And here’s the match report from Basin Reserve:
Australia remain unbeaten - seven wins from seven now. They were tested at times today by a brave Bangladesh, whose spin bowling impressed. The weather also played a part, sometimes comically so, and it wasn’t an easy outing for either team. But the tournament favourites are living up to their billing and the semi-finals await next week. For Bangladesh, their hopes of an unlikely semi-final appearance are officially over, but they will play England on Sunday in their final game in New Zealand and could yet have a say in who reaches the final four. Please do join us for that match, and for the final three games of the tournament that follow. Until then!
Beth Mooney is named player of the match after she guided Australia home with an unbeaten 66 off 75 deliveries.
Australia beat Bangladesh by five wickets!
33rd over: Australia 136-5 (Mooney 66, Sutherland 25) Sutherland has the pleasure of hitting the winning run off Rumana’s bowling and Australia’s unbeaten run continues! They post a seventh-straight victory to enter the semi-finals unblemished.
32nd over: Australia 135-5 (Mooney 66, Sutherland 25) Shouts of “catch it” ring out as Mooney slaps a drive in the air past mid-off. It lands safe and the ball races away to the boundary. Australia are nearly there now - scores are level and just one run is needed from the next over.
31st over: Australia 127-5 (Mooney 59, Sutherland 24) Rumana drops Sutherland. It’s almost identical to the earlier chance to dismiss the Australian batter, but like Ritu, Rumana puts her down! And like, that earlier chance, it came back fast at the bowler. Nine runs required.
30th over: Australia 121-5 (Mooney 57, Sutherland 20) The batters bring up the 50 partnership as they keep whittling away at Bangladesh’s total. This pair have been together now for 76 balls. Australia require 15.
29th over: Australia 117-5 (Mooney 54, Sutherland 19) After what seems like an age, Sutherland finally opens up and pulls Rumana from off to on to find the boundary! Four runs, and that’s a good over for Australia. Just 19 needed now, but it’s drinks first!
Updated
Fifty for Beth Mooney!
28th over: Australia 110-5 (Mooney 52, Sutherland 14) Mooney pulls for a single and that’s her half century - a vital one in the context of this game. She doesn’t realise she’s reached the milestone though, as the scoreboard on the ground isn’t showing that run! So no raised bat from Mooney. Belatedly the Australian bench applaud, following another run as Mooney reaches 51! Another five in total of this over from Nahida. Australia require 26.
27th over: Australia 105-5 (Mooney 49, Sutherland 12) Mooney goes back over Rumana’s head and picks up a useful three runs. She’s only denied a four by some excellent fielding on the ropes. Sutherland then scampers through for a run after nothing more than a push off her thigh, and Australia now require 31.
26th over: Australia 100-5 (Mooney 45, Sutherland 11) A wide blights an otherwise good over from Salma - just three off it - to finish with fine figures of 3-23 from her nine overs. And the 100 is up for Australia!
25th over: Australia 97-5 (Mooney 44, Sutherland 10) Mooney drives for two and with just 39 runs now needed, Australia are closing on victory. A wicket now will change the complex of this chase though - especially that of Mooney.
24th over: Australia 92-5 (Mooney 41, Sutherland 8) Just a couple of singles off Rumana’s next over as the Australian batters are briefly pinned back.
23rd over: Australia 90-5 (Mooney 40, Sutherland 7) It’s getting dark out there. Fahima comes on with her leg spin and starts with three dot balls, nearly seeing Mooney drag on. Two wides follow as the ball is fumbled behind the stumps but Australia are limited to just those two runs. Decent stuff from Fahima.
Updated
22nd over: Australia 88-5 (Mooney 40, Sutherland 7) Salma does well as she comes round from mid-on to pick up the ball and save another couple of runs for Mooney, who has to settle for just one. But then a mistake by Nahida, who lets the ball go under her body at point, gifts Moony an extra run.
Updated
21st over: Australia 83-5 (Mooney 36, Sutherland 6) Dropped! Sutherland is lucky as she escapes being caught and bowled by Ritu! In fairness to Ritu, it came back at her fast, but it’s a good chance gone begging nevertheless. Four off the over, all in singles. 53 required.
