Aussies prepared for 'pretty ugly' cricket in hunt for Cup glory

Australia’s thumping win over New Zealand on Tuesday evening underlined their status as T20 World Cup favourites, even if the key players highlighted there was still room for improvement.

Beth Mooney warned Australia's cricket would at times "look pretty ugly" as they battle the tricky and unfamiliar conditions, but with two wins and one foot in the semi-finals, nobody is complaining.

The team's veteran stars have been leading the charge: Mooney has quietly shifted into rare air after top-scoring for Australia for a second time in as many matches, and Megan Schutt became the tournament’s all-time leading wicket-taker with another economical haul.

But Mooney would not go so far as to say the defending champions had "cracked the code" to success in Sharjah, with games against Pakistan and India to come in Group A.

"If we're being really critical, we probably missed out on a few on the back end, but it's really pleasing the spot that we've got ourselves into in this tournament," Mooney said.

"I don't know if there's such thing as cracking the code in cricket. There's always a tough game out there, especially in this format.

"It is very different to conditions back home, and a bit of a hard slog at times, with the slow outfield, big boundaries and slow wicket.

"We're going to have to dig deep with the bat and try to find a way to score runs. Sometimes that's going to look pretty ugly and sometimes it's going to be okay."

During her 32-ball 40 on Tuesday, Mooney passed the legendary Belinda Clark’s mark of 5,662 runs to climb into fifth spot on Australia’s greatest run scorers across all formats.

Only Karen Rolton (6,221), Alyssa Healy (6,371), Ellyse Perry (6,764) and Meg Lanning (8,352) sit above the 30-year-old, who is building into the T20 World Cup nicely having earlier hit 43no in the opening match.

"You've got to really be composed at the crease, make good decisions and be clear on what options you have and where to hit what bowlers," Mooney said of her approach on Tuesday.

"I felt like I was pretty clear on that (tonight)."

Meanwhile Schutt continued her dominant start to the tournament.

The 31-year-old pace bowler had already bagged 3-12 against Sri Lanka but stepped it up a notch against New Zealand, stifling the White Ferns’ batters across 3.2 overs that yielded figures of 3-3.

Schutt equalled retired South Africa quick Shabnim Ismail as the women’s T20 World Cup’s all-time leading run scorer in Saturday’s opening game, and the South Australian now holds that record outright with 46 wickets from 26 matches, spanning five tournaments.

"Megan Schutt has been outstanding for us, not just in the last two games, but throughout her whole career," Mooney said.

"I think she's in a really good place with her career as well … she's really enjoying it, and knows the impact that she can have, and we certainly know the difference that she can make.

"Seeing the likes of Megan and Annabel Sutherland being able to have that impact as pace bowlers in conditions that perhaps aren't as suited to them has been really impressive."

Skipper Alyssa Healy ticked off a milestone of her own during her innings of 26, becoming the second Australian woman to pass 3,000 T20I runs.

She is the fastest woman to the mark in terms of balls faced, getting there in 2,321 deliveries, comfortably ahead of India’s Smriti Mandhana (2,461).

Ellyse Perry also added another feather to her (very well adorned) cap, becoming the first Australian to reach the 2,000 runs-100 wickets double in T20Is.

But Australia are far more focused on the big picture than any individual milestones, and now have two days to reset and prepare before facing Pakistan.

That game will see them play at Dubai International Stadium for the first time and could bring a change in approach given that ground is considered the more batting-friendly of the two host venues.

"There's going to be different challenges thrown at us and we're just going to have to adjust," Mooney said.

"We adjusted tonight to these conditions, and we're going to have to do that again at Dubai on Friday night when we play Pakistan."

New Zealand, meanwhile, will have three days to park the disappointment of their heavy defeat before they meet Sri Lanka in Sharjah.

Chamari Athapaththu’s Asia Cup champions have yet to win a game at this tournament, but White Ferns allrounder Amelia Kerr said there was no risk they would be taken lightly in what is shaping as a thrilling race for semi-final spots in Group A.

"With the win against India, it was important for us that we enjoyed that win but then the next day we moved on to recovery and the next game," Kerr said.

"I think that's the exact same with this game … we should be disappointed, we didn't play our best cricket, and we've got to take learnings from it.

"We can be gutted, but we've got to quickly move on.

"Cricket is a pretty fickle game, and with World Cups and tournaments, you can't get too high or low.

"We'll review it and take learnings, but we've got to move on to the next game which is huge one for us against Sri Lanka ... we know they'll be extremely dangerous."

2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup

Australia's Group A fixtures

October 5: beat Sri Lanka by six wickets

October 8: Beat New Zealand by 60 runs

October 11: v Pakistan, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 12 AEDT

October 13: v India, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 14 AEDT

Finals

October 17: Semi-final 1, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 18 AEDT

October 18: Semi-final 2, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 19 AEDT

October 20: Final, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 21 AEDT

For the full list of fixtures click here. All matches live and exclusive on Prime Video. Sign up here for a 30-day free trial