Taylor aiming to repel Australia's revenge

West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor expects to meet an Australian team determined to exact revenge in Thursday's World T20 semi-final in Antigua.

Taylor's Windies upset Australia to take out the 2016 WT20 crown in Kolkata, their first ever win against the Southern Stars in a T20 International and a victory that snapped Australia's run of three consecutive titles.

Image Id: 1510AE6A61ED458A84F616CBD0433FCF Image Caption: Shattered Aussies after the 2016 WT20 final loss // Getty

Thursday's game at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (beginning 7am Friday AEDT) is the first time the teams have met in a 20-over game, and only the second time in any format, since that match at Eden Gardens.

Taylor said while her team wasn't fixating on that famous win, she expected Meg Lanning's team to be fired up in the must-win eliminator.

"You know, that's the past, and tomorrow is definitely what comes," Taylor, who will play for the Thunder again in WBBL|04, said in Antigua on Wednesday.

"I have a feeling that the Aussies might look at it as a revenge, but for us, that's the past, and tomorrow's game is definitely what counts."

But Lanning said she was simply focused on the Windies of 2018, not on past results.

"We know they're a very dangerous team, and in the World Cup it is always very difficult to win semi-finals," Lanning said on Wednesday.

"It's a new game tomorrow. We're really excited about the opportunity that we've got to play in a World Cup semi-final in front of a really big crowd.

"The atmosphere is going to be amazing, and we were speaking earlier today about just really embracing that opportunity.

"You don't get to get back here very often, so we're just really looking forward to the opportunity to come up against a good team and hopefully put on a good show."

The Windies have the home turf advantage at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, a ground the Australian women's team has never played at.

They come into the game with plenty of momentum, having won all four of their group matches, while Australia are coming off a 48-run loss to India.

The hosts also boast the tournament's leading wicket-taker in Deandra Dottin, a dangerous allrounder who has posted scores of 46 and 49 in her two most recent innings.

"They've got plenty of X factors," Lanning said. "Dottin has been playing extremely well throughout with both bat and ball, and they've got a number of world-class players obviously led by Stafanie Taylor.

"We're very wary of them. We know that when they're on, they're very hard to stop, and we're expecting them to be on tomorrow.

"We know we're going to have to be really composed and make sure we're ready for what they're going to bring.

"But we feel like we've sort of prepared really well and we've got the options there when we need to use them."

Australia, ranked number one in both limited-overs formats, have been left disappointed in their last two ICC tournament campaigns, with a semi-final exit at last year's World Cup following their runners-up finish at the 2016 WT20.

But Lanning said her team weren't concerning themselves with those results, instead eager to make the most of the opportunity in front of them.

"We've spoken about the fact that it's a rare opportunity that we've got in front of us, and making sure that we really enjoy it," she said.

"I think it's very easy to get caught up in worry, I guess, about the stage that you're playing on, but we're going out there to enjoy what we do.

"We feel really confident in the way that we've been playing and the way that our game stacks up, and it's now just about putting it out there in the park, and our squad is looking forward to that opportunity."

Australia's semi-final against West Indies will begin at 4pm local time Thursday (7am Friday AEDT) with live broadcast on Fox Sports and the Nine Network.

2018 ICC Women's World T20  

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

November 9: Australia beat Pakistan by 52 runs

November 11: Australia beat Ireland by nine wickets

November 13: Australia beat New Zealand by 33 runs

November 17: Australia lost to India by 48 runs

November 22: Semi-finals, Sir Vivian Richards Ground, Antigua

November 24: Final, Sir Vivian Richards Ground