Georgia Wareham’s all-round prowess gave Australia a convincing victory as the home side completed a dominating whitewash against New Zealand in the T20I series.
The Australian women’s team led by skipper Alyssa Healy sealed a comprehensive 29-run victory in the 2nd T20I to seal the game and the T20I series at the Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay with one match to go in the series.
New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine won the toss and opted to bat first in the 3rd and final T20I of the series at the Allan Border Field, Brisbane. The New Zealand openers Georgia Plimmer and Suzie Bates got their side off to a good start with a 45-run partnership. The pair scored at a rate of over 7 runs an over in the powerplay. Georgia Wareham cleaned up Suzie Bates to provide the first breakthrough for Australia.
Amelia Kerr joined Georgia Plimmer at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 73-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take their side close to the 120-run mark. Georgia Wareham returned and cleaned up Georgia Plimmer to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. She departed after scoring a well-deserved half-century. It was also her maiden half-century in the T20I format for the White Ferns.
The visitors, New Zealand eventually ended up with a total of 146/6 in their quota of overs. Georgia Plimmer (53 off 48 balls), Amelia Kerr (40 off 36 balls), Suzie Bates (19 off 17 balls), and Maddy Green (12* off 5 balls) were the top performers with the bat for New Zealand. Georgia Wareham (4-0-21-2), Annabel Sutherland (3-0-23-2), Ashleigh Gardner (4-0-27-1), and Sophie Molineux (4-0-34-1) were the top performers with the ball for Australia.
Chasing a target of 147, the Australian openers Beth Mooney and skipper Alyssa Healy got their side off to a flying start with a 26-run opening partnership. The pair scored at a rate of over 8 runs an over. Eden Carson cleaned up Beth Mooney to provide the first breakthrough for New Zealand in the 4th over of the run chase. Georgia Wareham was promoted up the order to join skipper Alyssa Healy at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 24-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take their side to the 50-run mark.
Amelia Kerr picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Alyssa Healy to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Ellyse Perry joined Georgia Wareham at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 26-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side close to the 100-run mark. Hannah Rowe picked up the wicket of Georgia Wareham to provide the 3rd breakthrough for New Zealand.
Ashleigh Gardner joined Ellyse Perry at the crease and the pair stitched a massive 61-run partnership for the 4th wicket to take their side closer to the target. Fran Jonas picked up the wicket of Ellyse Perry to provide the 4th breakthrough for her side. The home side Australia eventually got over the line with five wickets in hand and five balls to spare.
Ellyse Perry (36 off 29 balls), Ashleigh Gardner (33 off 26 balls), skipper Alyssa Healy (27 off 29 balls), and Georgia Wareham (26 off 16 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Australia. Eden Carson (4-0-29-2), Fran Jonas (4-0-27-1), Rosemary Mair (4-0-19-0), Amelia Kerr (4-0-31-1), and Hannah Rowe (2-0-25-1) were the top performers with the ball for New Zealand.
Georgia Wareham was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant all-round performance. She returned with match figures (4-0-21-2) with the ball, and she also scored a handy cameo (26 off 16 balls) with the bat. She played a pivotal role in helping her side seal a convincing victory and a comprehensive whitewash. Ashleigh Gardner was awarded the Player of the Series for her all-round performances throughout the series. She scored 51 runs with the bat in a couple of innings with the bat. Apart from her exploits with the bat, she has also picked up four wickets with the ball in a couple of innings for her side.
