Australia won the toss and, without much fuss, decided to bat in their Women’s T20 World Cup meeting with Pakistan at Headingley. The defending champions are chasing a fourth straight victory and, unsurprisingly, stick with the same XI that beat the Netherlands at the weekend.
Sophie Molineux, calm as ever at the toss, confirmed Beth Mooney has shaken off the back soreness that forced her to retire on 74 four nights ago. “It looks a pretty good deck,” Molineux said. “Phoebs is training really well and getting really close but we’re unchanged today… Moons will be absolutely fine.”
Key points, then a bit more detail
• Australia: three wins from three, semi-final spot locked in.
• Pakistan: no wins, already out, but still intent on finishing well.
• Pitch: same strip used earlier in the week, a fraction slow but even bounce; 150 should keep either side honest.
Mooney’s fitness means Georgia Voll can shelve any thoughts of emergency wicket-keeping. Phoebe Litchfield, still nursing that quad, remains on the sidelines, though progress is steady.
Pakistan have shuffled their attack for their final outing. Right-arm seamer Diana Baig plays her first match of the tournament, while off-spinner Rameen Shamim is also back. Out go Tuba Hassan and Tasmia Rubab. Captain Fatima Sana admitted she would have preferred first use of the surface but kept things simple: “We just want to play good cricket against them,” Sana said. “We’re just trying to give chances to Diana because she’s a senior player.”
A gentle northerly breeze may aid swing for a couple of overs, after which it should be down to cutters and variations. The forecast looks clear, though cloud cover might keep the ball moving a touch longer than usual.
Probable par score? Somewhere around the mid-140s, given how the surface behaved a few days back. Anything above that will force Pakistan’s top order to take risks they have tried to avoid all tournament.
Teams
Australia: Beth Mooney (wk), Georgia Voll, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham, Annabel Sutherland, Nicola Carey, Sophie Molineux (capt), Alana King, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton.
Pakistan: Gull Feroza, Muneeba Ali, Ayesha Zafar, Iram Javed, Saira Jabeen, Aliya Riaz, Fatima Sana (capt), Rameen Shamim, Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal.
