Opener's struggles continue but remains key part of strategy that has delivered 26 wins from last 31 T20s, says skipper Meg Lanning
Why Australia will keep faith with 'high-risk' Healy
Meg Lanning says Australia will not consider making a change at the top of the order for Friday’s T20 World Cup opener against India, despite another single-digit score from star keeper-bat Alyssa Healy.
Nor will Australia flirt with changing the high-risk, high-reward approach to their batting order that has seen them win 26 of 31 T20 Internationals since the start of 2018.
Australia captain Lanning starred as her team claimed a fighting four-wicket warm-up win over South Africa in Adelaide on Tuesday, forming a match-winning 90-run stand with deputy Rachael Haynes after the top-order misfired early in pursuit of 148.
Healy started brightly with two boundaries but her lean run was extended when she swept straight down the throat of backward-square leg in the second over of Australia’s chase, dismissed for nine.
Image Id: C855F6832A434F1794B9F33CC2454ADE Image Caption: Healy was out sweeping for nine against South Africa // GettyIt followed scores of 1, 0, 1, 9 and 4 in the recently completed tri-series against England and India, while she was also dismissed for one in a warm-up against the Cricket Australia XI in late January.
Overall, since her record-breaking 148 not out against Sri Lanka at North Sydney Oval in early October, Healy has averaged 20.4 in 21 20-over matches across internationals, warm-ups and the Rebel WBBL.
It comes after a two-year period of dominance where Healy averaged 45.23 in the format at international level.
"She’s earnt a really good run at that spot, she’s been really good over a couple of years now," Lanning told reporters on Tuesday.
"She’s in a little bit of a low patch at the moment but it turns around really quickly so we haven’t given any thought to that.
"She plays a high-risk game so she’s going to take the bowlers on and sometimes it doesn’t work.
"It’ll click for her. All along she’s been hitting the ball well, but she just keeps getting out early.
"In the nets her swing’s really nice, it’ll just take a couple to get into the gap and she’ll be away and flying and hopefully it’s Friday night."
Australia have other opening options in their side – Lanning, Ellyse Perry, Rachael Haynes and Sophie Molineux all open for their respective Rebel WBBL clubs, and Gardner bats at three behind Perry and Healy at the Sydney Sixers.
But over the last two years, Lanning’s team have developed and honed a game plan that is based around stacking their most powerful strikers at the top of the order, to make the most of the power play where just two fielders are permitted on the boundary.
The idea being that Australia’s batting order is so deep – top-order Heat player Jess Jonassen is generally listed at No.8 or 9 – they can afford to go hammer-and-tongs early and if it doesn’t pay off, there is more than enough batting to come, in the form of Ellyse Perry and Rachael Haynes in the middle order, followed by the likes of recognised allrounders Nicola Carey, Annabel Sutherland, Molineux and Jonassen.
"We’ve always felt like we’ve got batters down to nine or 10 and at times we don’t use all of them, when we probably could," Lanning said.
"Something we’ve worked on is making sure we’re playing to our strengths and taking those calculated risks.
"Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t, and if they don’t, it means someone else is coming in who is very capable of playing well as well.
"We’ve got confidence in the strength our batting and the depth we’ve got.
"Hopefully we don’t need to go all the way down to those players, but if we do, we feel like we can definitely get the job done."
That depth was put to the test against South Africa when Australia were 4-35 in the sixth over after Healy, Mooney (10), Gardner (0) and Perry (5) all fell cheaply.
Haynes and Lanning’s 90-run partnership put Australia back on track and when they fell, Carey (17 not out) and teenage newcomer Sutherland (nine not out) iced the chase, while Jonassen and Delissa Kimmince were still to bat had they been required.
The return to form of Haynes has been particularly timely and pleasing for Lanning, after the Australian vice-captain struggled through WBBL|05.
"We always knew she would," Lanning said. "In this environment she’s been amazing for us over the last few years both with the bat and from a leadership perspective.
"That’s what we said to her at the start of the tournament, ‘You’re a really important player for us, just back yourself and don’t go into your shell’.
"When she comes out and is really positive she has a big impact on the team and we saw that today, from ball one she came out and wanted to put pressure on the bowlers."
With their World Cup preparations now complete, Australia will fly to Sydney on Wednesday ahead of Friday’s opening game at Sydney Showground Stadium.
2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup
Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Erin Burns, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham
Warm-ups
February 15: Australia v West Indies, Allan Border Field
February 18: Australia v South Africa, Karen Rolton Oval
Tournament
February 21:Australia v India, Sydney Showgrounds
February 24: Australia v Sri Lanka, WACA Ground
February 27: Australia v Bangladesh, Manuka Oval
March 2: Australia v New Zealand, Junction Oval
March 5: Semi-final 1 & Semi-final 2, SCG
March 8: Final, MCG
For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE
* All matches will be broadcast on Fox Cricket and Kayo, while Australia's matches will also be broadcast on the Nine Network