New Zealand, the hosts of the 2022 Women’s World Cup had a campaign to forget as they failed to qualify to the Semis and finished at 6th position above Pakistan and Bangladesh with 3 wins and 4 losses. The team didn’t perform as a team in the tournament. The batting didn’t live up to the standards and the bowling tried their best which went in vain.
They had a horror start to their campaign as they lost to West Indies by 3 runs in the tournament opener at Mount Maunganui. Sophie Devine scored a magnificent 100 and led the side for the majority of the match. Deandra Dottin who bowled the last overturned the tides by taking 2 wickets and enforced a run out resulting in West Indies winning the match by 3 runs.
They came back strong against Bangladesh and India as they defeated both of them comprehensively. The bowling did an exceptional job in both the matches. They defeated Bangladesh by 9 wickets and won against India by 62 runs.
Then, they were dismantled by the Australian women at Wellington as all the departments failed against the strong 6btime world champions. The White Ferns failed to put forth a team game as they lost to South Africa and England in close games. Against South Africa, they failed to defend 6 runs in the last over, and against England, they failed to pick the final wicket. In both these matches, the batting unit failed as they put up a below-average score on the board.
These 3 big losses against Australia, South Africa, and England resulted in New Zealand losing their chance to qualify for the Semi-Finals of the 2022 WC in their backyard. This was a huge disappointment as they had won the World Cup the previous time it was held at their home in 2000.
New Zealand finished their campaign with a victory of pride against Pakistan at Christchurch on Saturday, March 26th. During the tournament, several milestones were reached by the Kiwi women. Suzie Bates surpassed Debbie Hockley and became the first New Zealand woman to score 5000 ODI runs. She also became the first player to score a century in 4 World Cups. Captain Sophie Devine and Amy Satterthwaite completed 3000 and 4500 ODI runs in their career.
Overall, it was a horrible world cup for the White Ferns as they failed to make it to the Semis with all the home advantage. They will be going back to the drawing board and will be looking to get back to winning ways as early as possible. They’ll be making sure to perform well in the 2023 T20 World Cup that will be happening in South Africa next February.
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