Updated
20th over: Australia 79-5 (Mooney 34, Sutherland 4) Time is clearly not an issue for Australia. Wickets, however, are. Rumana can’t find another one to add to her previous scalp of Gardner, but she keeps it tight and Australia glean just four from the over.
Updated
19th over: Australia 75-5 (Mooney 31, Sutherland 3) Mooney and Sutherland keep the scoreboard ticking over with four singles off Salma’s next over. Australia require 61.
18th over: Australia 71-5 (Mooney 29, Sutherland 1) Sutherland comes to the crease with the pressure on. She’s off the mark, adding to Mooney’s earlier single. A great over for Bangladesh, who are pumped at the moment. 65 required, Australia have five wickets left.
Updated
WICKET! Gardner b Rumana 13 (Australia 70-5)
Oh my goodness me! Gardner goes onto the back foot as she attempts to keep out Rumana to no avail! Clean bowled and Australia are in trouble at five down!
17th over: Australia 69-4 (Mooney 28, Gardner 13) Bangladesh change things up and introduce Ritu into the attack. Mooney gets after her, smacking the ball back over the bowler’s head and even though she doesn’t strike it perfectly it’s got enough legs to get over the boundary. There more singles and that’ll be a nice haul of seven runs from the over.
16th over: Australia 62-4 (Mooney 22, Gardner 12) Rumana Ahmed makes her entrance and sets about attacking the stumps as best she can. Mooney is having none of it and takes a single. Gardner makes it a double on her back foot.
15th over: Australia 59-4 (Mooney 21, Gardner 10) Mooney has a much-needed four off a full delivery from Nahida, who can only watch as the drive heads straight past mid-on. Nahida sends down a shorter one and though Mooney does a laudable job at cutting through backward point a fielder is quick to pick this one up before it can roll to the ropes. Well well well, the Aussies are making their moves. Gardner makes hey with back-to-back boundaries for a 15-run over.
14th over: Australia 44-4 (Mooney 14, Gardner 2) Australia need to settle now. This pair will be looking to build a lasting partnership. They need 92 runs and are suddenly under a wee bit of pressure.
13th over: Australia 41-4 (Mooney 13, Gardner 0) What can Gardner bring to this increasingly shaky table? She likes to hit big, and she likes this ground. She blocks Nahida’s delivery on the full and that’s the over.
Wicket! McGrath 3 lbw b Nahida Akter, Australia 41-4
McGrath comes onto strike and Bangladesh make some adjustments to their field, deep midwicket comes in and the slips are pulled back. In the end they didn’t need it, merely a deft Nahida delivery that hits McGrath’s back leg. She consults with Mooney but does not review it. It was clear. Well this last half-hour has changed the game a bit, hasn’t it! Welcome Ashleigh Gardner, good to have you here. Drinks time.
12th over: Australia 40-3 (Mooney 12, McGrath 3) Down on one knee, McGrath works with Salma’s spin and has a look for a second but settles for one in the end. Another single wraps up an over otherwise featuring dot balls.
11th over: Australia 38-3 (Mooney 11, McGrath 2) Well Mooney is in the mood for it. Two fours to start the over facing Lata Mondal and one is a lovely cover drive. She cleans up another single for good measurte.
Updated
Wicket! Haynes 7 c Fargana Hoque b Salma, Australia 28-3
10th over: Australia 28-3 (Mooney 2, McGrath 1) Salma is on a terrific spell! She is again the architect and has Haynes skipping into a slice towards midwicket and my word that is a catch! Fargana Hoque dives to her right and behind and takes is low with an outstretched hand. Another massive scalp for Bangladesh. Tahlia McGrath makes her entrance and takes a single to start her shift but this has not been a good over for Australia.
Ninth over: Australia 26-2 (Haynes 7, Mooney 1) Lata Mondol comes into the Bangladeshi attack and goes for a leg bye before Mooney is able to get off the mark with a flick off her pads. Haynes finishes off the over with an edged single as the power play comes to an end.
