ICC Women’s World Cup 2017, Australia vs West Indies: 5 Talking Points
The Australian Women’s team humbled the Windies Women team by 8 wickets at Taunton in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017. Batting first, the Windies eves were bowled out for 204 runs after some tight and disciplined bowling by the Aussie bowlers. Hayley Matthews (46) and Stafanie Taylor (45) were the only Windies batters who impressed.
Ellyse Perry was the pick of the Aussie bowlers, ending up with figures of 3/47 in 9 overs. Kristen Beams and Jess Jonassen also chipped in with a couple of wickets each. Australia chased down the target with 8 wickets and 73 deliveries remaining as he Windies bowlers failed to put up any sort of resilience.
Nicole Bolton was the star of the chase with an unbeaten 107 to her name while Beth Mooney also impressed with a score of 70.
Let us now have a look at the five talking points from the match which grabbed a lot of eyeballs.
#1 Controversy at the Toss
Action, thrill and drama was expected as the finalists of both the World Cup and the World Twenty20 were going to clash in this match of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017. However, not many would have expected the drama to start as early as from the toss. The Windies Women skipper Stafanie Taylor won the toss but may be she didn’t get to do what she actually wanted to.
According to Ebon Rainford-Berent, the former England player on commentary duties at the toss, Taylor had told the Australian skipper Meg Lanning that she would like to bat first. However, when it came to the interview of the official live stream, Taylor changed her decision saying that she wanted to bowl first. Lanning, however, stood firmly with a rock-solid determination demanding a clarification of the rules.
The match referee ultimately supported Lanning and said Taylor’s changed decision won’t count. So, the Windies Women had to bat first.