Indore, Oct 1 (PTI) Australia skipper Alyssa Healy conceded on Wednesday that she was not really at ease when New Zealand captain Sophie Devine was punishing her bowlers in the middle even though the reigning champions had a 300-plus total to defend in the ICC Women's World Cup match between the trans-Tasman rivals here.
Till the time Sophie (111 off 112 balls) was at the crease, the White Ferns had some hope of overhauling Australia's 326-run total, but her dismissal ended New Zealand's hopes even as there was jubilation in the Australian camp. Australia won the match by 89 runs.
"Batting as well as she (Sophie) did, you never feel comfortable," said Healy after the match.
"Full credit to the girls for hanging in there. (We) hit our lengths in the end and got the job done. We were struggling through the middle period and still made over 300.
"She (Ashleigh Gardner) is just continuing to mature as a cricketer with both bat and ball. We back our depth. Really proud of Ash today, had a great day," said Healy of the middle-order stalwart who came in at a crucial juncture to smash 115 off just 83 balls to put Australia in a commanding position.
She also praised her slow bowler Sophie Molineux, who took the fight out of the New Zealand camp with a three-wicket haul.
"She's (Sophie) super handy with what she's shown with the new ball in the powerplay. It's not exactly like for like but the fact that Soph(ie) can come in the powerplay. Her first full game back in over 12 months. Hopefully went through unscathed and she can play a big part in the tournament." Devine, on her part, said scoring a century and still ending up on the losing side was a "bittersweet" experience.
"I'd throw it all away to make sure this team won. Proud of the effort. A couple of years away we probably would've thrown in the towel. Despite the result not going our way, proud of the way we played.
"A long way to go in this World Cup. We knew what they (Australia) could do with the depth they have. We just had to hold our nerve. Melie (Amelie Kerr) was outstanding as well as Lea (Tahuhu). We probably leaked a few runs at the back end but I still feel that total was chaseable on that wicket," added the New Zealand skipper.
Gardner, who was declared 'Player of the Match', said she came in to bat with a clear plan, which helped her score big.
"When I got into the middle, (I) had some very clear plans. Wanted to score off as many balls as possible. Always knew we needed a big total here. (Sophie) Devine batted brilliantly, made it tough for our bowlers to settle. Going to be a trend in this World Cup to get as many as possible on the board.
"Just trying to keep my game as simple as possible. I feel when I'm hitting the boundary riders hard, and running hard, that gets me going. Having partnerships with my teammates is pretty crucial. We bat all the way down so we have that freedom and confidence within our group," she added.
This report includes content sourced from Press Trust of India (PTI), edited for clarity and context.
