Cricket: White Ferns falls to Australia in first Twenty20

A six-month layoff has failed to change the White Ferns’ fortunes.

Returning from the Covid-19-imposed hiatus of cricket, the White Ferns are back down to Australia in their first Twenty20 clash in Brisbane, their 12th straight loss to trans-Tasman rivals in all formats.

The Ferns haven’t beaten Australia since February 2017, and the familiar result also followed a familiar pattern, with New Zealand bowlers holding their counterparts at what seemed like an achievable score in the first inning, 138-6, Just from the combination of a Slow Pitch (sort of), quality Australian bowling and a lack of hitting power from watching the White Ferns fail 17 runs.

Having eliminated Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy in the first five overs, and Meg Lanning in the ninth, the Ferns had Australia in a nuisance point, and two wickets in an over to skipper Sophie Devine reduced them further to 83-5. after 14 overs. .

However, Ashleigh Gardner dispatched Amelia Kerr for six straight in the 17th and Hayley Jensen for two fours in the 18th, with her 61 of 41 balls, essential for the hosts to achieve a defensible score.

In response, the White Ferns poorly timed their pursuit. Devine’s hit / block approach didn’t pay off when stumped, though replays showed it was an extremely close call, for 29 of 34 balls, while Suzie Bates stayed until 18 but didn’t provide much value, gathering 33. off. 38 balls.

The only inning of substance that was faster than a run-a-ball was Katey Martin’s 21v16, but the slowness of her high-level teammates meant the order rate was too difficult, and Megan Schutt took advantage a medium order. beating to death to finish 4-23 as Australia capped off another comfortable victory.

The two teams meet again tomorrow afternoon.