Windies stun Australia, set up repeat clash in final

Two weeks ago, the West Indies women began their World Cup sojourn with a warm-up game against Australia at the MIG Cricket Club. They lost by 135 runs; many wrote them off even before the tournament began.

On Wednesday, the underdogs turned the site of despair into a threshold of triumph after they beat the same opposition at the same venue to enter their maiden World Cup final. Needing a win to qualify, the West Indies defended their total of 164 to beat the Aussies by eight runs. This was Australia's first loss in the tournament.

Both Australia, who had already booked their berth ahead of their final league match, and the West Indies secured eight points from four wins in the Super Six stage. Defending 164, the odds were always going to be stacked against the Windies. And Australia were comfortably placed at 130 for 4 and needed only 35 runs from more than 11 overs. However, three quick wickets (Alex Blackwell, Jodie Fields and Julie Hunter) in the space of 14 balls turned the match on its head. West Indies displayed plenty of zeal and enthusiasm on the field and, led by Shanel Daley (3/22) and Stefanie Taylor (2/26), bowled with a lot of discipline. They took the last six wickets for 26 runs, including three run outs.

Earlier, the West Indies batsmen struggled, with only Deandra Dottin managing to dominate the Australian seam attack. Dottin scored 60 off 67 balls, with a six and 10 fours to guide West Indies to what proved a winning total. This result rendered Wednesday's other Super Six match — in which England defeated New Zealand by 15 runs — inconsequential. The two teams will face each other again the third place play-In off match.

Brief scores: West Indies 164 in 47 overs (D Dottin 60, N McLean 26, H Ferling 3/27, M Schutt 3/50); Australia 156 all out in 48.2 overs (A Blackwell 45, J Cameron 39, S Daley 3/22, S Taylor 2/26)

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