Updated
Eighth over: Australia 23-2 (Haynes 5, Lanning 0) Before the wicket of Lanning falls, Haynes tries to move things along, using her feet well to pick up a single. She takes up a partnership with Beth Mooney, upon whose shoulders lies the responsibility of steadying the Australian ship a bit.
WICKET! Lanning b Salma 0 (Australia 23-2)
Lanning goes for a duck! That’s no way to celebrate your 30th birthday! Salma finds a way through her defences to clean bowl the Australian captain!
Seventh over: Australia 22-1 (Haynes 5, Lanning 0) Jahanara did very well to track that ball to catch Healy, which must have been swirling through the air, and she follows it up with a maiden over, despite more struggles to deal with the howling wind.
Sixth over: Australia 22-1 (Haynes 5, Lanning 0) Skipper Meg Lanning comes to the crease on the occasion of her 30th birthday. The batters crossed when Healy holed out so it’s Haynes on strike. She survives a Bangladesh review after a loud lbw appeal from Salma - sliding down leg.
WICKET! Healy 15 c Jahanara b Salma (Australia 22-1)
Having swept for four on the first ball of the over, Healy goes again but this time she finds Jahanara in the deep, who holds on! Bangladesh have a breakthrough!
Fifth over: Australia 18-0 (Healy 11, Haynes 5) OK, let’s see how Jahanara fares this over. There’s a slapstick feel to some of the proceedings at this point - when chasing a leg bye, Nigar slips over on the turf - and then Jahanara pulls up twice more before reaching the stumps. It’s making for a very stop-start game. Two off the bat for Haynes, plus that leg bye this over.
Fourth over: Australia 15-0 (Healy 11, Haynes 3) Salma baffles Haynes with one delivery but otherwise it’s a comfortable over for Australia. Three off it - and after four overs they are exactly where Bangladesh were at this point of their innings.
Third over: Australia 12-0 (Healy 9, Haynes 2) Jahanara aborts her run up on ball four of her next over and when she eventually does get her delivery right, Healy drives gloriously through mid-wicket for four. Jahanara is forced to abort again on the final ball of the over as she struggles running into the breeze. It’s tough out there at the moment. Six off the over.
Second over: Australia 6-0 (Healy 4, Haynes 1) Haynes, shirt rippling at she settles into her stance, cuts her first two deliveries, both shots find the fielder at point. A cover drive then sees her get off the mark but that’s all Australia will get from Salma’s opening over, which is a decent one.
First over: Australia 5-0 (Healy 4, Haynes 0) Here we go then. Jahanara gets us under way, facing the mighty Healy and Hayne, but also the wind. Third ball and everyone is in stitches after the ball seems to stick in Jahanara’s fist - she ends up bowling the ball almost directly into the ground and it dribbles off well wide of the stumps. The umpire has to call a no ball and the resulting free hit is smacked to the boundary by Healy. Five off the opening over.
Updated
@mike_hytner From the photo on the MBM it appears they’re playing without bails? That’s pretty unusual. The heavy ones normally do the trick.
— Nicholas Varley (@npvarley) March 25, 2022
Correct! There are no bails today given the strength of the wind out there.
Apparently, it’s a bit chilly too.
The wind will certainly continue to be a factor in the upcoming run chase. The TV pundits are doing well not to be completely blown away while delivering their mid-match analyses.
Jess Jonassen, who finished with figures of 2-13 from nine overs (including three maidens), says the conditions out there are wild. “I’ve never played a game of cricket like it,” she says.
Updated
Bangladesh set Australia 136 to win
So, the chase is on. Australia have 43 overs to reach their target, as a run rate of 3.16. It should be comfortable enough for the world No 1 side, but the wind is up and who knows what could happen.
43rd over: Bangladesh 135-6 (Nahida 3, Salma 15) An excellent final over from Schutt, who starts with a wicket, nearly gets another one when a top edge from Salma just gets away from Healy, and ends with just four runs off it.
WICKET! Lata st Healy b Schutt 33 (Bangladesh 131-6)
Lovely bowling from Schutt, as the ball again jags away from the swinging bat of Lata, Healy takes the ball cleanly and whips off the (non-existent) bails!
42nd over: Bangladesh 131-5 (Lata 33, Salma 14) Lata cuts King away towards the boundary, but it hasn’t got the legs to reach the ropes; she has to settle of two. A fine pickup in the covers from Mooney then prevents more runs. Meanwhile, there’s a Westpac helicopter trying to land nearby in the stiff breeze - it’s all over the show as it inches down towards the helipad. Thank goodness, it finally lands.
41st over: Bangladesh 125-5 (Lata 29, Salma 12) Schutt is brought back into the attack. Salma is tempted to go after her first delivery but she misses as the ball jags away. But Schutt is bowling into the wind, which has picked up significantly, and it’s not making things easy for her. A discussion follows a wide as she is forced to recalibrate a little, not dissimilar to a plane battling the gusts on approach to Wellington airport. Five runs off the bat and that wide from this over. Two overs remaining.
40th over: Bangladesh 119-5 (Lata 26, Salma 10) Four runs! A hefty swing from Salma propels the ball over mid-wicket and away to the boundary off King’s bowling. That’s the first four since the beginning of the 35th over. Another swing to the leg side brings two more runs to make a total of nine for the over. Three overs to go.
39th over: Bangladesh 111-5 (Lata 24, Salma 4) Gardner comes over the wicket to Lata, who cuts for a single, and then picks up a second run thanks to an overthrow. A bit sloppy that, from Australia, and unlike them in the field. Lata then sweeps for another run before there’s a break in play as a ball jumps into Salma’s grill and she has to be looked at by the medical team. There’s no damage done though and we’re good to go again soon enough. Gardner follows with a wide before Lata skies one - it lands safely around mid-wicket - to finish the over with a single.
38th over: Bangladesh 105-5 (Lata 21, Salma 2) King again, and she is reverse swept by Salma for a quick single. Otherwise, King largely keeps a lid on things, with just another three off this over. Bangladesh’s current run rate is a meagre 2.76.
37th over: Bangladesh 102-5 (Lata 19, Salma 1) Thanks Jim, a sterling session as always. The hundred is up for Bangladesh! An achievement, but one that has taken what seems like an age to reach. Three singles in total off this over from Gardner.
36th over: Bangladesh 99-5 (Lata 14 Salma 0)Alana King causing problems. Just three from her over. Seven overs to go.
With that I’m done and will hand over to Mike Hytner to call the inevitable Australia victory second portion of this game. Goodbye!
Updated
35th over: Bangladesh 96-5 (Lata 14 Salma 0)
Ash has two! Rumana departs for 15 and Bangladesh are now 5-96 after 35 overs.
— Australian Women's Cricket Team 🏏 (@AusWomenCricket) March 25, 2022
Understand some of you are experiencing broadcast issues, we'll chase up and hopefully it's back up and running soon! #CWC22 pic.twitter.com/7WEONJn00h
Updated
WICKET! Rumana c Jonassen b Gardner 15
Rumana lifts Gardner’s first ball for four but then holes out to the very next one, plinking a length ball straight to Jonassen at mid-off.
34th over: Bangladesh 91-4 (Rumana 11, Lata 13) Two singles and a wide off Sutherland. Ash Gardner is coming back into the attack.
33rd over: Bangladesh 88-4 (Rumana 10, Lata 13) Still the dots come, five of them off Schutt before a Lata tickle off the last.
32nd over: Bangladesh 87-4 (Rumana 10, Lata 12) FIVE from the over, a three from a pull into mid-wicket and a couple of singles. Wonder what Bangladesh want to post here? They still have six wickets left. If this was a club game the chuntering from the batting bench would be deafening.
If (when) Australia make the final, Lanning will be playing her 100th ODI. I imagine that will be an incentive for something special. (Although, based on what I know of Lanning, probably no more of an incentive than simply walking onto a cricket ground.) #CWC22
— Dan Liebke (@LiebCricket) March 25, 2022
31st over: Bangladesh 82-4 (Rumana 9, Lata 8) Dot Dot Dot Dot... and then Rumana has enough and drives a full ball to the cover boundary. More please!
Updated
30th over: Bangladesh 78-4 (Rumana 5, Lata 8) Sutherland is edged for four down to third man. Lata then tries to smear one, doesn’t connect but at least it is a show of intent. 13 overs to go, six wickets in the hutch. Surely time to try and push things forward?
