Australia claimed a dominant 97-run win over their trans-Tasman rivals in their tournament opener in Paarl
But while the scene was set for drama, the Australians appeared in the mood for a light-hearted romp, taking a dominant 97-run win over their trans-Tasman rivals, despite a batting performance that will have them asking some questions before the remainder of their pool games.
It was a good, but not clinical, batting performance from Australia. While they kept the run rate up, wickets fell regularly after Lanning was dismissed and Megan Schutt and Darcie Brown – batting at 10 and 11 – looked almost surprised to find themselves out at the crease. In contrast, after New Zealand lost both their experienced openers in Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine for ducks to Schutt in the first over, they looked rattled. The Black Ferns needed to slow their scoring rate to avoid losing more wickets, and from the start nothing was going their way.
Despite the dominance that earned her player-of-the-match honours, Gardner took the performance in her stride, crediting the work of the entire bowling unit.