WI Women vs Aus Women 3rd T20i Preview

Despite being 2 – 0, the 3rd T20I between the West Indies women’s team and the Australian women’s team is still important: the West Indies will need a template that can handle the Australian women’s team spinning from 7 – 16 overs. Can the West Indies make enough changes to convert 147 into 165, forcing the Australian women’s team into an uncomfortable chase? The final T20I of the series will take place at Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, St. Vincent, on Monday, March 23, at 6:30 PM local time | Tuesday, March 24, at 4:00 AM IST.

Australia has consistently posted scores of 164 in both T20I innings and restricted the West Indies’ chase to 121/6 and 147/4, with Beth Mooney setting the benchmark with her 79 runs off 55 balls and Georgia Voll and Ellyse Perry providing the fireworks for the second T20I. The West Indies had their share of moments that indicated a potential comeback. Hayley Matthews was once 1 run off 12 balls travelling through to score 56 runs from 41 balls in the second T20I, Deandra Dottin also finished with 39 runs not out from 28 balls. Yet by the time Alana King found her length in the second match, they fell 17 runs short of the total. The whole situation is about the probable 11s, fitness updates, and the way Arnos Vale’s surface will behave for batters and bowlers.

With just one high-quality powerplay and one composed finish, this seemingly dead rubber can become an exhilarating contest against a team that frequently doesn’t gift them free runs. Analyzing the data shows that through overs 7 – 16 of the 3rd T20I in WI Women vs Aus Women, Australia’s unique positional advantage lay with their spinners who owned the pace and angles.The bowler Kingsley has had successful bowling in both matches. Georgia Wareham bowled the stumps well and Kim Garth had enough control over the new ball for the West Indies team not to take too many risks with their batting.

The talent exists within the West Indian team equivalent to that of the Australian team but their ability to sequence plays is far below that of the Australians. Matthews and Dottin are swinging hard with increased required rates which means each boundary is, in effect, an attempt to rescue their innings rather than part of a planned increase in run-making.

What Does This Series Tell Us

Australia has made the same total in two very different ways. In the first match, they crawled to 34/2 at the conclusion of the powerplay but only after Mooney went into overdrive did they start to put a sizeable total on the board; the partnership between Mooney and Perry with 99 runs led Australia to 164/6. Viewers of the WPL in India will have seen both players score slowly after the powerplay, which was crucial for this venue.

In the second match, Georgia Voll lifted the teams’ spirits at the start as Australia got away to a fast start, finishing the powerplay with 54/1. Voll scored 39 runs off 23 balls and Australia accepted that they had a quieter second half of their innings to finish with the same total again of 164/5

The West Indies have provided platforms on which to build their innings, then instantly lost everything within a short period. In their first innings, they started at 76/1 after 12 overs when they had three players run out during a ten-ball period which ended the game and exposed the remaining players to the ugly required rate.

In their second innings, starting at a similarly poor level was the cause of their demise.The West Indies scored 26 for 1 during the powerplay. While Matthews faced Garth in an opening over without scoring, Qiana Joseph’s run out caused them to lose momentum that they could not regain. The only stretch when Australia truly feared was when Matthews let go of her own brake. She moved from scoring 1 run off 12 balls to scoring 50 in 38 balls, allowing the West Indies to require 75 runs from 48 balls with 9 wickets remaining; however, King’s last two overs of 2 for 7 crushed Australia.

Pitch Report for the 3rd T20I

Arnos Vale has been representative of the ‘classic’ Caribbean T20 ground, being dry, with some spin grip, and a scoring curve that gives batters the greatest rewards based on how to appropriately attack bowlers. In T20 Internationals at this venue, the first innings typically falls in the 120s to 130 range, while teams who played for a target have substantially cleaner avenues to win.

This series has yet to exceed that baseline, while at the same time, this ground was not transformed into a batting paradise. Australia has scored 164 on two occasions, but both innings had periods where mis-hits died along the boundary and batters had trouble pushing through the air from down the ground against the wind.

For the West Indies, the pitch requires an aggressive approach without panic. The seamers will bowl hard lengths that skiddy on for the first 6-10 overs; however, the spinners will then slow down as they use their fingers to roll the ball off. The best strategy for scoring will be to capitalize on the powerplay runs and to hold back on wickets until overs 17-20.Currently, the expected par score for this contest appears to be between 145 and 155 runs, with more than 160 commanding a winning hand, provided the bowling side accomplishes their matchups successfully, and batting first maintains control of the game; as a result, chasing in this tournament is hindered by the aged ball and the restricted boundary options.

Team News

In the third T20I between the West Indies women and the Australian women the West Indies have one new injury to be concerned about due to the second match. While fielding, Chinelle Henry sustained a left wrist injury and did not return to play or bat. Therefore, her availability will impact how the West Indies choose their final playing XI.

If Henry is unable to play in the third match, the West Indies will have to decide between a safer top-order player or an additional bowling option. While Eboni Brathwaite adds more stability and will allow Matthews to play with more freedom, Shawnisha Hector provides another batting option during the lower-middle overs.

The Australian women’s team has managed the workloads for the first two matches, and the final match gives the Australian women the opportunity to change players due to the series’ outcome already being determined. Ashleigh Gardner missed the second match due to hamstring tightness, and her return will add an additional spin-batting option that will complement the venue.

The leadership situation is also unusual. Sophie Molineux has had a back injury on this tour and did not bowl or bat during the first two matches, so it is likely that the Australian women’s team will construct a final XI that can cover four complete bowling spells without relying on her bowling ability.

Possible 11 for the West Indies Women

In both matches at Arnos Vale (including the last match), West Indies adopted the same foundational squad. There are still two specialist spinners, multiple fast bowlers capable of delivering, and a batting line-up led by Matthews and Taylor.

