Women’s T20 WC: Mooney credits Australia’s squad depth for marching into record eighth final

London, July 1 (IANS) Australia wicketkeeper-batter Beth Mooney has attributed her side’s run to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final to consistent contributions from across the squad after the six-time champions defeated the West Indies by eight wickets in the semi-final at The Oval.

Speaking after the victory, Mooney singled out the impact of Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham and Georgia Voll, explaining how Australia’s depth, versatility and ability to produce match-winners at crucial moments have put the team within one victory of another world title, with either England or South Africa awaiting in Sunday’s final at Lord’s.

Mooney pointed to Gardner’s growing confidence, particularly after her recent performances with the bat, and said it translated into another influential outing with the ball and said that the all-rounder has repeatedly proven her value to the side over the years.

“She’s been a critical player for us for a long period of time. She obviously batted beautifully against India at Lord’s the other day. She gets a lot of confidence from that. And I think we saw that today with the ball. She bowled beautifully and took wickets at critical times. So we know the threat that she poses to other teams, and we’re very lucky to have her at our disposal in our team,” Mooney said post match.

With Australia now one step away from another global title, Mooney stressed the importance of every member of the squad finding form at the business end of the tournament.

“Certainly going into the pointy end of the competition, it’s always good to have all your players in good form,” she said.

Mooney also highlighted Wareham’s impact, saying the all-rounder has developed into one of Australia’s most complete cricketers after adapting to different roles within the team, and the qualities that make her such an influential player.

“Wolf (Wareham) has been unreal. Not too many cricketers float around the world stage having the skill set that she does and the nous of the game … the calmness. So it’s probably been a little bit of time in the making for Wolf. I think she’s been given different roles along the way but really come into her own in that number six role with the bat especially, and also just nailing it with the ball,” she added.

Mooney believes Wareham’s all-round abilities make her one of the standout players in the international game.

“She’s the all-round package—Wolf—bat, ball, field, great temperament, great human. So another player that is probably the envy of world cricket, and she’s in our team. So I’m very lucky that I get to have the best seat in the house, both behind the stumps when I’m keeping and obviously seeing her do her thing with the bat. So hopefully she’s got one more very good game in her and can help us get on the right side of the result on Sunday,” the wicketkeeper-batter expressed.

At the top of the order, Mooney also credited Georgia Voll for giving Australia fast starts during the powerplay, allowing the batting unit to dictate the pace of the innings.

“Yeah, we’ve discussed that that’s a pretty important phase of the game to try and attack, and obviously with Georgia Voll at the top of the order, it makes it pretty easy to do that,” Mooney mentioned.

Mooney explained that Australia’s approach is built around maximising the fielding restrictions while relying on experience to make the right decisions under pressure.

“From a personal point of view, I’ve certainly got the control and the skills to be able to take the game on a little bit earlier and played a lot of cricket and have a lot of data behind me to back up the fact that I can make good decisions and know what I’m doing every now and then. It’s not going to come off all the time, but I think that’s the way forward in T20 cricket is to really attack the power play if you can and adjust where you need to along the way,” she said.

She added that Voll’s aggressive intent has made life easier in much the same way Alyssa Healy’s presence did during their long-standing opening partnership. Mooney said, “Batting with Alyssa Healy for a long time and now batting with Georgia Voll, it does make it easier to get ahead of the rate, whether you’re chasing a lower total or a big one.”

Australia comfortably chased down West Indies’ 125/7 with seven overs to spare, despite Ellyse Perry retiring hurt as a precaution during the innings. Having enjoyed significant contributions from multiple players throughout the tournament, the Aussies will now look to carry that momentum into Sunday’s final at Lord’s as they chase a record-extending seventh ICC Women’s T20 World Cup crown.

–IANS

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