Australia secured their place in the semi-finals of the T20 Commonwealth Games in emphatic fashion, beating Barbados by nine wickets in Edbaston.
Alana King was denied a hat-trick and her first five-wicket international run when skipper Meg Lanning put on a mere slip chance, but the leg spinner still led the way with 4-8 from her four overs as Barbados was eliminated. for 64.
“It’s good cricket – nobody’s going to let him down or anything,” King said of the missed opportunity.
“It’s just the way the game is going, I’m happy to be able to contribute in any way I can.”
Alana King’s four overs against Barbados: 17 ball runs 0 limits conceded Figures of 4/8 Take advantage of all his wickets #B2022 #BARVAUS pic.twitter.com/FZNklVIpQw
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) July 31, 2022
Beth Mooney was puzzled for two in the second part of the Aussie chase, and Alyssa Healy was slow early on, crawling four of her first 14 face balls.
But Lanning (36th of 21) was in no mood to mess around, shooting four fours and two sixes, including 25 points from Deandra Dottin’s first.
“I really wanted to really contribute,” Lanning said.
“As well as Dottin, I had a few loose balls to put away and got some pace, which was good.”
Healy (23no from 24) then joined in the fun with back-to-back limits as the experienced pair saw Australia at home in 8.1 overs.
2️⃣1️⃣ balls against 5️⃣ four 2️⃣ six Meg Lanning wasn’t in the mood to stay ?#B2022 | #BARVAUS pic.twitter.com/cAlKsr4byL
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) July 31, 2022
Sent in by Australian captain Lanning, Barbados’ hopes rested largely on the shoulders of star fly-half Hayley Matthews and Dottin.
Matthews (18 of 13) started brilliantly, hitting four limits from Darcie Brown, but the teenager had the last laugh, getting the better of the Barbados captain with a short ball that was deflected high and safely between the hands of Grace Harris.
Dottin struggled to get started, finding the boundary just once before being trapped on the pads by King, for a 22-ball eight.
No other Barbados batsman hit double figures as Australia made steady breakthroughs, King leading the way as she beat Aaliyah Alleyne (8) in the 13th and then found herself on a hat-trick in the 15th when she knocked out Shakera Selman (0) and Shamilia Connell (0) with consecutive deliveries.
The Aussie defenders crowded around the bat and King took a big advantage on Keila Elliott’s bat, only for Lanning to fumble what should have been a single catch.
“I’m going to have nightmares,” Lanning said of the lost chance, which went slightly up to his right chest.
“I wanted to dig a hole and jump in as fast as possible.
“I don’t know, I tried my best and gave up.
“I was just disappointed for Kingy. She was playing so well and dropping her like that wasn’t ideal.”
It mattered little to the Australian cause, however, as Barbados were knocked out on the final ball of the innings for 64.
Tahlia McGrath (3-13) and Ashleigh Gardner (2-6) were the other multiple wicket takers.
Australia XI: Alyssa Healy (wk), Beth Mooney, Meg Lanning (c), Tahlia McGrath, Rachael Haynes, Ashleigh Gardner, Grace Harris, Jessica Jonassen, Alana King, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown
Barbados XI: Deandra Dottin, Hayley Matthews (c), Kycia Knight (wk), Kyshona Knight, Aaliyah Alleyne, Trishan Holder, Alisa Scantlebury, Shakera Selman, Shamilia Connell, Keila Elliott, Shanika Bruce
Commonwealth Games 2022
The Australian team: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Amanda- Jade Wellington
See all Commonwealth Games cricket teams here
Group A: Australia, India, Pakistan, Barbados
Group B: England, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka
July 29: Australia beat India by three wickets
July 31 : Australia beat Barbados by nine wickets
August 3: Australia v Pakistan (11am local time, 8pm AEST)
Semi-finals: August 6, 11:00 a.m. local time (8:00 p.m. AEST) and 6:00 p.m. local time (3:00 a.m. August 7 AEST)
Bronze Medal Game: August 7, 10:00 a.m. local time (7:00 p.m. AEST)
Gold Medal Game: August 7, 5:00 p.m. local time (2:00 a.m. August 8 AEST)
All matches played at Edgbaston Stadium
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