Meg Lanning: 'I wanted to dig a hole and jump in'

“Are you going to have nightmares…”

“Yes!”

The question wasn’t even fully formed yet and Meg Lanning had provided the answer. No, she wasn’t going to sleep well after hitting the catch that would give footer Alana King a hat-trick, her country’s second in the women’s T20Is.

To be honest, Lanning, the Australia captain, was a kind person about the situation, from burying his face in the Edgbaston grass there, where if you gave him 99 equal chances, he would take it, to grimacing in the background as reporters questioned King a few yards away. afterwards about the incident and then confronted the same reporters, knowing very well what was going to happen.

“I’m going to have nightmares,” Lanning said. “I wanted to dig a hole and jump into it as fast as I could. I tried my best and I dropped it.”

Softening the blow somewhat was the fact that Australia had one foot in the Commonwealth Games semi-finals with Barbados 53 for 8 at the time. Barbados managed just 64 before being blown away. Then Australia, led by Lanning’s unbeaten 21-ball 36, overhauled targets with 71 balls remaining and sealed a place in the knockout stages with one group game remaining.

Asked if his innings were a response to his sloppiness on court, Lanning said: “I wasn’t very happy, let’s just say. I’m just disappointed for Kingy. He bowled really well and let him down like it wasn’t ideal. But it’s cricket I guess.

“I just wanted to really contribute. I just pounced on a few loose balls when I got them and gave myself a chance and I feel like I can do that.”

Deandra Dottin conceded her first 25 run-offs, the last of powerplay, all to Lanning and extra as Australia, through their captaincy, accelerated after a wary start on a slow hybrid court that staged its sixth game in three days. Since then, Alyssa Healy has also joined, going from four 14 ball runs to 23 no out of 24 as Australia clinched the win.

For his part, the King understood.

“That’s cricket, right? Nobody meant to drop the ball or anything,” said King. “That’s how the game goes, but I’m happy to be able to contribute in any way I can.

“Every ball I throw I try to get in the net so it’s no different but catch the outside edge and yes, it’s just cricket I guess. But I’m very happy with the way I played today.

“I feel there must have been a bit more bite in the goal today. It’s the sixth game so it’s a bit tired, a little slow, that worked in our hands a little bit.”

King went into attack in the eighth round after Lanning won the toss and sent Barbados, who lost captain Hayley Matthews early to what turned out to be their highest score, at 18.

King hit with his second ball, sweeping the outside of Dottin’s front pad parallel to the center stump as he knelt down to put the ball into a good foot, having faced 22 balls in his eight runs.

After Tahlia McGrath claimed the first of her three wickets when she caught Kycia Knight by Megan Schutt in the deep back square and Ashleigh Gardner put on a tight spell, including a double wicket girl to knock out Kyshona Knight and Trishnan Holder, King was back in action.

At the end of the second half, King parried Aaliyah Alleyne who played the ball that hit the stump of the back foot. Then, with the third ball from the third, King pinned Shakera Selman lbw and then hit the next ball into Shamilia Connell’s back foot. What happened after Keila Elliott’s edge somehow popped out of Lanning’s hand on the first slip was a nightmare. Luckily for Australia, it was okay that night.

Valkerie Baynes is general editor at ESPNcricinfo

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