Expected XI:

The batting order is critical to success. For a realistic chase of 165, the West Indies require Taylor and Dottin to have more balls faced than they had in their previous two matches. As a result, Campbelle may be moved down to an anchor role only if the upper-order batsmen have scored quickly.

Expected XI for the Australian Women

For the final T20I between the West Indies Women and the Australian Women, Australia’s batting depth is strong enough to absorb any number of slow starts, but the formula that has successfully done so thus far remains unchanged: let Voll play free, allow Mooney to handle the innings, and depend on Perry and the all-rounders to complete the middle overs.

Expected XI:

Nicola Carey and Lucy Hamilton appear to be on the bubble for selection, but Carey has already played the second match and provides a hard-hitting option as well as a third choice for seam, while Hamilton provides similar skills but provides a potential fresh new option in the event the Australians desire a different look.

A second wicket-keeper, Tahlia Wilson, serves as an additional rotation point. Should Australia opt for Mooney to be rested from a completed series fixture, Wilson would be able to act in her place as wicketkeeper and also as a batsman, but this would expose Australia to a considerable danger as Mooney has been the most consistent run scorer in recent times for Australia on the playing surface, and the nature of how the pitch behaves offers its own type of challenges in terms of shot selection.

Key Match-ups

The match up between Matthews and Garth during the first two overs will have a significant impact on the overall result. In the second match, Matthews had a maiden over and was 1 run off 12 balls which left the West Indies in a position to chase Australia but left them with no option of escape. This means Matthews must adopt a policy of cautious single runs either with an aggressive intent for aggressive shots on the boundary or using her slogging shot as an option of last resort.

A second significant match up is Mooney against Afy Fletcher. Fletcher offers bowlers the drift and drop option and when she bowls to Mooney, it is possible for the Australian innings to stall due to the resetting nature of Mooney’s risk issues.

Georgia Voll is a wildcard for the West Indies and must develop a clearer strategy in order to deal with her. Voll was successful with hitting ball pitched short in the last match, so Alleyne and Fletcher need to aim straighter early on and have mid-wicket back in an effort to make Voll hit to the longer boundary.

Dottin is the key power hitter for the West Indies when the matches are approaching their conclusions, and Australia need to look to restrict her hitting straight through the line by bowling wide yorkers and having a leg-side ring for any mishits. By restricting Dottin’s hitting options, 16 runs-over can be converted into eight-run overs which is typically the fine line between a successful chase and a near miss at the AdRef.

The third match of the Twenty20 international series between the Australian Women’s cricket team and the West Indies Women’s cricket team will be played on Sunday, October 29 at Kings Park Oval in Melbourne (Australia). Australia have already displayed their capability to achieve a score of 160 without having an entirely flawless performance from their batting group to this point, however, the West Indies still have yet to demonstrate that they are able to successfully run down a total of this magnitude against Australia’s predominant spin bowling from the likes of Alana King.

Should the West Indies get to bat first

Should the West Indies get to bat first in this fixture, they will need a minimum total of 155 on the scoreboard by the end of the last over. This will require a power-play of at least 40 runs or thereabouts, with Stafanie Taylor occupying the crease in the final five overs and playing alongside Deandra Dottin for added support.

Should Australia get to bat first and again put up a score of 160 or greater, there will be significant swing advantage for Australia’s spin bowlers and Garth’s ability to control the ball with early discipline should keep Australia ahead throughout the game.

The expected outcome is a win for Australia with a predicted victory margin of between 10 and 20 runs, should they set a target for the West Indies to chase down. The West Indies best chance of causing an upset will be a bowling-strategic approach that restricts Australia to a total of 150 runs or less, giving Matthews the freedom to bat without pressure from delivery one.

Key Points

In Australia’s previous two T20Is against the West Indies, they have achieved 164 runs and in each match, held the West Indies to totals of 121 runs and 141 runs, respectively, thereby placing additional pressure on the West Indies to find 8-10 extra runs for themselves in the first two phases of their respective innings.

In the second T20I against the West Indies, Hayley Matthews demonstrated how to execute a successful innings with her 56 runs off 41 balls. Unfortunately her innings started off with a score of just one run after 12 balls, giving the rest of the batting group too much to do because of Alana King’s 2 wickets for 7 runs performance in the final overs.

During the power-play, Georgia Voll was the highest scorer for the Australian team, scoring 39 runs from 23 balls and achieving a 54/1 total in the power-play. The pitch conditions at Arnos Vale are so conducive to spin, that if loose lengths are bowled, run scoring becomes progressively more difficult.

Chinelle Henry’s left arm injury will be a key point to focus on when selecting the West Indies team; if Henry is not fully recovered, it could alter the balance of the batting group and either Brathwaite or Hector could be selected to fill that spot.

Batting first remains a safer option at this venue, with totals of between 145 and 155 runs considered a par score, and totals of 160+ runs considered a strong total if the bowling side bowls the correct lengths and controls their middle overs.

Closing Summary

While the outcome of the series between the West Indies and Australia has already been determined, the third T20I between the two sides will allow both teams to gain valuable experience and to measure their strengths and weaknesses as they head into the One Day International (ODI) leg of the series. The Australian team will look for increased consistency in their performance during the middle overs, while the West Indies team will look to display an aggressive approach to the power-play, without incurring the loss of many wickets.

For Indian fans following this match, the start time of 4:00 AM Indian Standard Time may present an early morning wake-up time; however, avid cricket enthusiasts will find the match’s strategic planning, analysis of 2-overs swings and contrasts interesting and will possibly be encouraged to get up to watch this game.