Australia easily defeated the Netherlands at Southampton, flexing their muscles to record the joint-highest total in women's T20 World Cup history. However, the victory was marred by another injury issue, as Beth Mooney experienced back discomfort throughout her game-winning innings.
After making 74 from 42 in Australia's 219 for 6, which matched England's tournament record set in this edition's opening game and paved the way for a 98-run victory, Mooney withdrew injured. Georgia Wareham crushed 41 from 18, while Ashleigh Gardner scored 58 from 32 after recovering from injury. As the sole specialist keeper chosen for Australia's 15-player squad, Mooney's injury is thought to be minor, and her decision to retire was precautionary. However, it meant she was unable to keep wicket. For the first time in her professional T20 career, Georgia Voll had to keep because Phoebe Litchfield, Australia's theoretical reserve, was also out due to injury.
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| Ash Gardner and Beth Mooney both scored fifty against the Netherlands |
As Kim Garth took two early wickets to disrupt the Netherlands' pursuit, Voll made a good catch. Sterre Kalis and skipper Babette de Leede gave it their all in their 100th Twenty20 International. Kalis struck the Netherlands' opening six of the competition, but they were never able to match the pace. In a 96-run partnership with Kalis, De Leede scored an undefeated 56 from 57, which is the fourth-highest total against Australia in tournament history. Australia bowled neatly, but they missed two challenging opportunities and only claimed three wickets.
With two games remaining in group one against Pakistan and India, the victory moves Australia one step closer to a semi-final spot.
Mooney and Gardner feast
Mooney and Voll barely took a chance to reach 50 in 4.3 overs, demonstrating the class difference from the first few overs. Without feeling compelled to go overhead, Mooney farmed the strike and did little more than pick off loose balls. In an attempt to clear long-on, Voll adopted a different strategy and paid a price by skewing Iris Zwilling to backward point. Ellyse Perry, playing a record 50th T20 World Cup match, perished just three balls later, bizarrely hitting a long hop from Heather Siegers straight down the neck of the single fielder monitoring the line on the leg side at deep midwicket.
In the opening half of her innings, Gardner made no such errors, skilfully scooping fine when the field was shifted and lofting magnificently over mid-off multiple times. However, she did have one reprieve when Phebe Molkenboer spilt her first of two sitters in the innings after she spooned Frederique Overdijk to backward point. The second would be hit by Annabel Sutherland on the penultimate over. Gardner's error proved expensive, as she quickly hit 50 off 28 balls after Mooney had got hers in 30, seemingly destabilising records.
Wareham's overall value is once again evident as Mooney's back stiffens
Mooney's back constricted as she ran on the final ball of the 14th over, with just 26 needed for a century, and she immediately left the pitch for evaluation. Two balls later, Gardner picked out deep midwicket in the same fashion Perry had done previously to stop Australia's momentum. However, Wareham took control and put it back in fifth gear right away, hitting eight boundaries in eighteen balls. She was fortunate enough to find the deep third rope with two outside edges from Isabel van der Woning.
However, she demonstrated similar prowess going inside over cover and stepping across her stumps to pull leg side once she got her stride. At the end of the innings, Nicola Carey, Annabel Sutherland, Sophie Molineux, and Alana King only found the rope twice in a total of 15 balls, making their innings stand out. Zwilling finished with three for the innings after picking up Wareham and Molineux.
Garth gleams in the darkness
Garth's new ball masterclass against Bangladesh continued exactly where she left off. In the second over, Molkenboer's outside edge was discovered by a textbook outswinger. Heather Siegers was stuck in front of a long inducer. After being fortunate enough to survive an umpire's decision in her favour against Molineux in the previous over, the opening took a review. After six overs, the Netherlands were 28 for 2 after Garth took 2 for 18 in three powerplay overs, making any chance of a miraculous victory seem improbable.
De Leede and Kalis engage in combat
Kalis made a spectacular strike off King as the needed rate approached 15. Kalis sent her 80 metres over mid-off when the legspinner flung her second ball up, suggesting that the Netherlands would be able to compete with the best in the world with more exposure. Australia's economic attack caused Kalis and de Leede to battle with fluency. However, they managed to persevere.
Kalis was dropped twice: once by King off Sutherland, who made a challenging dive full stretch to her left at mid-on, and again by Sutherland, who dived to her right off Lucy Hamilton at the same location. The 19-year-old deserved more appreciation for having bowled brilliantly in her first T20 World Cup game after replacing Megan Schutt in the XI. To thunderous cheers from the Dutch supporters, De Leede reached 50 off 47 balls. While attempting to clear the rope for her personal half-century, Kalis stumbled in the last over.
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