Australia kickstarted the women's ODI series against New Zealand in terrific fashion this Saturday (October 3), pulling off victory by seven wickets to go 1-0 up in the three-match rubber.
Bowling first after winning the toss, the Australians dismissed the visitors for just 180 in 49.1 overs, with spinners Georgia Wareham (2/23), Jess Jonassen (2/29) and Sophie Molineux (2/28) doing major damage.
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For the White Ferns, only Katie Perkins (32) and Maddy Green (35) went past the 30-run mark while the rest of the line-up failed to make any noteworthy contribution.
Chasing the modest 181-run target, the Aussies had skipper Meg Lanning (62) scoring a fine half-century and playing the stand-out knock in an innings where Rachael Haynes (44) and others provided her able support through the task. The home team eventually won with nearly 17 overs to spare and still seven wickets left in the tank.
Rosemary Mair (2/21) and Hayley Jensen (1/21) picked the three wickets that fell in the second half of Haynes, Alyssa Healy (26), Beth Mooney (16) before Lanning and Molineux (18*) took their team home in the 34th over of the run-chase.
New Zealand women 180/10 in 49.1 overs (Maddy Green 35, Katie Perkins 32; Georgia Wareham 2/23, Sophie Molineux 2/28) lost to Australia women 181/3 in 33.4 overs (Meg Lanning 62, Rachael Haynes 44, Rosemary Mair 2/21, Hayley Jensen 1/21) by seven wickets
