Delissa Kimmince would have never imagined that at some point in her career she would have to fill the big boots of Australia’s star all-rounder Ellyse Perry. Now that Kimmince finds her way into the Aussie playing 11, the Queenslander would look to make it big when she steps onto the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for her team to play the final against India.
Perry who has never missed a single World T20 since 2009 was ruled out of the competition on Monday when the reigning champions took on New Zealand in a virtual quarter-final.
The number one T20 team proved that they have the necessary resources to cope with any kind of contingencies. With Kimmince coming in against South Africa in the semi-final on Thursday picked up one for 16 in her three overs – the best economy rate of her side in a slender success, Australia will be pleased going into the final on Sunday.
The iconic MCG will have close two hundred thousand eyeballs witnessing the grand finale and Kimmince will be rearing to give her best to ensure that the Cup stays home.
Kimmince exclaimed, “I can’t do anything but smile. Occasions like this are what we’re here for – family, friends and a packed MCG, it’s going to be amazing. My parents have flown to Melbourne, I haven’t played many games for my country in front of my mum and dad, so to be able to do that in a World Cup Final, I can only imagine what that’s going to be like. All of our squad have played a part at some stage which has been so good for us. Variety is a pretty key thing, you don’t want to be too predictable, so we’ve been lucky to have people come in, play their roles and get their wins which give us a lot of confidence. Knowing that we have anyone who can come in and perform, especially having lost Ellyse Perry, is a massive boost for us. Having her around in planning meetings has been really helpful as well.”
This is the seventh edition of ICC Women’s World T20 and the hosts have never failed to reach the semi-finals. Australia have fought their way to reach the top two in this World T20. First a loss to India in the opening match, then losing Ellyse Perry to a hamstring injury and finally battling rain to win against South Africa in the semi-final; the Aussies have had a relatively tough route to reach the MCG final.
Though Australia will miss the services of their star all-rounder in the final at MCG, according to Kimmince, a wounded Australian team is one to be wary of.
“Losing the first game in a home World Cup, with eyes watching all over the world, wasn’t ideal and it did put us under pressure a little bit. But it shows where we are as a group and the character we have, we haven’t relied on one person and players have stood up to get the job done.”
“It’s been a rollercoaster World Cup for us, our backs have been against the wall throughout the tournament and going into a must-win game against New Zealand. To get over the line there, and then the semi-final, is really big for us – it’s felt like we’ve been up against it from the start but we’ve found our way through that. We know you only have one shot at it – you’ve got to make the most of it. There was some freedom and aggressive cricket to be played in that and we’ve managed to make it through to the end,” Kimmince concluded.
Source: ICC Media Zone
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