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The long wait is over. After 14 years, the White Ferns have made it back to the final of the T20 World Cup after a thrilling semi-final against the West Indies in Sharjah.
It was a match that had pretty much everything. It ebbed and flowed like all classic encounters and right up until the penultimate ball, with the West Indies needing 10 to win, it could have gone either way. But it was Suzie Bates who bowled a dot ball at the most crucial of times, to finally let New Zealand fans feel confident the job was done.
Sophie Devine won the toss and to no-one’s surprise, she chose to bat first, confident that her team could post a total that would put scoreboard pressure on Hayley Matthews’ side. That said, Matthews was happy to chase, having overcome England in that manner in their previous match which secured their place in the last four.
As so often in this World Cup, openers Georgia Plimmer and Bates got their side off to a steady start. Finding gaps in the West Indies field was tough, with a score of 10-0 after three overs progressing to 32-0 at the end of the sixth over, and the end of the powerplay.
Although boundaries were hard to come by, Plimmer and Bates ran hard, making plenty of twos and the run rate started to increase. Bates tried to up the rate even more at the start of over nine, trying two reverse sweeps in a row. She missed both and the second saw her dismissal, bowled by Karishma Ramharack to see the score 48-1.
Out to the middle came Melie Kerr, who has excelled with ball in hand in this tournament, but also struggled to move the run rate forward with her bat in the middle overs. It proved to be the same again today.
At the start of the 12th over, Kerr hit the ball to long on, where Chinelle Henry was fielding, and a catch looked likely. But Henry lost the flight of the ball and not only missed the catch, but also was hit in the face, an incident which caused a delay and eventually, Henry’s concussion replacement.
After the re-start, Kerr was dismissed next ball, Ramharack taking the catch off Deandra Dottin, and the White Ferns were 65-2.
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Plimmer was next to depart for 33 just five balls later, meaning Devine and Brooke Halliday were occupying the crease, and while they did, it looked like the run rate could increase and see them post a sizeable total. But after Halliday was dismissed for 18 off her 9 deliveries, there was a significant collapse, with Devine, Maddy Green and Rosemary Mair following her back to the dug-out to see New Zealand go from 96-4 to 104-7 in the 17th over, with Dottin outstanding with the ball, eventually taking 4-22 over her four overs, varying her length well and bowling some outstanding yorker length deliveries. NZ finished on 128/9.
Against England, the dangerous opening pair of Matthews and Qiana Joseph scored 67-0 in the powerplay, and if they repeated or got near to that tonight, the White Ferns were in big trouble.
But one thing the White Ferns have shown in this tournament is their ability to pick good match-ups with their bowlers, and so it proved again today, with Devine skilfully rotating Mair, Fran Jonas and Eden Carson during the powerplay.
After Mair and Jonas took the first two overs, Carson came on, and despite Joseph hitting a couple of boundaries, Carson then clean bowled her to leave the West Indies 16-1. That became 20-2 at the start of the fifth over, with Shemaine Campbelle dismissed, again off the bowling of Carson, this time, caught beautifully by Bates diving forward at extra cover. As Bates got up, she immediately pointed to Devine, acknowledgement that another of their plans had worked a treat.
At the end of the powerplay, the West Indies were 25-2 and only managed to advance to 48-3 after 10 overs, still needing 81 for victory. Remember the 67 in the powerplay against England? Well, today the scoreboard didn’t reach 67 until their 15th over.
But just as White Ferns fans dared to dream of a place in the final, the powerful Dottin showed how quickly a T20 game can change.
She’d been dropped three times before she got going, on the boundary by Mair and Carson, as well as Halliday. In the 16th over, bowled by Tahuhu, Dottin smashed three sixes on the leg side on the way to a total of 23 runs in that over. Suddenly, they needed 34 from 24 balls and Dottin looked unstoppable.
In the next over however, Kerr came to the rescue. Dottin miscued a slog sweep and was caught by Jonas. Dottin had scored 33 off 22, but there was still plenty more to do.
Needing 23 off last 12, substitute fielder Molly Penfold dropped Zaida James who would go on to score 14 off 8 balls.
With 15 needed off the last over, Tahuhu was the main bowler who had a spare over left. But again Devine showed her tactical nous, knowing that it was important to keep the pace off the ball. Halliday was considered, but Devine chose the veteran Bates to bowl it. James struck four off first ball but Bates struck back, bowling her with her third delivery as the finish line came ever closer.
Bates conceded just six in the final over as the White Ferns were victorious by eight runs, West Indies ending on 120/8.
Nerve, resilience aplenty, it was a win they deserved.
South Africa await in in the final the early hours of Monday morning. Set your alarm for 3am because this group of women have earned it.
Aiden McLaughlin is a freelance sports writer. A father of two young daughters, he spends much of his spare time supporting their many sporting activities. More by Aiden McLaughlin
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