The visitors, England A led by skipper Grace Scrivens sealed the three-match unofficial T20I series over Australia A by a 1-0 margin as they won the 1st game of the series and the following couple of games in the series were washed out. The caravan moved on to the three-match One Day series. The England skipper Hollie Armitage won the toss and opted to bat first in the first One Day at the Cricket Central Olympic Park, in Sydney.
Sianna Ginger’s five-wicket haul restricts England to a modest total
The England openers Seren Smale and Grace Scrivens justified the skipper’s decision to bat first, as they got their side off to a solid start with an impressive 61-run opening partnership. Sianna Ginger broke the stand, by sending Seren Smale (27 off 44 balls) back to the pavilion to provide the much-needed first breakthrough for Australia in the 13th over of the innings.
Skipper Hollie Armitage joined Grace Scrivens at the crease and the pair capitalised on the solid platform by stitching another crucial 37-run partnership for the 2nd wicket which took them closer to the 100-run mark. Sophie Day provided the 2nd breakthrough for Australia by sending Grace Scrivens (43 off 59 balls) back to the pavilion in the 21st over of the innings. She missed out on her well-deserved half-century.
Another crucial 43-run partnership for the 3rd wicket between Alice Capsey and skipper Hollie Armitage got them closer to the 150-run mark, taking them into a position of strength. A double strike from Ella Hayward in the 32nd over of the innings, sending a well-set Alice Capsey (24 off 38 balls), and Maddy Villiers for a golden duck, applied the brakes on the scoring rate for England.
The visitors never really recovered as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and as a result, eventually ended up with a below-par total of 214/9 in their quota of 50 overs. The Hollie Armitage-led side lost their last for just 69 runs. Skipper Hollie Armitage (43 off 59 balls) also missed out on her half-century. The lower order, Kirstie Gordon (13 off 13 balls), Issy Wong (18 off 35 balls), and Ryana MacDonald-Gay (14 off 30 balls) chipped in with crucial contributions with the bat for their side.
Sianna Ginger (10-1-35-5), Ella Hayward (10-1-36-2), and Sophie Day (9-0-39-2) were the stand-out performers with the ball for Australia.
Georgia Voll guides Australia over the line with an impressive century
Chasing a target of 215, Australia got off to a poor start as they found themselves in trouble at 22/2 in the 7th over of the run chase. Charli Knott joined Georgia Voll at the crease, and the duo took their side past the 100-run mark, forming a much-needed 91-run partnership for the 3rd wicket. Maddy Villiers broke the stand, by sending Charli Knott (33 off 54 balls) back to the pavilion in the 24th over of the run chase.
The home side lost a couple of wickets in quick succession to find themselves in a tricky position at 125/5 in the 28th over of the run chase. Tess Flintoff joined Georgia Voll at the crease and the pair kept their composure and guided their side over the line with an unbeaten 90-run partnership for the 6th wicket.
Georgia Voll stayed unbeaten on a classic century (137* off 122 balls). Her match-winning knock included 13 boundaries and a maximum. Tess Flintoff (29* off 32 balls) provided crucial support from the other end as Australia clinched the game with five wickets in hand and as many as 53 balls to spare to take a 1-0 series in the One Dayers.
Maddy Villiers (6-0-28-3), stood out with the ball for England, while Grace Potts (8-0-50-1) was the other wicket-taker with the ball. Kirstie Gordon (9-0-51-0), Ryana MacDonald-Gay (8.1-0-44-0), and Issy Wong (7-0-21-0) were impressive with the ball for England.
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