Mooney, King guide Australia to easy win in series opener

Australia defeated hosts West Indies by 43 runs in the first Twenty20 International in St. Lucia thanks to Beth Mooney's 55-ball 79 and Alana King's three-wicket haul. On a sloppy day in the field, Australia missed five chances, but they prevailed with a score of 43 runs. Vincent. Sophie Molineux chose to bat first, but Australia stumbled early to 34/2, with Georgia Voll falling to Deandra Dottin in the third over and Phoebe Litchfield to Jahzara Claxton in the sixth. Mooney and Ellyse Perry (36) then steadied the innings, building a 99-run partnership that gathered pace after a cautious start. After the halfway point, the two teams added 84 runs in seven overs, and Mooney hit her half-century off 42 balls to make up for a slow start. Dottin returned to break the stand, dismissing Perry in the 17th over. Mooney was caught in the deep by Chinelle Henry shortly after, but Australia had already set themselves up for a strong total of 164/6 despite taking back-to-back wickets. At the conclusion of the Powerplay, West Indies had reached 33/0 after a steady start. The fact that Hayley Matthews was bowled twice in the fifth over did not help Australia's cause, but King soon made up for a missed caught-and-bowled opportunity by bowling the WI captain after the Powerplay. West Indies reached 69/1 at the halfway point thanks to Qiana Joseph's 39-ball 45, which helped the innings move along. King got another chance to rest, too. Shemaine Campbelle, who is 15 years old, was granted three reprieves, but King, Perry, and Voll were unable to secure the catches. The 43-run stand for the second wicket ended when Joseph was caught by Gardner in the deep. When rain briefly halted play in the 13th over, King then snared Campbelle lbw for 15, putting West Indies at 76/3. King struck immediately upon resumption to punish Dottin and set Australia on the path to a comfortable victory. West Indies ended the game with 121 runs, unable to take advantage of Australia's fielding errors or their wicketless Powerplay.