Australia batters have bowlers to thank for latest win
Alyssa Healy paid tribute to Australian bowlers after she and Beth Mooney chased 113 to beat Sri Lanka by ten wickets.
Megan Schutt claimed four for 24 and Grace Harris claimed two for seven to choke Sri Lanka at Gqeberha, Harshitha Samarawickrama had the highest score at 34.
Healy and Mooney both brought up half a century in response as Australia met their goal within 16 overs and claimed their third straight win at the 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
“We’ve been really lucky, in the last two games our bowlers have done a great job on those wickets and kept teams to relatively low totals,” Healy said.
“When you go out as the opening batsman knowing you’re chasing less than one ball, it’s a little more comfortable.
“As a batting group, we focused on making sure we were hitting straight and getting back on the ground and not giving up our stumps, getting hit on the pads and things like that.
“I think we’ve done really well at that, we’ve adjusted to that very well and we’re going to keep doing that as best we can.”
Harris was a star both on the ball and on the field. She scored her first-ever World Cup wickets while also sending off Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu with a flying catch.
Healy praised Harris’ individual personality for relaxing Australia and warned she will deliver with the racquet just as she did with the ball today.
She added: “I’m really proud to have Grace coming back into our group. Everyone just embraces who Grace is and lets Grace be Grace on and off the field.
“She’s an incredible character and if you haven’t had the chance to sit down for breakfast or have a drink with her one night, do it because it’s an absolute laugh.
“She’s a great person to have with us, not only because of her personality but also because of her skills in the park.
“She’s incredibly damaging with a bat in her hand. We haven’t quite seen that yet, but I think that’s something exciting that’s probably headed towards the back end of this tournament.
Although Athapaththu admitted her side fell far short of their self-set goal of 150 runs, she believed Harris’ incredible catch was a turning point.
She said: “It was a good catch and that’s when the game changed.
“Grace Harris in that mood is a really good fielder and she’s a really good player. I got off early and during Harshitha [Samarawickrama] Well beaten, Vishmi [Gunuratne] couldn’t find her natural rhythm.
“We had to score more than 150 runs on that wicket as Australia have a great batting side.
“The bowlers bowled in the right areas, but we had to stick to our plan, which we didn’t, and that’s why we lost the game.”