29th over: Bangladesh 73-4 (Rumana 4, Lata 5) Schutt to replace the impressive Jonassen. She takes over the spinner’s metronomical maiden mantle. ZERO runs.
28th over: Bangladesh 73-4 (Rumana 4, Lata 5) A boundary! Hold onto your hats! First one in TWELVE overs. Darcie Brown is too short and gives away a couple of wides before Lata laces a short ball through point to the fence.
27th over: Bangladesh 66-4 (Rumana 4, Lata 0) Jess Jonassen with another maiden but one that includes a missed stumping! Healy can’t gather cleanly and the chance goes begging. Jonassen has bowled 9 overs and picked up 2 for 13. More than useful.
26th over: Bangladesh 66-4 (Rumana 4, Lata 0) Darcie Brown is either attacking the stumps or banging it in short. Bangladesh just get two from the over. Australia happy to let them plod.
25th over: Bangladesh 64-4 (Rumana 2, Lata 0) Jonassen. Just a single. Jolly good.
Updated
24th over: Bangladesh 63-4 (Rumana 1, Lata 0) Darcie Brown back into the attack. Just a single from it. Bangladesh goin’ nowhere fast. Australia have really put the boa-constrictor squeeze on in the last ten overs.
WICKET! Joty ct McGrath b Jonassen 7 (Bangladesh 62-4)
Gone! Paddle sweep straight to fine leg. Jonassen reels off a wicket maiden.
One brings two?
23rd over: Bangladesh 62-4 (Rumana 0, Lata 0)
22nd over: Bangladesh 62-3 (Joty 7, Rumana 0) King chimes in with a maiden. It’s all so quiet. Shhh. Shhhhhh. But not so still.
21st over: Bangladesh 62-3 (Joty 7, Rumana 0) Just one run from a leg side wide off Jonassen. Hmmmm.
20th over: Bangladesh 61-3 (Joty 6, Rumana 0) Alana King, decked in shades (they must be light enhancing) comes on for some leggies. Bangladesh manage to hustle three runs from it. If you do the ‘Boycott Rule’ of adding two wickets to the score then the batting side will be in a bit of strife. They need to break the shackles a bit.
19th over: Bangladesh 58-3 (Joty 4, Rumana 0) Wicket maiden for Jonassen. Class act. Bangladesh in danger of going nowhere here.
WICKET! Supta lbw b Jonassen (Bangladesh 58-3)
Jonassen removes Supta! Three reds, ball tracking shows the ball hitting top of leg stump so Bangladesh lose their review too.
Missed this, well bowled Ash Gardner.
v South Africa: 100 matches for Australia
— Women’s CricZone @ #CWC22 (@WomensCricZone) March 25, 2022
v Bangladesh: 50 wickets in ODI
Just another milestone for @akgardner97❗️#CWC22 #BANvAUS #TeamAustralia pic.twitter.com/QP58e3LRyT
18th over: Bangladesh 57-2 (Supta 24, Joty 4) Joty opens her account with a delightful back foot punch through the covers off Sutherland. She then picks up a couple more with a push to mid-off.
17th over: Bangladesh 53-2 (Supta 24, Joty 0) Jonassen once more, a short ball is hoicked away for two but that’s the only moment of note in the over.
16th over: Bangladesh 51-2 (Supta 22, Joty 0) A solitary single off Sutherland.
15th over: Bangladesh 50-2 (Supta 21, Joty 0) Gardner into her fifth over. A swept single and a leg side wide bring two to the score.
Updated
WICKET! Pinky ct Healy b Sutherland 8 (Bangladesh 48-2)
Annabel Sutherland and her accurate seamers are into the attack. A short ball is helped around the corner for two, unconvincingly by Pinky. Sutherland then beats her edge with one that holds it line. And then she’s gone, another short ball is steered tamely into the hands of Healy.
14th over: Bangladesh 48-2 (Supta 15, Joty 0)
Time for a drink. Now, I don’t want you to be jealous, but I’m going to have an Ovaltine.
