19:21

And hello from Sir Viv Richards Stadium in northern Antigua! It’s a hot and bright day, the ground looking a treat as the crowd streams in. We’re told that every ticket has been sold, which is certainly the impression we were left with yesterday with an official public half-day holiday issued by the government. Brilliant, ay?

To begin, it is the West Indies, who topped pool A, playing Australia, who were runners-up in pool B. The former went through the group undefeated, their final win a low-scoring thriller against England on Sunday in front of a heaving St Lucian audience. The latter was swamped by India, their matchwinning wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy unable to bat in the chase after copping a whack to the head in the field.

On Healy, the good news to report from the ground is that she will be playing today. Cricket Australia have confirmed as much in the last half an hour, successful in winning the nod from the team doctor after a couple of days of stringent testing. As the player of the match in the Southern Stars’ first three games, having rattled off six T20 international half-centuries in the last seven weeks, she is the defintion of vital.

The the big test for the home side is whether they can fire with the bat. So far, their top order has virtually struck out three times in four. They’ve had the bowling depth (and exceptional fielding) for it not to matter, but it is different gravy when Australia are involved, the number one ranked side in the world for a reason.

Right then, we’re about ten minutes from Meg Lanning and Stafanie Taylor walking out for the toss so I’ll leave it here for now. I’m looking forward to your company througout the day on the OBO in the usual ways, via email or twitter. This should be fun. Watch it!

