4.42pm And so Australia bring up their 20th consecutive win, and it's fitting that Meg Lanning helmed this chase down. The seventh time they have nailed down a chase of 250 and above against New Zealand. Full credit to New Zealand, though. They had a tough start to this ODI series on Saturday, and fought back well with the bat in particular. Sophie Devine and Amy Satterthwaite leading that effort with the blade. Considering how Australia finished out their bowling effort, New Zealand would have felt they finished something like 20-25 less than what they might have got. They showed some heart with the ball too, especially after Rachael Haynes and Lanning had looked like they were going to finish the game off with nine wickets to spare. However, some good scrapping, especially from Amelia Kerr, saw New Zealand give Australia a few wobbles towards the end. Lanning was superb, though, in controlling the chase.
Sophie Devine speaks on the broadcast: "We posted a good score on the board, but didn't know what to do to stop Meg Lanning. To lose a main strike bowler like Lea Tahuhu, we really had to scrap hard after that. [On Amy Satterthwaite] She batted really well and helped us post a good total. No updates yet on Lea. Side or back strain, but we'll have to see."
Meg Lanning is the player of the match. :"I was telling Nicola to put away the half volleys. We want to win every game we play. We are aware of the record, but we want to go out and win every game."
That's that for the moment. Andrew McGlashan and I will see you again for the third match of this series in a couple of days' time. The big question that persists: Can Lanning's women match Ponting's team's record of 21 successive ODI wins? Join us on Wednesday to find out.
END OF OVER:45 | 5 Runs | AUS-W: 251/6 (2 runs required from 30 balls, RR: 5.57, RRR: 0.40)
- Nicola Carey5 (7b)
- Meg Lanning97 (95b)
- Maddy Green3-0-25-0
- Hayley Jensen6.2-0-41-1