Sharjah: New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine believes that late cameos from Brooke Halliday (18 from 9) and Isabella Gaze (20 from 14) helped them to beat West Indies in a thrilling semifinal to set up Women’s T20 World Cup final with South Africa on Sunday.
The knockout match went down to the wire as West Indies were in the contest till the last over of the clash. Late cameos guided New Zealand to 128/9 after middle order collapse.
In reply, the Kiwis took wickets early, removing their opponents’ chance for the sort of early momentum that saw them thrash England in the group stage.
However, there was still a threat, especially with captain Hayley Matthews still out in the middle at the midway point of the innings and again when the explosive Deandra Dottin slammed 23 runs from a single over to spark a nervy finish.
“It has not sunk in at all,” Devine said after a thrilling eight-run win. “I’m still trying to get my brain back from being fried out there. Really privileged to be playing in a World Cup final.”
“The thing that makes me proud is the character we have had for the last 12-18 months. Results have not gone our way, we have gotten a fair bit of stick from people on the outside,” she added.
Talking about their innings, Devine said 130 was a competitive total but with the Windies in front, it was not an easy task to defend.
“The last two to three overs saved our bacon, with the way Izzie (Isabella Gaze) batted,” Devine said.
“We thought 130 would be a competitive total, we knew we were in with a great shout. With the ball, taking wickets regularly always helps. But when you have players like Hayley and Deandra, the game is never over.
“She (Dottin) is a quality player. You can set the field for her but she can just hit it over the top. We put down a couple of chances, and had we taken them it might have been easier. Credit to West Indies. We always knew it was going to be a tough game and huge respect to them,” she added.
With 15 runs required off the final over, Devine turned to her teammate Suzie Bates – another veteran who appeared in both the 2009 and 2010 finals.
And Bates, who hadn’t bowled previously in the tournament, held her nerve after being hammered for four off the first ball of the over, to finish the job for her team.
“She has been harping on at us in training that she has been practicing for this,” Devine said. “With just three fielders out, that is pretty clutch and to finish things off, it was cool for Suzie to do it.”
Devine is excited to take on Proteas in the title clash. “I’m really excited about this last match and we have nothing to lose, and that is a great space to be. We will celebrate this tonight, and we gotta win this now,” she said.
“They (South Africa) are an incredible side. Laura (Wolvaardt) leads them from the front, (Marizanne) Kapp is one of the best players in the world. (Anneke) Bosch in the game against Australia… but we have to focus on ourselves, and hope the cricketing gods are on our side as well.
–IANS
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