CALCUTTA, Dec 29: Favourites Australia rode on a gritty 52 by skipper Belinda Clark to carve out a comfortable five-wicket victory over a spirited New Zealand and regain the women's cricket World Cup at the Eden Gardens here today.Chasing New Zealand's modest score of 164, the Australians seemed to be in no hurry at all as their middle order batswomen Michelle Goszko (37) and Karen Fruin (24) chipped in with useful contributions to overhaul the target, reaching 165 for five in 47.4 overs.
After a cautious start, the Aussie openers -- Belinda Clark and Joanne Broadbent -- opened up to play some glorious shots much to the delight of the nearly 60,000 spectators who made the summit showdown a memorable occasion.
Electing to bat first after skipper Maia Lewis won the toss, the New Zealanders got off to a disastrous start but the in-form opener Debbie Hockley stood bravely amidst the ruins with a belligerent knock of 79 before the team was bundled out for a modest 164 in 49.3 overs.
Rebecca Rolls was the
only other Kiwi batswoman who provided a semblance of resistance with a breezy 18 on a placid track, leaving the formidable Australians with a fairly simple asking rate of just over three runs.
New Zealand open the attack with off-spinner Clare Nicholson but it was medium-pacer Kathryn Ramel who struck in her very first over getting rid of Broadbent for 15 with captain Maia Lewis bringing off a brilliant catch at cover.
Michelle Goszko, who joined her Clark, consolidated the position as the pair raised 71 runs for the second wicket before Katrina Withers broke the fruitful association.
Goszko paid the price for playing a casual shot to see her stumps dislodged. Clark notched up her 11th half century in one-day internationals with a single but perished soon after as Catherin Campbell latched on to a brilliant return catch, raising expectations of an exciting finish as Australia lost two wickets in quick succession to slump to 117 for three.
Karen Rolton (24) and Melanie Jones (17), however, ensured
that there were no further setbacks as they played sensibly to take the Australians within sniffing distance of victory.
Just when the Aussies were cruising to victory, Rolton needlessly went for a mighty heave and succeeded in spooning a simple catch to Shelly Fruin at short fine leg as she completely mistimed the shot off medium pacer Kathryn Ramel with the team still needing 12 runs for victory.
Melanie Jones, who had done all the hard work, also returned to the pavilion with the score reading 160 but Bronwyn Calver and Olivia Magno fetched the required runs amidst thunderous applause.
``Today, we were certainly the better team,'' an elated Australian skipper Belinda Clark said after the victory. Clark, who performed superbly with the bat all through the tournament to bag the woman of the tournament award, attributed Australia's victory to an all round performance, particularly the bowlers' success in restricting the Kiwis to a modest 164.
``Our bowlers bowled well, and the batswomen followed up
with a nice performance which was enough for us to get past the post,'' she told newspersons.
She was all praise for the mammoth crowd, which comprised mainly eves and children. ``The crowd was fantastic. I only hope the young girls who came to the stadium today take up the game,'' Clark said, her voice choking with emotion.
Asked to comment on the performance of the Indian team, she said they were impressive, with their batswomen showing good technique, and the spinners performing credibly.
New Zealand captain Maia Lewis said her batswomen's failure to set a bigger target proved decisive. ``I think we fell 20 or 30 runs short,'' she added.
SCOREBOARD
New Zealand: Debbie Hockley b Fitzpatrick 79, Emily Drumm b Calver 6, Shelly Fruin c Clark b Calver 8, Katrina Withers c Price b Mason 5, Maia Lewis lbW Magno 10, Kathryn Ramel run out 1, Clare Nicholson lbw Rolton 2, Sarah McLavchlan st. Price b Rolton 8, Rebecca Rolls c Calver b Mason 18 Catherin Campbell not out 3, Kelly Brown run out
1. Extras (lb10, w13): 23. Total (all out in 49.3 overs): 164.
Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-36, 3-49, 4-87, 5-99, 6-104, 7-125, 8-155, 9-157.
Bowling: Fitzpatrick 10-2-22-1, Calver 10-1-29-2, Mason 9.3-1-32-2, Magno 6-1-28-1, Rolton 6-1-25-2, Avril Famey 8-1-19-0.
Australia: Belinda Clark c & b Campbell 52 Joanne Broadbent c Lewis b Ramel 15, Michelle Goszko b Withers 37, Karen Rolton c Fruin b Ramel 24, Melanie Jones b Withers 17, Browwyn Calver not out 7, Olivia Magno not out 0. Extras (b5, lb4, nb1, w3): 13. Total (for five wickets in 47.4 overs): 165.
Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-107, 3-117, 4-153, 5-160.
Bowling: Withers 10-2-23-2, Nicholson 10-3-26-0, Brown 1-0-10-0, Ramel 4.4-0-23-2, Campbell 10-1-36-1, McLauchlan 9-0-26-0, Hockley 3-0-12-0.
Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
