Australia have started the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in blistering fashion, and that continued against New Zealand last weekend.
With three wins from three, the Aussies already have one foot in the semi-finals, and against New Zealand, they produced another devastating performance with the bat.
Ashleigh Gardner was merciless as she bludgeoned 48 runs from just 18 balls to help Australia claim a 141-run victory.
Australia – who are targeting a seventh World Cup triumph – posted a score of 269-8, with Ellyse Perry and Tahlia McGrath both contributing half-centuries.
In response, the Kiwis were left in dire straits after Perry, McGrath and Darcie Brown tore through the top order to leave New Zealand at 35-5.
Australia will be looking to continue their good form this week when they face West Indies in their next group match.
As things stand, the Windies are fifth in the group, and they will need to pull off something of a miracle to keep their World Cup dream alive.
The Windies were completely outclassed in their previous group match against India as they slumped to a 155-run defeat, and skipper Stafanie Taylor has urged her side to learn the lessons from that loss.
She said: “You brush it off and move on to the next one.
“We have no time to sit down and cry about this game. We have a big game coming up against Australia.
“I think we take what we can from this – some learning – and hopefully whatever we could take into that game can help us.”
Australia were the tournament favourites for the ICC Women’s World Cup from the outset, and we are unlikely to see much deviance in the outright markets in the coming days. The top betting sites will provide a wealth of cricket betting lines for each World Cup match, and many will also facilitate in-play betting, so that bettors can keep on top of their wagers as the live action unfolds. However, cricket bookmakers always have their finger on the pulse when it comes to covering all the biggest international events. Indeed, many of the most reputable operators, such as Parimatch, are also one of the best IPL betting sites around. They will be well versed in advertising competitive odds for specific player markets, such as ‘Highest run scorer in an innings’ or ‘Best bowling performance’, and they will give bettors plenty of variety.
As we have seen, Australia means business, and the Windies could well be easy pickings for them.
There is so much depth and talent in their squad, and while there is still a lot of cricket to be played at the World Cup, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they ended up being crowned champions.
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