Australia Secures 3-0 T20I Series Sweep Over New Zealand: Wareham and Gardner Shine
Australia secured a clean sweep of the series with a 3-0 victory against New Zealand in the third Twenty20 International, which was played in Brisbane.
Australia’s victory was an amazing demonstration of brilliance. While Ashleigh Gardner won Player of the Series for her constant excellence throughout the series, Georgia Wareham won Player of the Match for her outstanding all-around performance.
Key Performances and Match Analysis
Australia 148 for 5 (Perry 36, Gardner 33, Carson 2-29) beat New Zealand 146 for 6 (Plimmer 53, Kerr 40, Wareham 2-21, Sutherland 2-23) by 5 wickets.
Match Analysis
Following a six-wicket victory in the last Twenty20 International in Brisbane, Georgia Wareham and Ashleigh Gardner’s outstanding all-around performances enabled Australia to sweep the series 3-0 over New Zealand. In T20I cricket, it was also the visitors’ tenth consecutive defeat.
After the visitors were in a position to produce something a little more intimidating following Georgia Plimmer’s maiden T20I half-century, Wareham took 2 for 21 with her legspin to help restrict New Zealand to 146 for 6.
After moving up to No. 3, a move that could be repeated in the T20 World Cup, Wareham hammered out 26 runs off of 16 balls to relieve any strain on the chase run-rate. Ellyse Perry and Gardner then placed Australia on the verge of victory with a 61-run stand, Perry scoring 36 and Gardner scoring 33. The pair’s two late blunders, which cost them their wickets respectively, were the only dents in an otherwise well-managed combination. Phoebe Litchfield and Tahlia McGrath completed the task, however Fran Jonas provided some assistance by spilling a sitter off Litchfield.
Gardner, who took 1 for 27 after going 3 for 16 in the second Twenty20 International and winning Player of the Series, bowled exquisitely to shut down New Zealand, much like Player of the Match Wareham.
In the 17th over, Plimmer had struck 50 off 47 balls and Amelia Kerr had made 40 off 36 in a 73-run partnership for the second wicket, bringing New Zealand to 118 for 1. However, a collapse was caused by their dismissals from Wareham and Gardner.
In the last 22 balls, they lost 5 for 28, with Annabel Sutherland taking 2 wickets in an over. Playing in her 100th Twenty20 International, Maddy Green scored 12 runs off of five balls to guarantee they scored at least more than 140, but it was never enough.
Before the World Cup, Plimmer was under more and more pressure. Her best score in 23 T20I innings before this match was 28. After much struggle, she achieved her hard-earned half-century. It lacked fluency. It took her six balls to get going, and after her first 27 deliveries, she was striking at a pace considerably below a run a ball.
Additionally, Plimmer was dropped twice after providing Tayla Vlaeminck and Sophie Molineux with accurate return catches. However, she eventually managed to break away in the eleventh over when Sutherland sent two sharp blows, one over midwicket and the other over long-on. She got more balanced at the crease and her striking became crisper the longer her innings lasted. Before Bates was bowled while attempting to sweep Wareham off the first ball of the seventh over, she and Bates shared the finest powerplay of the series, scoring 45 runs together.
After that, Plimmer and Kerr scored 73 runs for the second wicket, which seemed to provide a solid foundation for an attack in the last overs. When she hit her first half-century in international cricket off 47 balls, there was obvious relief on her face. With 22 balls remaining, New Zealand was 118 for 1. Despite the scoring rate of somewhat more than seven runs per over, Kerr was 35 from 33, and with some strong late hitting, there were enough wickets in hand to produce a score of 160.
After losing 5 for 28 of the last 22 balls of the innings, New Zealand’s dreams of reaching 160 vanished in the flash of an eye. Plimmer reached her fiftieth birthday and fell the very next ball. Wareham striking her second mark in a superb session. In the subsequent over, Gardner dismissed Kerr, clattering her stumps as she attempted to cut. At that point, New Zealand’s order came tumbling down.
Plimmer had earlier removed Sophie Devine and Brooke Halliday, who both holed out in the penultimate over from Sutherland, who had been rewarded for some superb death bowling. It appeared for a while that New Zealand might not post 140. Green, however, demonstrated once more that she may be batting too low in the order when she hit a four and a six off Molineux in the last over to end with 12 off 5 and post 146 for 6.
Prior to the World Cup, Healy declared before the series that Australia will not take any chances. It came as a surprise, therefore, when Wareham was out at number three when Eden Carson’s outstanding arm ball dismissed Beth Mooney for six to extend her poor run of form. In April, during Australia’s last series in Bangladesh, Wareham achieved a feat by making 57 off 30. It proved to be another brilliant move and appears to be a real contender for the World Cup.
With the exception of players who faced five balls or fewer, Wareham scored at a rate significantly higher than everyone else in the game. He smashed the ball as forcefully as anybody had in the series and appeared quite at ease against pace and spin.
In a laborious 27 from 29, Wareham stood motionless and hammered four boundaries in 16 balls while Healy struggled with timing. She sprinted to 26 to take the pressure off the chase’s run-rate. But when he misplayed a low full ball off Hannah Rowe to deep midwicket, she wasted a wonderful opportunity at another half-century. Perry and Gardner were able to establish a rhythm thanks to her attack, and they played with their usual calmness to end the game with a 61-run partnership.
Perry produced a sophisticated 36 from 29 with five boundaries after shaking off the rust she shown in the previous two games. When she cut Jonas to cover, she was annoyed that she couldn’t complete the task. Gardner, in contrast, was abrasive but managed to regularly locate the rope. She was also disappointed not to go undefeated after Carson, the best bowler in New Zealand, trapped her leg before wicket after she mishandled a paddle scoop attempt. Carson finished with 2 for 29.
