The home side Australia A, led by skipper Nicole Faltum, dominantly clinched the first One Day by five wickets to take the One Day series lead against the Hollie Armitage-led England A. Georgia Voll’s unbeaten century headlined a clinical display from the Australian batting unit.
A collective batting performance, led by Tahlia Wilson, takes Australia to 261/8
A cautious 47-run opening stand between Tahlia Wilson and Georgia Voll backed skipper Nicole Faltum’s call to bat first after winning the toss in the 2nd One Day at Cricket Central, Sydney. Kirstie Gordon got the big scalp of the centurion from the previous game Georgia Voll (18 off 19 balls) sending her back to the pavilion in the 9th over of the innings, providing the first breakthrough for England.
Courtney Webb soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 2nd breakthrough for England in the 13th over of the innings. Anika Learoyd joined opening batter Tahlia Wilson at the crease and the duo took their side closer to the 100-run mark with a crucial 33-run partnership for the 3rd wicket. Maddy Villiers struck in the 22nd over of the innings to send Anika Learoyd (23 off 36 balls) back to the pavilion providing the 3rd breakthrough for her side.
A crucial 48-run partnership for the 4th wicket between Charli Knott and Tahlia Wilson took the home side closer to the 150-run mark, setting an ideal platform for a strong finish. However, the visitors bounced back by removing both the set batters Charli Knott (22 off 34 balls) and Tahlia Wilson (68 off 82 balls) in quick succession. The opening batter notched up a crucial half-century before getting dismissed.
Australia eventually ended up with a challenging total of 261/8 in their quota of 50 overs, on the back of some quick cameos from Hannah Darlington (26* off 14 balls), and Amy Smith (16* off 9 balls) from the lower order. Skipper Nicole Faltum (24 off 31 balls), and Ella Hayward (35 off 53 balls) also chipped in with vital contributions with the bat for their side.
Kirstie Gordon (10-1-47-3), and Issy Wong (9-0-51-3) picked up three wickets each and were the stand-out performers with the ball for England alongside Mahika Gaur (8-1-35-1), and Maddy Villiers (10-0-53-1) for the visitors.
Charli Knott and Amy Smith trigger England collapse to seal a big 125-run win
Decent partnerships at the top of the order, including a 35-run opening stand between Seren Smale and Grace Scrivens, followed by another crucial 46-run partnership for the 2nd wicket between skipper Hollie Armitage (20 off 26 balls) and Grace Scrivens (45 off 62 balls) gave the visitors a steady start to the run chase.
However, the visitors collapsed like a pack of nine pins after the departure of their opening batter Grace Scrivens in the 18th over of the innings. As a result, their innings folded at 136 with more than 17 overs to spare, falling 125 runs short of the target. Maddy Villiers (18 off 26 balls), Kirstie Gordon (10 off 20 balls), and Issy Wong (11* off 31 balls) were the only other batters to enter the double digits with the bat for England.
Charli Knott (5.3-0-14-4), and Amy Smith (3-0-13-3) were exceptional with the ball, while Hannah Darlington (7-1-25-1) was impressive with the ball for the home side. The win meant that the home side bagged the three-match One Day series with a game to go.
