Cricket World Cup: Australia has never lost to Pakistan ahead of clash in New Zealand

Australia just over the line against England to open the World Cup but it’s how you finish not how you start that matters.

Australia's Rachael Haynes (L) and Beth Mooney in action against England. (Photo by MICHAEL BRADLEY / AFP)

The first time Australia played Pakistan in a one-day international one team scored 397 and the other just 23.

That monster win by Australia was in 1997 was the first of 12 victories in row in matches between the two teams, the last being in 2018.

But the gap between the two nations has closed significantly as they prepare to go to battle in the World Cup on Tuesday.

Australia’s batters made sure to watch as the tricky Pakistan spinners limited the output of India’s batters in a clash on Sunday and then used a special net session to adjust to what they will confront at the Bay Oval on Tuesday.

Australian batter Beth Mooney said her team’s tight first-up win over England, with both teams scoring over 300 and the match going to the last over, was the perfect way to tighten the focus on every ball and not look too far ahead.

That attitude is crucial when you come up against a team you have never lost to, and while the Aussie aren’t out to “make a statement” against Pakistan, they won’t be taking their foot off the gas either.

“I think those games in any tournament play are invaluable, they expose different players to different situations and put lots of pressure on whether it’s perceived or not, we can’t replicate that at training,” Mooney said on Monday.

Rachael Haynes and Meg Lanning made big runs in Australia’s opening World Cup win (Photo by MICHAEL BRADLEY / AFP)

“It’s always good in tournament pay to have those games

“Tournament play is so different to a multi-format series. It’s an opportunity to challenge ourselves and make sure we are fit and firing at the right time, there’s a long way to go in this tournament and we are only at game number two.

“We have to make sure we are managing ourselves .. not giving too much away.”

Tuesday’s match will be the third in a row played on the same pitch in Mount Maunganui and that could mean a change to the Australian line-up.

Beth Mooney (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)

Having seen the effect the slower-than normal Pakistan spinners had, and with experience at the ground, Australia could use some extra slow bowlers.

“We had the opportunity to play over here last year at a similar time and had three one-0dayers at the oval here and played on the same wicket all three times and by the final game it had slowed up a lot,” Mooney said.

“Using that intel will become really handy for us.”

But Mooney was also adamant while wins were important early, it was about managing efforts and performances to be right when it mattered most.

“People really don’t remember how you start (World Cups) they remember how you finish,” she said.,

“That’s the mindset I come in to tournament play with. You’ve got to make sure you are peaking at the right time.

“You can slip up here or there or have some tight games but but if you can’t nail it at the back end ... we’ve got to make sure we are firing at the right times. “

 

Originally published as Cricket World Cup: Australia has never lost to Pakistan ahead of clash in New Zealand