West Indies will give in-form allrounder Deandra Dottin every chance to prove she is fit to take on the World Cup favourites Australia in Tuesday’s showdown in Wellington.
Dottin has proven a force with bat, ball and in the field already this tournament, but was hampered by back pain throughout West Indies’ heavy defeat to India in Hamilton on Saturday.
She did not train at the Basin Reserve on Monday, and was spotted stretching and moving uncomfortably on the outfield with team medical staff while her teammates were in the nets.
Windies coach Courtney Walsh described Dottin as a “fighter” on Monday, adding a call on her availability would be left until close to the coin toss.
“I told her to take it easy (for a) couple of days,” Walsh said.
“She really did everything she could to stay on the field in the last game.
“As far as I’m concerned, I know she wants to play (and) if she’s fit, she will play.
“She didn’t practice today, she just did what she had to do to rest and recover.
“We’ll assess her in the morning – knowing Deandra, if she has recovered she’ll go out and give it everything she’s got because she’s a fighter.
“But if there’s any risk of the injury getting worse, that’s something we’ll (reconsider).”
Dottin came up clutch in West Indies’ early wins over New Zealand and England, and they will be desperate to have her available even as a specialist batter.
She took the ball for the 50th over against the White Ferns, with the hosts needing six runs for victory and despite not having bowled at international level since September last year due to ongoing shoulder concerns, took two wickets and executed a run out to seal an upset win.
Against England she hit 31 before taking a contender for catch of the tournament, a one-handed diving effort to remove Lauren Winfield-Hill.
And while her five overs went for 1-32 against India on Saturday as she started to struggle with obvious back pain, Dottin still opened the batting and belted 62 from 46 deliveries.
West Indies were at one stage well-set in their unlikely pursuit of India’s 8-317, reaching 0-100 in 12 overs thanks to the efforts of Dottin and opening partner Hayley Matthews.
But they then lost 10-62 to lose by 155 runs, a rapid return to earth after their early upset wins.
Walsh said his side had quickly parked the defeat and turned their attention to the huge task of upsetting Australia, a side they have beaten just once in the one-day format, during the 2013 World Cup in India.
“We move on very quickly – we play, travel, practice, then play so there’s not a lot of time to mope about,” Walsh said.
“We have to be positive and look ahead.
“Yes, it was a very disappointing game for us but we’ve still got four more games in the group stages.
“We play the number one team tomorrow and we just have to look forward to our execution, our game plan and if we do what we want to do … the team knows if we play well enough, we can beat any team.”
Australia quick Darcie Brown told reporters on Monday she and her teammates were preparing to face the hard-hitting opening combination of Matthews and Dottin.
Brown got a brief taste of what it is like to face Dottin in a warm-up match last month, when she was hit for several boundaries, but Australia had the last laugh in that game in Christchurch, winning by 90 runs.
“It’d be a be an awesome challenge,” Brown, who tore through New Zealand with 3-22 on Sunday, said.
“We played against them in the practice match and (Dottin) whacked me around a little bit.
“I’m always looking forward to a good challenge playing against some of the best batters in the world.
“We’ll create some plans around how they went against us then (but) it’s a different wicket, different place and it’s a lot windier here than it was back in Christchurch.”
ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022
Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Amanda-Jade Wellington. Travelling reserves: Heather Graham, Georgia Redmayne
Australia’s World Cup 2022 fixtures
Mar 5: Beat England by 12 runs
Mar 8: Beat Pakistan by seven wickets
Mar 13: Beat New Zealand by 141 runs
Mar 15: v West Indies, Basin Reserve, Wellington, 8am AEDT
Mar 19: v India, Eden Park, Auckland, 12pm AEDT
Mar 22: v South Africa, Basin Reserve, Wellington, 8am AEDT
Mar 25: v Bangladesh, Basin Reserve, Wellington, 8am AEDT
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL WORLD CUP SCHEDULE
Semi-finals
Mar 30: Basin Reserve, Wellington, 8am AEDT
Mar 31: Hagley Park Christchurch, 12pm AEDT
Final
Apr 3: Hagley Park Christchurch, 11am AEDT
All matches to be broadcast in Australia on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports
