Perry, Gardner, Haynes brush aside West Indies to keep Australia unbeaten

Rachael Haynes made a fist of Australia's 132 chase with an unbeaten 83 after Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner's three-fors helped bowl West Indies out cheaply in 45.5 overs at the Basin Reserve. Stafanie Taylor's 91-ball 50 and Hayley Matthews' three splendid catches were the only contributions of note against an undefeated Australia, who romped to a seven-wicket victory with nearly 20 overs to spare.

After a 30-minute rain-induced toss delay, it was the new-ball tandem of Perry and Megan Schutt that set the tone for Australia's fourth successive win in this World Cup. Perry kicked off the domination under overcast conditions with a double-wicket second over.

First up, she had the seaming ball ram into the top of Matthews' off stump and then drew the left-hand batter Kycia Knight into edging the next ball to wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy. Taylor moved herself up to face the hat-trick delivery, an attempted yorker that ended up as a full toss easy enough for Taylor to flick for three runs.

A seemingly innocuous full toss nearly caused the undoing of the other opener, Deandra Dottin, on 8. Given lbw off a Schutt delivery in the fifth over, Dottin, whose availability for this fixture had been under the cloud due to back issues in the last game, reviewed the decision. Replays showed an underedge as the ball floated past the bat on the way to plonking Dottin's back pad.

West Indies had a second lbw decision overturned soon after - Taylor's off Perry - though the allrounder wouldn't be too far from a third wicket. An agile two-handed catch by Meg Lanning at first slip proved too good for Dottin's flying outside edge and handed Perry her three-wicket haul. As a result, West Indies slumped to 34 for 3 in the powerplay, their lowest tally in the passage so far in the tournament.

Taylor had another close shave in the sixth over of Perry's probing eight-over spell when an incoming seaming delivery jagged back, clipped the top of her pad and missed the stumps by a whisker. Second-change Alana King, the only legspinner in Australia's XI, delivered an incisive run-less second over during which Shemaine Campbelle survived a review by Australia for lbw. Replays vindicated the umpire's decision of the ball hitting the bat before thudding onto the front pad, though Lanning appeared displeased why neither UltraEdge nor ball-tracking was used for the review, even remonstrating with on-field umpire Alex Wharf.

Tied up by the accuracy of King and third-change Gardner's offspin, Campbelle's inability to rotate the strike sent her back not long after. She eventually fell to Gardner, flicking one to Beth Mooney at midwicket for a 51-ball 20. Gardner took her second wicket with a ripper of an offbreak that fizzed past Chedean Nation's outside edge to round out the double-wicket 23rd over that saw West Indies plummet to 70 for 5.

West Indies' rapid unravelling extended into the loss of their sixth wicket when a bid for a third run led to Healy running out Chinelle Henry at the wicketkeeper's end. Taylor tried to mend the innings, but parched of strike for extended periods, she could do as best as taking West Indies past the three-digit mark. In the 41st over, Gardner trapped her lbw before left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen, who replaced wristspinner Amanda-Jade Wellington in the XI, struck twice to clean up the tail.

West Indies held their own in their defense against the vaunted Australian line-up. Matthews had a forgettable day with the bat, but she thrust herself in the thick of things from the get-go of the chase. First, she gobbled up a superb reflex catch off her own bowling as Healy smacked a full ball straight down at rocket speed. In the next over, she plucked Lanning's edge at first slip off Shamilia Connell to consign the Australian No. 3 to her eighth duck in ODIs.

DRS handed Haynes a lifeline when she was adjudged lbw on 16. Ball-tracking showed Connell's delivery was going over middle and off. Early in her thirties, Haynes treaded danger territory when her edge off Ramharack, who replaced fellow offspinner Anisa Mohammed in the XI, fell marginally short of first slip Matthews.

Then, a throw from Henry almost found Haynes short of her ground during an ill-attempted single in the eventful 16th over. Haynes' fifty stand off 78 balls with Perry promised to draw the inevitable closer but Henry combined with first slip Matthews to dismiss Perry for a 31-ball 10.

Mooney and Haynes then stepped on the gas. They took 10 off the 21st before Haynes brought up her 17th ODI fifty to add to her 2022 World Cup tally of 134, 34, and 30. Mooney stitched a fifty partnership for the fourth wicket with Haynes, who also hit the winning run.