A disciplined bowling performance secured Australia a second successive victory in the Women’s T20 World Cup, a 60-run victory over New Zealand putting them in pole position for a semi-final place.
The defending champions are now the only unbeaten team in Group A and can all-but secure their passage with victory against Pakistan in Dubai on Friday.
Australia were ultimately disappointed with posting 148 for eight from their 20 overs, but it was more than enough against a New Zealand side they have now beaten 10 times in succession.
Having been 79 for one at the halfway mark Australia scored 69 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the second 10 overs. Beth Mooney top scored, following up her 43 in the opening win over Sri Lanka with a 32-ball 40.
As against Sri Lanka Megan Schutt set the tone with the ball taking a wicket in the third over, bowling Georgia Plimmer (4). That made her the record holder for most wickets in T20 World Cups with 44.
“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,” said the Australia captain, Alyssa Healy. “Megan Schutt has been wonderful, but I thought the whole attack tonight was unbelievable.”
Schutt returned midway through the innings to claim her 45th, the dangerous Amelia Kerr (29 off 31), then finished the match in the final over to end the innings with three for three off 20 balls and six for 15 in the tournament so far.
When Kerr went New Zealand were already chasing 10 an over, a near impossibility against Australia’s attack on a slow, used track. Sophie Molineux (two for 15) had just accounted for Suzie Bates (20 off 27) and a repeat of captain Sophie Devine’s 36-ball unbeaten 57 in their win against India was New Zealand’s last hope.
But she never got going as wickets fell at the other end including two in two balls for Annabel Sutherland (three for 21). New Zealand’s last nine wickets fell for 34 runs with Devine ninth out after making seven off 15 balls.
“When we were bowling we strayed a little too far from the stumps,” Devine said. “In the field we were a little sloppy. With the bat we need to play some more courageous shots. We needed to have a good start, and we let the run rate creep up too much.”
Australia, who switched in Grace Harris for Darcie Brown, won the toss and elected to bat first. Two balls in New Zealand burned a review when a ball from Rosemary Mair brushed Healy’s pad on its way down the leg-side with the bat nowhere near.
Twelve balls later it was Healy, on four, reviewing after being given out lbw to Fran Jones attempting a reverse sweep with the score on nine. The ball was hitting, but impact was outside off-stump and the captain, reprieved, took advantage with 10 runs off the next three balls.
From there Australia were up and running. After 31 balls they were 41 without loss. But a series of batters got in, then got out. Healy skied Mair for 26 off 20 balls, Mooney was caught at mid-off and Ellyse Perry, having been dropped on four, misjudged Amelia Kerr’s googly to be bowled for 30 off 24 balls.
Kerr followed up by bowling Harris the same way next ball, putting a smile back on her face after what appeared a superb catch by her to dismiss Phoebe Litchfield for one was judged to have been grounded on TV replay.
Thereafter Australia, seeking rapid runs, lost wickets quickly. Their much vaunted middle order is chock-full of all-rounders but none reached double figures as Kerr (four for 26), Brooke Halliday (two for 16) and Mair (two for 22) chipped away.
Nevertheless, while the score may not have been the 160-170 that at one stage looked likely, it was the highest of the six matches played so far at Sharjah. New Zealand, against India in Dubai, are the only team in 10 matches to have scored more but they never looked like coming close to a repeat.