Past defeats don't haunt us, says Haynes

Vice-captain Rachael Haynes says Australia are not dwelling on the disappointments of their last two ICC tournaments as they prepare for their World T20 semi-final against West Indies on Thursday.

After finishing second in their group following a surprise loss to India on Saturday, Australia face the prospect of needing to knock off the hosts and reigning champions – who have won all four of their matches in this event to date – to progress to Saturday's final.

In 2016, the Windies shocked Australia to claim their maiden World T20 title in Kolkata, while Australia, red-hot favourites heading into last year's one-day World Cup in the UK, failed to progress to the final of that tournament when they were knocked out in the semi-finals by India.

"That's all in the past now," Haynes said ahead of Australian training in Antigua on Tuesday.

"If we were sitting back and thinking about that, I'd be a bit worried about our head space.

"We've been really positive all throughout this tournament. I think it's been really clear on how we want to play, how we want to execute.

"The other day it probably didn't quite come off as well as we would have liked but I think our team's in a really positive frame of mind, which is where you want to be heading into a semi-final."

Australia had a rest day in Antigua on Monday to reset ahead of the tournament finals, but it was all systems go on Tuesday and Haynes was under no illusions how tough an opponent the West Indies will be, despite being ranked fourth in the ICC's T20 rankings compared to the No.1 Australians.

"We've kept track of what was going on (in Group A), they've got some very dangerous players as we've seen first hand in the past, so we'll definitely have to be on our game," she said.

Those dangerous players include the in-form Deandra Dottin, the current leading wicket-taker in the tournament, and captain Stafanie Taylor, who plays alongside Haynes at the Sydney Thunder.

"(Taylor's) a pretty dangerous player on her day with bat and ball, so we'll prepare for that. Obviously I know her that pretty well from playing alongside her at the Thunder ... hopefully we can get one up on her."

While Australia have not been dwelling on their past two World Cup results, the one-day World Cup semi-final loss last year in particular had a lasting impact on the team, leading them to reassess the way they approach their cricket.

Now, they need to demonstrate those changes on the biggest stage against a home team in form and full of confidence.

"The biggest thing it gave us was clarity on what we stood for as a team and how we wanted to play moving forward," Haynes said.

"I think we've brought that to life really well over last 12 or so months and you've seen our team go out and play with an aggressive style, back their skills and try to be really clear under pressure.

"We want to bring some of that to this game coming up against the West Indies … our team is in such a great place, I feel really confident about that match."

There's also the bigger picture, with Australia to host the next edition of the Women's World T20 in February and March 2020.

Victory in this tournament would bring the same sort of momentum and excitement that's seen local fans flock to watch the Windies play in this tournament, but Haynes said the Australians couldn't afford to get too far ahead of themselves.

"We've got big ambitions on how that (2020 World T20) will be, but we know all too well from last year's World Cup that we've got to win the semi first, so that's our focus at the moment."

Australia's semi-final showdown against West Indies will begin at 4pm local time Thursday (11am Friday AEDT), with the match to be broadcast live 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