END OF OVER:20 | 10 Runs 1 Wkt | AUS-W: 148/8 | RR: 7.40
- Sophie Molineux7 (3b)
- Tahlia McGrath9 (7b)
- Brooke Halliday2-0-16-2
- Rosemary Mair4-0-22-2
Australia, you suspect, will be pretty happy with setting New Zealand 149 to win on such a tough, slow track. They've got the bowling experience to defend it certainly. New Zealand might need something special with the bat to beat them for the first time in six T20Is.
It was Beth Mooney and Ellyse Perry who gave the innings its substance. Mooney hit 40 off 32, and Perry made 30 off 24. Their partnership was worth 45 as well. Amelia Kerr was excellent for New Zealand, meanwhile, taking 4 for 26 from her four overs. But even with that, Australia managed to hit 79 runs off their last 10 overs, which on this surface is no mean feat.
Madushka will take you through the early section of this chase.
19.6
2
Halliday to Molineux, 2 runs, thigh-high full toss, which Molineux tries to bash through leg, but gets it far enough away from the long on fielder for them to race through for two
19.5
1
Halliday to McGrath, 1 run, again tries to shuffle to the offside, and again Halliday bowls it wide of off, flatter this time. Can't beat the square leg this time, so it's just one
19.4
2
Halliday to McGrath, 2 runs, McGrath shuffles to the offside to drag it to leg, but Halliday goes wide as well. In the end she manages to get it to deep square leg and take a couple
19.3
1
Halliday to Molineux, 1 run, flatter now, just wide of off, stabbed into the offside and they scamper one
19.2
4
Halliday to Molineux, FOUR, what a shot first up from Molineux? This is tossed up in the slot just outside off stump, and the batter gets under it and crashes it over cover for four. The offside field was up
19.1
W
Halliday to Sutherland, OUT, sees Sutherland coming down the track, hangs it up way wide of the off stump, puts a little overspin on it to get it to dip, and that's a fantastic stumping from Gaze as well, who collects way wide of off stump, and catches Sutherland short by a distance (in fact she never regains the crease).
A Sutherland st †Gaze b Halliday 2 (4m 3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 66.66
Halliday to bowl the last.
END OF OVER:19 | 7 Runs 1 Wkt | AUS-W: 138/7 | RR: 7.26
- Tahlia McGrath6 (5b)
- Annabel Sutherland2 (2b)
- Rosemary Mair4-0-22-2
- Amelia Kerr4-0-26-4
18.6
4
Mair to McGrath, FOUR, down the track and carves this inside out over cover for four. Fullish, outside off, and that's a shot of authority for McGrath. No fielders getting close to that one.
18.5
1
Mair to Sutherland, 1 run, leading edge, just beyond the finger tips of Tahuhu, running back from point. This was a length ball on off stump. Sutherland tries to turn through leg but the ball balloons away square on the offside instead. Could Tahuhu have put in a dive and got a hand to it? It's a single in the end
18.4
1
Mair to McGrath, 1 run, fullish ball on the stumps, clipped through midwicket for a single
18.3
0
Mair to McGrath, no run, fullish ball, a little wide of off, McGrath throws her bat at it but it's straight to cover
18.2
1
Mair to Sutherland, 1 run, length ball on off stump, thumped down to long on
18.1
W
Mair to Gardner, OUT, wickets are coming thick and fast all of a sudden. This is another catch off the top edge. This is a slower ball from Mair, pitching just back of a length. Gardner is down the track, making room, trying to crash that over the offside. The little bit of extra bounce Mair's slower one gets means she can only send it high in the air, and short third settles under it
A Gardner c Jonas b Mair 6 (18m 8b 0x4 0x6) SR: 75.00
END OF OVER:18 | 4 Runs 1 Wkt | AUS-W: 131/6 | RR: 7.27
- Tahlia McGrath1 (2b)
- Ashleigh Gardner6 (7b)
- Amelia Kerr4-0-26-4
- Brooke Halliday1-0-6-1
17.6
0
Kerr to McGrath, no run, lovely legbreak to finish her spell. This is tossed up outside off, a bit of overspin. Dips on McGrath, who tries to poke it through cover, but ends up having her outside edge beaten instead
17.5
1
Kerr to Gardner, 1 run, floated up outside off, driven without a lot of power to cover, but they can take one
17.4
1
Kerr to McGrath, 1 run, quicker one on the stumps, turned around the corner to short fine leg
17.3
W
Kerr to Wareham, OUT, three wickets off five balls for Kerr! She missed the hat-trick, but gets one off a shortish, wide-ish ball, that probably should have been hit to the boundary, but because of the pace of the surface, that's harder than usual. In the end, Wareham's cut shot ends in the hands of backward point
G Wareham c Tahuhu b Kerr 4 (5m 5b 0x4 0x6) SR: 80.00
17.2
1
Kerr to Gardner, 1 run, tossed up on about off stump, turned through the legside for a single
17.1
1
Kerr to Wareham, 1 run, bowls another googly, but Wareham has it covered. She steps forward and drives it down to long on
Kerr on a hat-trick.
END OF OVER:17 | 6 Runs 1 Wkt | AUS-W: 127/5 | RR: 7.47
- Georgia Wareham3 (3b)
- Ashleigh Gardner4 (5b)
- Brooke Halliday1-0-6-1
- Lea Tahuhu3-0-22-0
16.6
1
Halliday to Wareham, 1 run, man, Halliday has got away with some ordinary bowling this over. This is a knee-high full toss outside off, which Wareham only clubs down to long off for a single. Should have found a better spot for that
16.5
1
Halliday to Gardner, 1 run, shortish, flat through the air, pulled hard but straight to deep square leg
16.4
0
Halliday to Gardner, no run, flattish ball on legs tump, which Gardner gets low to and sweeps hard, but it's straight to short fine leg
Free hit coming up
16.4
2nb
Halliday to Wareham, (no ball) 1 run, attempted back of the hand slower ball, but she loses control of it and bowls a moon ball almost. A chest-high full toss, which Wareham drags to deep midwicket
16.3
1
Halliday to Gardner, 1 run, slows this one up outside off and pitches it short. Gardner clubs it down the ground, but to long off
16.2
1
Halliday to Wareham, 1 run, length ball fired through on off stump, pushed towards point and Wareham gets a single
16.1
W
Halliday to Litchfield, OUT, almost a replay of the catch Kerr took off Litchfield and was ruled not out! Has she got her fingers under this? Yep, there's no issues with this one. Intercepts the ball about 20 cm off the surface, and keeps her hands off the ground. This was a shortish ball, that Litchfield tries to launch over midwicket, but doesn't get the elevation. Kerr runs in and takes a good catch.
P Litchfield c Kerr b Halliday 18 (22m 18b 2x4 0x6) SR: 100.00
Here's Halliday.
