Top-6 still in the picture for semi-finals Women's World Cup 2022
Published at 23 March, 2022Obviously, only four countries can advance to the semi-finals, but six still have a chance: the Women's World Cup in New Zealand is incredibly exciting.
The Netherlands is missing; after all, the World Cup qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe in November 2021 was aborted as a result of the arrival of the omikron variant of the coronavirus. Subsequently, World Cup participation was determined by the ODI rankings at that time. The unluckiest was Thailand, which at that time was leading in Group B. Pakistan, Bangladesh and West Indies now made their appearance.
The latter country made an impression by beating both New Zealand and reigning champion England but later slumped a bit by losing to Pakistan.
The standard is higher than, say, ten years ago, but also quite volatile. Australia narrowly beat England in a great match with high scores (310-298), but there are also matches in which a low total is only just chased.
Queens of volatility are the Windies, who alternate beautiful moments (google 'brilliant catch Deandra Dottin') with mediocre performances. It seems as if the proverbial pipe is empty for the Windies now that the tournament is progressing and it comes down to long-term endurance.
England, on the other hand, is taking the opposite path. The reigning world champion lost the first three games, but then recorded wins so that they are back in the frame for the last four.
What is the current state of affairs? Australia stands out, having won all matches. Their attack is not lethal – Ellyse Perry, among others, lost it for a while, bowled a lot of wides and lost a bit of speed – but even when the opposition get scores of 270-plus, Australia invariably chase them, with leading roles for Meg Lanning and Rachael Haynes.
South Africa, India, Windies, England and New Zealand still have a chance to make it to the last four. England has performed better since making some changes (particularly offspinner Dean). New Zealand is struggling with injuries to Leah Tahuhu and the crucial player Sophie Devine.
My educated guess (for what it's worth) is that we will see (in addition to the already qualified Australia) South Africa, India and England in the semi-finals and that Australia will be world champion.
Remaining fixtures Group Stage:
SA v WI
Eng v Pak
BD v Aus
NZ v Pak
Eng v BD
Ind v SA
Photo - ICC