Updated
13th over: Bangladesh 45-1 (Supta 15, Pinky 6) Maiden from Gardner. Thrifty stuff.
12th over: Bangladesh 45-1 (Supta 15, Pinky 6) Four dots from Jonassen before Supta caresses a cover drive through the gap for a welcome boundary.
11th over: Bangladesh 41-1 (Supta 15, Pinky 6) Just one taken off Gardner. Both sides going tippy-toe to tippy-toe at the moment.
10th over: Bangladesh 40-1 (Supta 14, Pinky 6) Pinky gets the 1ooo runs with a tickle for two off Jonassen. She is the first woman in her country to reach the 1K in ODIs. Well played!
History for Bangladesh and Fargana Hoque Pinky! 🇧🇩 #CWC22 pic.twitter.com/kLaidKK4QD
— ICC (@ICC) March 25, 2022
Updated
9th over: Bangladesh 38-1 (Supta 14, Pinky 4) Fargana Hoque Pinky comes to the crease and is straight into her work. She moves to 999 ODI runs by the end of Gardner’s wicket-taking over. Powerplay done and dusted.
Wicket! Murshida c Haynes b Gardner 12 (Bangladesh 33-1)
Sharp catch by Rachel Haynes at square leg. Australia have the breakthrough!
8th over: Bangladesh 31-0 (Murshida 11, Supta 14) Spin at the other end too, of the left-arm variety as Jess Jonassen comes on for a twirl. Flat trajectory, speared in. Good intent from Bangladesh as they scamper three singles.
7th over: Bangladesh 30-0 (Murshida 10, Supta 13) Ash Gardner into the attack, spin for the first time today. A few false starts as headgear is blown off. Tidy start, just two singles.
6th over: Bangladesh 28-0 (Murshida 9, Supta 12) Lanning goes for a review for an lbw appeal off Brown... Looked to be heading down leg and a tad high. Turns out it is both. Australia burn one. Expensive over too from Brown, a full toss is driven elegantly for four by Murshida. Nine runs in total from it.
5th over: Bangladesh 19-0 (Murshida 4, Supta 10) A pull from Supta into mid-wicket just kisses the boundary sponge.
4th over: Bangladesh 15-0 (Murshida 4, Supta 6) Brown clocks up 71mph. Bangladesh are proactive, looking to rotate strike and sneak sing singles where they can. A wide, a quick single and a leg by from the over.
3rd over: Bangladesh 12-0 (Murshida 3, Supta 6) Lovely cross seam delivery from Schutt that zips off the pitch and flies an inch over the stumps. A couple of singles from the rest.
2nd over: Bangladesh 10-0 (Murshida 2, Supta 5) Darcie Brown, the breeze more at her back, starts with a no ball for overstepping. She bangs the Free Hit in short and there’s no run. There’s a wide too, we might see a few of these given the conditions. An edge wide of slip brings Murshida a single and Brown is bowling with good pace, rasping one past the glove of Supta.
1st over: Bangladesh 5-0 (Murshida 1, Supta 3) Certainly looks like tricky conditions at the Basin Reserve, a strong breeze gusting across the ground. Both openers get off the mark with no dramas and Schutt chucks in a wide outside off too. Five off the first.
Apparently the pitch has been covered up for 18 hours and will have started to sweat?
Australia’s bright yellow kit is shining out prominently against the gloomy backdrop. Here come the Bangladesh opening pair of Murshida Khatun and Sharmin Akhter. The heavy bails are slotted into their grooves. Megan Schutt has the ball. Let’s play!
Blustery and chilly by the looks of it in Wellington but the players stride out for the anthems.
Here’s the revised playing conditions:
43 Overs per team, 9 over powerplay.
3 bowlers can bowl 9 overs
2 bowlers can bowl 8 overs
Here’s the Aus XI: Alyssa Healy (wk), Rachael Haynes, Meg Lanning (c), Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ash Gardner, Annabel Sutherland, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown
Darcie Brown comes in for Ellyse Perry.
And Bangladesh XI: Murshida Khatun, Sharmin Akter Supta, Fargana Hoque, Nigar Sultana Joty (c, wk), Rumana Ahmed, Lata Mondal, Salma Khatun, Ritu Moni, Fahima Khatun, Nahida Akter, Jahanara Alam
Bangladesh are unchanged.
