Australia 8 for 153 (Cameron 26) beat England 101 (Edwards 37, Nitschke 3-16) beat by 52 runs
Scorecard
A fine all-round performance from Shelly Nitschke helped Australia score a consolation win in the 5th Twenty20 against England at Canberra's Manuka Oval. After a run of four defeats in the series so far, Nitschke's double of 23 and 3 for 16 ensured a 52-run win to give Australia some cheer before the Test at Sydney.
Australia's total was crafted on a team effort as each of the top eight made double figures. They were given a flying start by Meg Lanning (11 off 7) and Leah Poulton, who struck three fours and a six in her 24 from 12 balls as Isa Guha, in particular, suffered severe punishment. Nitschke worked the ball around to reach 23 from 24 and Jess Cameron top-scored with 26 as Australia posted a competitive 153.
England's reply was an erratic affair with only Charlotte Edwards (37) and Lydia Greenway (32 not out) reaching double figures. Edwards struck seven fours and looked in fine touch before she fell to Nitschke. Greenway looked similarly assured, as she has all series, but ran out of partners as Australia carefully chipped their way through England's line-up.
Erin Osborne and Sarah Elliot both took two wickets with England bowled out for 101 with 3.4 overs still to spare. The teams now head into a single Test match at Sydney on which starts on Saturday.
Despite the defeat, England's captain Edwards was happy to look at the positives of a comprehensive 4-1 scoreline. "I'm delighted with the series win," she said. "We've played our brand of cricket and it's paid off in four out of the five matches. I'm really proud of the whole squad and thrilled with our achievement of beating the world champions with a relatively inexperienced side.
It's the first time we have won a limited over series on Australian soil, so I'm very happy," she added. "We are all now looking forward to playing the Ashes Test in Sydney and hoping to follow the successful performance of the men out here this summer."
Player of the series Lydia Greenway said: "I've had a really good series but our success has been down to a great all round team performance. We have seen contributions throughout the order.
"The bowlers have bowled exceptionally well on these great batting tracks. We've had a successful Twenty20 series but we are now looking ahead to our Ashes Test in Sydney which starts on Saturday."
