Key events
WICKET! Bates b Ramharack 22 (New Zealand 48-1)
A reverse sweep proves Bates’ downfall – she throws her bat in the air in disappointment after watching the ball ricochet slowly into the stumps.
8th over: New Zealand 48-0 (Bates 26; Plimmer 22) Seven from Fletcher’s first over – New Zealand successfully farming for runs.
7th over: New Zealand 41-0 (Bates 19; Plimmer 22) Nine from the over when a boundary from the final ball, a swipe by Plimmer which is misjudged by James near the rope, is added to a clutch of twos. Tash Farrant says how well West Indies are bowling to Plimmer, preventing her from accessing her favourite spot – straight down the ground.
6th over: New Zealand 32-0 (Bates 19; Plimmer 13) The end of the power play – with the spoils shared. Plimmer, who has struggled a little for touch, shimmies down to Taylor and sends her over midwicket for four.
5th over: New Zealand 23-0 (Bates 15; Plimmer 8) BAtes is now visibly frustrated: steps across her stumps and flays at the first ball, shovels at the second, swings and misses at the third. Makes mores significant contact with the fourth – up – but still only picks up two. Plimmer gets one delivery, and is beaten by a cracker from Henry.
4th over: New Zealand 16-0 (Bates 8 ; Plimmer 8) A full toss from James plinked over square leg for four by Bates, as the sun sets in fiery fashion over Sharjah.
3rd over: New Zealand 10-0 (Bates ; Plimmer 7) New Zealand are lucky that Staphanie Taylor is fielding at mid-0ff, perhaps someone less constricted by injury would have thrown the stumps down at the bowler’s end, as Bates and Plimmer gamble on an unwise single.
2nd over: New Zealand 7-0 (Bates 2; Plimmer 5) James takes the new ball the other end, keeping New Zealand caged with her loopy slow left arm.
1st over: New Zealand 5-0 (Bates 1; Plimmer 4). Chinelle Henry with the first over, tall and strong. New Zealand have only lost one wicket in the power play all tournament – and so it continues in the first over, with one boundary, an off driven four by Plimmer.
West Indies huddle, high five, and take the field. Plimmer and Bates swing their bats and march out after them.
Anthem time: New Zealand, arms round each other, are relatively restrained with their singing. West Indies, arms also wrapped around each other, are slightly more animated alongside Rally round the West Indies.
The Manchester sun is now shining so brightly through my window that I’m going to have to draw the curtains.
This game is a repeat of the 2016 semi-final, when West Indies squeezed past New Zealand by six runs, and went on to win the trophy. Sophie Devine has unfinished business to attend to, in what may well be her last/second last New Zealand game as captain.
Just something else to throw into this extraordinary cricket week: today in Bangalore, Tim Southee (65) was the first No. 9 to outscore the opposition (46) in the first innings of any Test ….
West Indies XI
Stafanie Taylor returns, replacing Nation.
West Indies: Hayley Matthews (capt), Qiana Joseph, Shemaine Campbelle (wk), Deandra Dottin, Stafanie Taylor, Chinelle Henry, Zaida James, Ashmini Munisar, Aaliyah Alleyne, Afy Fletcher, Karishma Ramharack
New Zealand XI
New Zealand are unchanged.
New Zealand: Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine (capt), Brooke Halliday, Maddy Green, Isabella Gaze (wk), Lea Tahuhu, Rosemary Mair, Eden Carson, Fran Jonas.
They will be playing, Lydia Greenway tells us , on pitch five – which was used in the first game of the tournament. Anjum Chopra takes a closer look – and reports that it is a nice green colour and has been well rested.
New Zealand win the toss and will bat!
Sophie Devine has plumped to bat first because she wants the runs in the bag – not too surprising as four out of six night games at Sharjah have been won by the side batting first.
This was Megan Maurice’s excellent considered take on Australia’s defeat – don’t get cock-a-hoop world, from the ashes of defeat will come an even scarier phoenix ….
Preamble
Hello! In a cricketing week that has defied convention, six-times winners Australia being knocked out of the T20 World Cup is the biggest forearm pincher of them all. But shove that mental confusion behind the sofa cushion for now while we sit back to watch the battle to join surprise finalists South Africa in Dubai on Sunday (3pm BST).
West Indies, who earned their slot by knocking out England earlier this week, and New Zealand, on a roll, are our teams. The last five matches between the two sides – all in 2022 – resulted in three wins for New Zealand, a tie and a solitary West Indies victory. New Zealand’s main task will be to somehow contain Deandra Dottin, while Georgia Plimmer is New Zealand’s top scorer.
Should New Zealand win, we are guaranteed a new T20 World Cup Champion on Sunday. Play starts at 3pm BST, toss at 2.3o.