Updated
Australia win the toss...
and will bowl first
Good signs here at the Basin! The covers are coming off and we're looking at a 12:30pm (10:30 AEDT) toss for a 1pm (11am AEDT) start.#CWC22 https://t.co/Zos6Fo6Ulv
— Australian Women's Cricket Team 🏏 (@AusWomenCricket) March 24, 2022
Toss at 12:30pm for a 1pm start*
*Local time. So half an hour to the coin toss if the rain stays away. It’ll be 43 overs per side. Promising.
UPDATE: It has stopped raining
The umpires are wandering around the middle in their fetching pink cagoules. It looks blustery so hopefully the rain blows on through. 4.08pm local time is the cut off to get a game in.
Apt for the scene in Wellington right now.
“Sdeah reiht edih dna nur yeht. Semoc niar eht fi”
If you’re out there and have any thoughts, theories or something to get off your chest (preferably cricket related) then do drop me an Email or tweet @Jimbo_Cricket. In the meantime there’s plenty of straws here for me to clutch.
Decent facial hair but not a single international hundred in sight.
At the time of their breakup in 1970, none of The Beatles had even reached the age of 30.
— The Beatles (@BeatlesEarth) October 16, 2021
Ringo Starr and John Lennon were both 29, while Paul McCartney and George Harrison were just 27. pic.twitter.com/ZWmPtrGO1f
Still awaiting further updates from the ground btw, as if you hadn’t guessed.
Incidentally I remember feeling more of a sense of failure than usual when I turned 27 - ever since I read that was Paul McCartney’s age when The Beatles broke up.
I hadn’t got any ODI hundreds by age thirty either.
Most women's ODI hundreds by 30th birthday:
— hypocaust (@_hypocaust) March 24, 2022
15 Meg Lanning
8 Suzie Bates
7 Tammy Beaumont, Sarah Taylor#CWC22 https://t.co/qHCNjtXNMt
Updated
Happy Birthday to the Aussie skipper!
The big 3-0 for the skipper!
— Australian Women's Cricket Team 🏏 (@AusWomenCricket) March 24, 2022
Happy 30th Meg 🥳 what better way to spend it than game day?! #CWC22 pic.twitter.com/BKVJakAI4I
Birthday wish for the drizzle to end?
TOSS DELAYED
There is rain around and the covers are well and truly on at the moment but there is hope things will clear up in the next hour so fingers crossed we’ll get a game in.
It IS raining
Current scenes in Wellington 🥴#CWC22 pic.twitter.com/lyAt8toS3A
— Australian Women's Cricket Team 🏏 (@AusWomenCricket) March 24, 2022
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the latest chapter of Australia’s World Cup domination OBO of Australia vs Bangladesh in Wellington.
We’ve reached the 25th match of this World Cup, a stage in proceedings where an Aussie win is as sure as the rising and setting of the sun, as certain as death and taxes.
Meg Lanning’s side have conquered all comers so far in this tournament – it’s played six, won six for them. They’ve pulled off record run chases, blown sides away with the ball and hung on to some gravity defying catches. A berth safely booked in the semi-finals they will be looking to continue their unbeaten run and carry that buzz word ‘momentum’ into the sharp end of the tournament. Ellyse Perry is out of this game after suffering (horrible phrase) back spasms during the defeat of South Africa. The word around the traps is that she’ll be ok in time for the semis. The Aussies may well throw in a few changes in this their final trot out of the group stages.
Bangladesh? Well, they had their historic day in Hamilton, chalking up a first ever World Cup win in beating Pakistan by nine runs. They’ve been mercurial but perhaps deserve to be higher in the table than second bottom. Fielding and bowling are their strongest suits and they’ve already pushed West Indies to the wire and given India a fright.
Can they take some of the sheen off Australia’s golden run? Probably not. But you just never know, which is why we’re all here, I guess.
Play is due to get underway in Wellington at 11am local time/9am AEDT/10pm GMT - but there is due to be some rain around.
I’ll bring news of toss, teams and possible precipitation shortly.
Updated
