Australia 145 for 5 (Litchfield 64*, Wareham 26, Penfold 2-24) beat New Zealand 143 for 7 (Green 35, Bates 33, Graham 1-13, Sutherland 1-18) by five wickets
A stunning unbeaten half-century from Phoebe Litchfield guided Australia to victory after a serious wobble against New Zealand in Mackay, but the win was overshadowed by a bizarre head knock to Ashleigh Gardner pre-game that saw her ruled out as a precaution given her concussion history.
The toss was delayed after Gardner had collided with team-mate Georgia Wareham during a vibrant warm-up game involving throwing and catching a vortex. Both players tried to catch the vortex thrown by Sophie Molineux and clashed heads. Gardner came off second best and was withdrawn from the team although it is understood she passed her initial concussion test. Heather Graham was called in as Kim Garth (knee) and Grace Harris (calf) were ruled out of the series entirely but both are expected to be available for the T20 World Cup 2024.
New Zealand had a shock withdrawal of their own with skipper Sophie Devine ruled out due to a foot issue that had plagued her during the women's Hundred. Suzie Bates took over as captain.
Beyond the injury drama, the night belonged to Litchfield. She entered with Australia 44 for 3 after 6.1 overs chasing 144 and peeled off a near-flawless 64 not out from 43 balls with 11 boundaries to guide her side home with five wickets in hand and eight balls to spare. She got excellent support from Wareham in a 50-run stand after Australia had slumped to 85 for 4 in the 12th over when New Zealand's standout bowler Molly Penfold bagged her second wicket in a spell of 2 for 24.
Earlier, Australia's bowlers shared the spoils with all six used claiming a wicket as New Zealand's innings never really broke free of the shackles imposed on them. Maddy Green (35 from 33) and Bates (33 from 27) both passed 30 but couldn't kick on. Australia's bowlers were frugal but their fielding was rusty with the skipper Alyssa Healy conceding 12 byes.
But they were still good enough to claim victory and extend New Zealand's unwanted women's T20I losing streak to eight straight matches.
Variety is Australia's powerplay spice
Healy said Australia would not experiment in this series and it was clear that variety will be a key to their World Cup bowling plans. The swing and craft of Megan Schutt mixed with the extra pace of Tayla Vlaeminck and the guile of Molineux made scoring difficult for New Zealand in the powerplay as they slumped to 35 for 2.
Georgia Plimmer's plight at international level continued. There was one well-struck boundary in a run-a-ball 11 but she was frantic at the crease and eventually fell miscuing a half-hearted cut shot to backward point. Bates took a while to get going and eventually found a groove thumping two boundaries off Vlaeminck over mid-on and midwicket. But she lacked support at the other end. Amelia Kerr miscued a slog sweep straight to mid-on off Molineux's first ball. Brooke Halliday missed a rank full toss from Wareham trying a premeditated paddle.
Healy mixed her bowlers well, including the late inclusion Graham taking a wicket. Molineux and Schutt were incredibly frugal and only Vlaeminck was particularly expensive. Green ensured New Zealand posted something they could defend with a busy 35 from 33 balls but she struggled to find the rope. The visitors only scored 10 boundaries in total, with Litchfield eclipsing that on her own in the run chase. New Zealand's innings culminated with a calamitous run out as Jess Kerr and Leigh Kasperek ended up at the same end in the final over.
Penfold causes panic
Devine had flagged Penfold's massive ceiling, both literally and figuratively, as a fast bowler the day before the series began and she showcased her incredible talent with 2 for 24 to put a fright through Australia. After a loose first over from Fran Jonas that cost 12, Penfold pegged Australia back with pace and bounce. She claimed Beth Mooney with a cracking bumper that hurried her and brushed the glove. then pinned Healy and Ellyse Perry down by delivering six dot balls which caused mistakes at the other end. Healy miscued Kasperek to cover while Perry lost her leg stump trying to tee up Lea Tahuhu's first ball to leave Australia 44 for 3 after 6.1 overs.
Penfold returned to castle Tahlia McGrath in the 12th over and finish with an excellent 2 for 24 from four to give New Zealand a brief hope of potentially ending their seven game loosing streak. But despite delivering four dot balls to the match-winner Litchfield, she couldn't take the crucial breakthrough and ran out out of overs.
Litchfield lights up Mackay
Litchfield spoke on Tuesday of being unsure of her place in Australia's best XI for her first World Cup. She may have inked her name in with an outstanding innings to rescue Australia. No batter in the game had managed any fluency on a two-paced surface until Litchfield walked to the crease.
Her first boundary was a slice of luck, a thick edge beating Jess Kerr at short third. But her next three showcased her staggering skill and bravery. In the same over she lap-scooped Tahuhu fine, carved her over cover and mauled her over mid-on to ease any pressure in the chase. She thumped three more boundaries against spin in the next two overs before seeing out the danger of Penfold after losing McGrath.
She then reached into the bag of tricks to show the full repertoire. Back-to-back reverse sweeps off Kasperek found the rope and then she pounded Penfold through square leg before reaching her second T20I half-century in 32 balls. Wareham made an excellent 26 off 20 to lend support in a critical 50-run stand. It was left to Litchfield to finish it and she did it in style with another reverse sweep up and over cover.
