Australia enters the semi-final against the West Indies on Wednesday as hot favourites, even though they have lost their star-allrounder Ellyse Perry. Meg Lanning, however, praises Annabel Sutherland for stepping up in the absence of Perry, who she replaced in their last match. “It is all about players stepping up”, Meg Lanning said.
Ellyse Perry has a history of making life hard for the West Indies team. When they played the final of the 2013 World Cup, she picked up three wickets and conceded only 19 runs. A match where the West Indians were chasing a mammoth total of 260 but were bowled out for 145.
When the two teams met on the group stage, the match was, once again, one-sided. The main reason was Perry who, yet again, took a three-for and restricted them to 131, all out. But for the game tomorrow, she is missing due to a back spasm. Meg Lanning, however, shows a lot of faith in their youngster Annabel Sutherland, who made a direct impact with the bat and the ball against Bangladesh.
“I thought Annabel played extremely well, especially under pressure, it was not easy to bat. This gives us, as a group, a lot of confidence. I hope she can make a difference”, Meg Lanning said.
Great depth
Throughout the tournament, the Aussies showed an unbelievable depth in their squad. It started right from the beginning, when Ashleigh Gardner contracted Covid-19, days before their opening game. Meg Lanning has pointed out earlier that they have a great depth as a unit.
One of the major causes for this tremendous depth is WBBL, Women’s Big Bash League. It does not get full recognition, but the tournament makes sure that the players get to play under nervy and pressure situations. And now is the time to show what these players are made of, said Meg Lanning.
“Now I guess we are going to be tested, so it is all about players stepping up in different situations and not relying on one or two players.”
On Wednesday, Australia will take on West Indies in the semi-final of the World Cup. Australia has only lost once against the Maroon Warriors in their last 13 outings in ODIs.
Photograph: ICC
