at Taunton before the White Ferns cruised home by 52 runs. Fellow opener Lucy Doolan hit 41 and later took 3-16 with her off spin.
New Zealand, though, which crushed highly fancied Australia by nine wickets in its Group A opener, lost its rhythm after Bates’s explosive start.
The ICC Women’s World Cup finalist, having opted to bat, looked on course to post a record score but, having reached 94 without loss in the 10th over, the team then lost six wickets for 62 runs.
“There was good and bad,” said New Zealand coach Gary Stead. “We made a great start and we started thinking about getting to 200 for the first time – perhaps we got ahead of ourselves. The disappointing thing was that some of our batters started slogging a bit when we didn’t need to.
“But I was really pleased with the spin bowling of Lucy (Doolan) and Aimee (Watkins). They bowled eight overs for 28. They were outstanding.”
Only a series of freak results will stop New Zealand reaching the semis. Its final game is against South Africa on Monday. West Indies looks set to battle it out for the second semi-final spot from Group A against Australia on Sunday.
Bates and Doolan took little time to get into overdrive, with right-arm fast bowler Debbie-Ann Lewis’s first over going for 19 as Bates hammered her through and mid on.
Doolan wisely gave her partner the strike but still found time to hoist three leg-side sixes into the crowd and reverse-chip a four. “Her crazy batting makes things easy for me,” said Bates.
West Indies’ reply began promisingly before four wickets tumbled for 13 runs to make it 45-4, all but settling the game. Big-hitting Deandra Dottin and Stacy-Ann King both fell for golden ducks.
Leg spinner Priyanka Roy, meanwhile, took the first five-wicket haul of the tournament as India struggled to get back on track with a five-wicket win over Pakistan in Group B. Roy, giving the ball air and finding sharp turn, took 5-16, her best in any form of international cricket, after seamer Rumeli Dhar had taken the first three wickets for 13.
Pakistan’s total of 75 all out, the lowest in the tournament, seemed within easy reach only for India to slip to16-3, then 36-4, with key batter Mithali Raj back in the pavilion.
Opener Anjum Chopra, however, kept her cool and dug in with 37 not out to see India, so disappointing in its opening defeat to England, home with 2.2 overs to spare.
“Am I happy?” said India coach Sudha Shah. “Well, we had to win and we did. But no, I’m not happy with the way we played at all. Our final game against Sri Lanka is another must-win. Hopefully we will click against them.”
A relieved Chopra added: “Wickets were falling like nine-pins, so it was a little tense. Fortunately the score wasn't too high and you could push it around for singles. You need matches like this… but not too often!”
For more news and information about the women’s section of the ICC World Twenty20 go to www.iccevents.yahoo.com.
The ICC World Twenty20 2009 involves 12 of the top men’s teams and the top eight women’s line-ups playing at four venues – Lord’s, The Oval, Trent Bridge and Taunton – in the pinnacle of international cricketing action.
The defending men’s champion is India, which beat Pakistan in the final of the inaugural event, in South Africa in 2007. This is the first staging of the women’s tournament.
A limited number of tickets are still available for the ICC World Twenty20 2009. Further details can be found at: https://eticketing.co.uk/iccwt20
