T20 World Cup: Australia beats New Zealand, Ellyse Perry injured

Australia’s Twenty20 World Cup hopes are alive after holding off New Zealand by four runs. But the victory looks to have come at a major cost | WATCH

Ellyse Perry of Australia reacts as she leaves the field injured during the Women's T20 World Cup cricket match between Australia and New Zealand. Picture: AAP

Ellyse Perry started her day with a bung shoulder. And a bung hip. She was unsure if she’d be a player or spectator at Junction Oval.

Come 3pm, she was in. But then she was out again, injuring her hamstring in Australia’s four-run T20 World Cup victory over New Zealand. From here? She’s probably gone, baby, gone, for the rest of the tournament.

The strength of this Australian side: the unsung keep doing the job. The relatively unheralded.

Beth Mooney made 60 off 50 balls at the top of the order before leggie Georgia Wareham spun 3-17 and Meghan Schutt chipped in with 3-28.

The two best words in sport: sudden death. Australia posted 5-155 before the Kiwis were restricted to 7-151.

The 20-year-old Wareham was wildly out of form before the Cup but she kept giving it a rip, she regained the trust of the selectors, she was slotted back into the side and on Monday she made the difference, named player of the match as Australia qualified for a semi-final at the SCG on Thursday against England or South Africa.

“I felt like I had a bit of confidence from the way I started my overs,” she said after claiming the key wickets of Sophie Devine, Susie Bates and Maddy Green “Getting a good start was pretty key for me. They’re really dangerous players and they could have taken the game away from us. Happy to put my hand up and do my thing for the team.”

Player of the match Georgia Wareham, right, celebrates with Alyssa Healy after the legspinner claimed a key wicket in Australia’s four-run win over New Zealand. Picture: AAP

Lanning believed the result, which sounded closer than it really was after a last-ball six from the Kiwis, completed the recovery from Australia’s nervous start to the tournament.

“We had full confidence that we were able to do that,” she said. “I think the Bangladesh game was a really big turning point for us. We played a lot more like how we play.

“There’s a lot of calmness within the group and I thought we showed that today. Looking forward to our next challenge.

“Beth Mooney batted excellently and gave us a really good base to go from. She’s been a very good player for a long time now. She’s not under the radar with us. We value her very highly. She showed today what a good player she is.”

Perry made a neat 21 off 15 balls in Australia’s total of 5-155. She ran ones and twos, and a three, without needing a fireman’s carry, so the hip looked all right. She bowled a couple of overs without falling in a screaming heap, so the shoulder seemed OK. But then she clutched at her hamstring straight after a swift pick-up-and-throw in the field. She was distraught as she was helped away.

Asked about the broken-record topic of handling the pressure of a home World Cup, and whether the win over NZ was an authoritative statement from the four-time and defending champions, Lanning said: “I think it was. We showed that we’re able to be pretty calm when we’re under the pump. Build a good base. Do the basics really well.

“I think we’ve done that the last three games that we’ve played and that gives us a lot of confidence heading into the semi-final. It was a crunch game and I thought we handled it really well. We were able to calm the nerves”

Mooney played a Test-style T20 innings. A few bludgeoning boundaries. Quick singles like it was an afternoon of tip and run. Dot balls, the enemy. Smart batting. Sublime batting. Crafty batting. Watchable batting. Intelligent batting.

“Some good, some bad,” Mooney said of her contribution. “That’s normally my mantra. It was nice to get some out of the middle. I asked Pez if she was going all right and true to form she said, ‘yeah, all good. But I don’t know’.”

Schutt said: “My heart is still racing. The Kiwis, they’re just cracker games against them, every single time. They’re a team that just scraps to the end. They showed that again today. It was bloody awesome.

“We were fired up. I think something we haven’t done in previous matches is get that bit of anger. I think that’s a good thing for our cricket. We were out there and we were pumped up and every single wicket, we were reminding each other to really be up and about today. I’m relieved. I think we’ve got a bit of momentum now. Ellyse was stoked for us. Gave us big hugs after the game. She’s a tough cookie. Hopefully she can pull through but obviously she’s going to have to pass some tests.”