Australia recovered from a shaky start to demolish New Zealand by 141 runs in Wellington and underscore their status as Women's Cricket World Cup favourites.
WELLINGTON - Australia recovered from a shaky start to demolish New Zealand by 141 runs in Wellington on Sunday and underscore their status as Women's Cricket World Cup favourites.
New Zealand are regarded as a realistic chance to make the final of the one-day showcase, but the lopsided result is a warning to all teams in the tournament that Australia remain the gold standard. "That's the beauty of our batting line-up, we've got some players who can rescue an innings and build the platform that allows us to play like we did at the back end," captain Meg Lanning said.
Australia were reduced to 56-3 when Rachael Haynes was bowled by Lea Tahuhu for 30 in the 16th over and limped to 113-4 before Beth Mooney dragged the ball on to her stumps, also for 30.Ashleigh Gardner contributed a quickfire cameo of 48 runs from 18 balls but Australia's total looked within reach.The home side never looked close to achieving the 270-run target as Australia's bowlers set about dismantling their batting line-up.