Lily Bassingthwaighte’s unbeaten half-century, Hasrat Gill and Eleanor Larosa were instrumental as Australia seals a comprehensive victory against New Zealand Under-19
The Australian under-19 side led by skipper Lucy Hamilton defeated Sri Lanka led by skipper Manudi Nanayakkara by 7 wickets in the 3rd match of the tri-series at the Ian Healy Oval. The Lucy Hamilton-led side were all set to face New Zealand led by skipper Tash Wakelin in the 4th match of the series.
Australian skipper Lucy Hamilton won the toss and opted to bat first against New Zealand at the Bill Pippen Oval, Gold Coast, Queensland. The home side Australia got off to a poor start as they lost a couple of wickets, including the wicket of their skipper inside the first four overs of the innings. Hasrat Gill joined opening batter Lily Bassingthwaighte at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 54-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to lead some sort of a recovery for their side.
Skipper Tash Wakelin cleaned up Hasrat Gill to provide the 3rd breakthrough for New Zealand. Eleanor Larosa joined Lily Bassingthwaighte at the crease and the duo stitched a 15-run partnership for the 4th wicket to take their side close to the 100-run mark. Kate Chandler picked up the wicket of Eleanor Larosa to provide the 4th breakthrough for her side.
Australia eventually ended up with a total of 126/4 in their quota of overs courtesy of an unbeaten 44-run 5th wicket partnership between Ella Briscoe and opening batter Lily Bassingthwaighte. Lily Bassingthwaighte (61* off 65 balls), Ella Briscoe (21* off 19 balls), Hasrat Gill (13 off 18 balls), and Eleanor Larosa (11 off 12 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Australia.
Louisa Kotkamp (4-0-13-2), Kate Chandler (3-0-14-1), skipper Tash Wakelin (2-0-12-1), and Sophie Court (2.2-0-11-0) were the top performers with the ball for New Zealand. Chasing a target of 127, the New Zealand openers Eve Wolland and Emma McLeod got their side off to a cautious start with a 13-run opening partnership. Eleanor Larosa picked up the wicket of Eve Wolland to provide the first breakthrough for Australia.
Isobel Sharp joined Emma McLeod at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 13-run partnership for the 2nd wicket. Hasrat Gill picked up the wicket of Isobel Sharp to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Skipper Tash Wakelin soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 3rd breakthrough for Australia. Kate Irwin joined opening batter Emma McLeod at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 16-run partnership for the 4th wicket to take their side close to the 50-run mark.
Juliette Morton cleaned up Emma McLeod to provide the 4th breakthrough for her side. Anika Todd joined Kate Irwin at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 22-run partnership for the 5th wicket to take their side past the 50-run mark. Hasrat Gill returned and picked up the wicket of Kate Irwin to provide the 5th breakthrough for Australia. New Zealand were eventually restricted to 91/7 in their quota of overs, falling short of the target by 35 runs.
Kate Irwin (26 off 30 balls), and Emma McLeod (16 off 24 balls), were the top performers with the bat for New Zealand. Hasrat Gill (4-0-13-2), Juliette Morton (4-2-14-1), Eleanor Larosa (3-0-12-2), skipper Lucy Hamilton (4-0-17-0), and Lily Bassingthwaighte (2-0-9-1) were the top performers with the ball for Australia.
Lily Bassingthwaighte played a pivotal role in helping her side seal a comprehensive victory against New Zealand in the 4th match of the tri-series.