Healy steers Aussie women to series win

KINGSTON: Alyssa Healy peeled off yet another half-century - her fourth in five games - as Australia’s winning ways on tour of the Caribbean continued, giving them another series victory with a game to spare.

Healy hit an unbeaten 58 - off 43 balls - in Australia’s chase of just 98 runs and helped her side to a landslide victory with nine wickets and 33 balls to spare.

With West Indies’ batting regressing with each game in the series, Meg Lanning saw it fit to ask the host to bat first. They caved under the pressure once again, posting just 97 for 9 in their 20 overs.

West Indies started brightly despite the early exit of Kyshona Knight, with Britney Cooper leading the way. The dismissal of captain Stafanie Taylor, however, set in motion another batting collapse.

Four batters that followed Taylor walked back with single-digit scores. Chinelle Henry scored an unbeaten 21 but could only steer her side as far as 97.In reply, Healy scored a stroke-filled half-century and added an undefeated 58-run partnership with captain Lanning to see her side through to an unassailable 2-0 series lead with one more game to play.

To compound West Indies’ woes, Henry suffered a leg injury while bowling and had to be stretchered off the field.Brief Scores: West Indies Women 97/9 in 20 overs (Britney Cooper 39, Chinelle Henry 21; Jess Jonassen 2-19) lost to Australia Women 98/1 in 14.3 overs (Alyssa Healy 58*; Afy Fletcher 1-13) by 9 wickets.