The teams for the Women’s T20 World Cup semi-finals have been decided. Adapting to the conditions will be most crucial to win this major tournament, as teams have had to travel from one city to another (like Southampton to Leeds and Manchester to Lord’s) without any practice time. During JioStar’s Media Day, ICC Women’s T20 World Cup expert Ian Bishop said, Australia and England currently appear to be the two strongest teams in the tournament. However, no team can be considered weak in the knockout stage. Australia’s batting depth is its biggest strength Former West Indies legend, Ian Bishop said, “Australian team has consistently shown excellent performance in the tournament and they are six-time World Champions. The team’s biggest strength is their batting depth and power-hitting. “The team has a deep batting line-up with players like Georgia Voll, Beth Mooney, Phoebe Litchfield (who is one of the best young players in the world), Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham, and Annabel Sutherland,” he added further. He concluded, “They also have bowling options like Sophie Molineux, Kim Garth, and young fast bowler Lucy Hamilton.” West Indies need to show better performance The West Indies team has been a former champion in 2016, but their performance in this tournament has been inconsistent. He said, “Their batting looked less confident in matches against Ireland and Sri Lanka. To stop a strong team like Australia in the semi-finals, West Indies will have to improve their game level by 25% to 40%.” “Senior players of the team, Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin, have not yet found their rhythm with the bat, although Matthews has bowled well. Shemaine Campbelle played a brilliant innings of 90 runs in the first match against New Zealand. The team will have high hopes from Stafanie Taylor and Aaliyah Alleyne,” he further added. England boast home advantage in knockout stage According to the Windies legend Ian Bisop, England’s team has an excellent record of not losing any Women’s World Cup match at home. Currently, they are considered strong contenders for the title. He further mentioned, “If their captain, Nat Sciver-Brunt, takes to the field fully fit, it will be extremely difficult to defeat England on their home grounds. England, like Australia, has scored big in the tournament and their batting is quite deep.” South Africa capable of causing upsets Bishop favoured South Africa side and said, “The South African team cannot be underestimated in any format. The team consistently reaches the knockout stages and finals of ICC tournaments, but struggles there.” “Although their performance faltered a bit in the last run-chase, the team has match-winning players like Marizanne Kapp, Laura Wolvaardt, Ayabonga Khaka, and Tazmin Brits. South Africa has a culture and spirit of fighting,” he concluded. Post navigation ‘Vaibhav Sooryavanshi may have to wait for first 3 games’:Pujara challenges 15-year-old, ‘what he did in the IPL, won’t be easy in English conditions’ Hardik Pandya makes BCCI facility in Bengaluru his training base:First Indian cricketer do so; all-rounder wants to play for ‘5-6 years’
