WI-W vs AUS-W 1st T20I: King, Mooney help Australia go 1-0 up

Match Overview

Beth Mooney’s 55-ball 79 and Alana King’s three-wicket haul fashioned Australia’s 43-run triumph against West Indies in the series-opening T20I in St. Vincent.

Winning the toss, Australia skipper Sophie Molinuex opted to bat first. It felt that the decision backfired when Australia were struggling at 34 for 2 at the powerplay, with opener Georgia Voll removed cheaply by Deandra Dottin in the third over and dasher Phoebe Litchfield following suit as Jahzara Claxton sent her back in the sixth.

However, Mooney and Elysse Perry turned the tide with a 99-run alliance, which injected life into the innings. Australia were still in search of momentum, though, having reached only 57 at the halfway mark with the ball reaching the fence only thrice until then. Mooney began to accelerate gradually as the pair added 84 in overs 11 to 17 before Perry fell to Dottin for 36 off 32.

Chinelle Henry then rocked Australia twice with a double-wicket over, dismissing the well-set Mooney for 79 and Ashleigh Gardner only two balls later. However, Australia managed to put a fighting total of 164 for 6 on the board eventually. Dottin claimed figures of 3 for 35 in her quota while Henry returned 2 for 28.

Chasing a tricky total, West Indies made a measured start, choosing to err on the side of caution as they amassed 33 for no loss by the end of powerplay. They were helped in no small cause by Australia’s eye-wateringly poor fielding, dropping as many as five catches, including the double reprieve to Hayley Matthews in the fifth over as Alana King put down a difficult chance in her follow through right before Tahlia McGrath dropped a dolly at mid-off.

King would later drop Qiana Joseph in the ninth over, while Perry missed another simple chance to give Shermaine Campbelle one of her three chances, with King and Voll being the culprits on the other two instances.

Despite all the chances, barely any West Indies batter could make it count, with Joseph top-scoring (45 off 39). She added 43 for the second wicket Campbelle, but the stand was broken as Joseph holed out to Gardner in the deep off Kim Garth.

King, meanwhile, made up for the dropped chances with a three-wicket haul, cleaning up Matthews to open her account and then trapping Campbelle lbw before knocking down Dotting for a four-ball duck after a brief rain interruption. Georgia Wareham was also amongst the wickets, claiming those of Stafanie Taylor (28 off 25) and Claxton (two-ball duck) as West Indies were eventually kept down to 121 for 6.

Top run-scorer of the match

Top wicket-taker of the match

Player of the match

Beth Mooney

Mooney was adjudged the Player of the Match for her calculatedly aggressive knock of 79 off 55, including seven fours and two sixes. Her third-wicket 99-run partnership with Perry ensured that Australia made up for the lost opportunity in the powerplay following the cheap dismissals of openers.  

What the captains said

Winning Team Captain, Sophie Molineux (AUS-W)

"Nice to take home a win. They bowled really well, their seamers, and we were in a bit of a hole...that was one thing we spoke about, the partnerships. We've been training here and we've caught most, but we'll try to clean that up. Kingy was brilliant, had a new role in the powerplay."

Losing Team Captain, Hayley Matthews (WI-W)  

"Think we started really well with the ball, figured 160 would be a good score. As the innings went on it seemed like it slowed up a touch, then played a bit better after it got rolled. Come back strong, important to pick ourselves up, take the positives of how we bowled but last few matches have been disappointing with the bat."