Australia thrash New Zealand at Women’s T20 World Cup

Australia defeated New Zealand by 60 runs in Group A of the Women’s T20 World Cup on Tuesday in Sharjah, putting the defending champions in prime position to qualify for the semi-finals.

The victory improves Australia’s odds of winning their fourth consecutive Women’s T20 World to $1.66 across cricket bookmakers, with PlayUp putting them at $1.66.

It was a team effort from the six-time champions, with each of their top four batters contributing as they posted 148/8 from their 20 overs.

Beth Mooney top scored with 40 runs from 32 balls, but had plenty of company from captain Alyssa Healy (26 from 20), Ellyse Perry (30 from 24) and Phoebe Litchfield (18 from 18).

Australia’s total could have been more significant as well, had they not fallen from 109/2 in the 14th over to 138/8 at the start of the 20th.

The late collapse was irrelevant, however, as Australia was ruthless with the ball, tearing through the Kiwi batters in the second half of their innings.

Suzie Bates and Amelia Kerr built nicely for New Zealand after Georgia Plimmer fell early, taking the world No.4’s through to 54/1 at the halfway point of the match.

Megan Schutt, Sophie Molineux and Annabel Sutherland then combined for a flurry of wickets that left New Zealand shellshocked, taking eight between them as the Kiwis folded for 88 all out.

Schutt was particularly impressive, conceding just three runs from her 3.2 overs and taking three wickets.

“We needed to have a good start and we let the run rate creep up too much,” reflected New Zealand captain Sophie Devine after the match.

“By the 10 over mark it was up over 10-an-over.

“At the halfway mark we thought the wicket played better than we thought it would.

“But we got ourselves into a bit of a hole.

“When we were bowling we strayed a little too far from the stumps and that’s where we had been good against India.

“In the field we were a little sloppy.

“With the bat we need to play some more courageous shots.”

Aussie captain Healy lauded her side, praising her bowlers for their efforts in Sharjah.

“We could have been smarter with the bat at the end, but we came out really well with the ball and I’m really happy with that,” she shared after the match.

“The middle order has done a good job in the last while and the lower order hadn’t had a lot of practice.

“Megan Schutt has been wonderful, but I thought the whole attack tonight was unbelievable, Annabel Sutherland got wickets as well.”

Next up New Zealand will face Sri Lanka, while Australia take on Pakistan on Friday. Australian bookmakers are yet to release odds for either match.

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