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Ashleigh Gardner struck the third-fastest century in a Women’s Cricket World Cup as Australia began their title defence by beating New Zealand by 89 runs in Indore.
Gardner scored 115 runs off 83 balls with 16 fours and a six as Australia made 326 in 49.3 overs. It was the first century from a batter at No 6 or lower in the tournament’s history.
Phoebe Litchfield scored 45 off 31 balls to give Australia a quickfire start, before Gardner used the good batting conditions to help the defending champions light up Indore’s Holkar Stadium, which was staging its first women’s ODI.
In reply, New Zealand made a rocky start and never recovered – bowled out for 237 in 43.2 overs despite skipper Sophie Devine’s 111. Medium pacers Sophie Molineux (three for 25) and Annabel Sutherland (three for 26) shared six wickets between them.
“I had some clear plans when I got into the middle,” said Gardner, who was named player of the match. “I wanted to score as many runs possible because we needed a big total here. We bat deep so we had the freedom and confidence within our group to play freely. This [scoring big first] is going to be a trend in this World Cup.”
Australia face Sri Lanka on Saturday in Colombo next, while New Zealand take on South Africa in Indore on Monday.
Australia had opted to bat to make first use of good conditions. The 22-year-old Litchfield, playing in her first ODI World Cup, hit six fours and two sixes to provide a speedy start. She fell in the 11th over – at 81 for two – before New Zealand ushered in a mini-collapse. Medium pacer Lea Tahuhu picked three for 42 in eight overs, blowing away the middle order.
Tahuhu got rid of Ellyse Perry (33) and Beth Mooney (12) in the space of four overs, and later returned to dismiss Tahlia McGrath (26). In between, Amelia Kerr dismissed Sutherland (5) to have Australia reeling at 128 for five before Gardner took charge.
Gardner and McGrath added 64 runs for the sixth wicket to revitalise the innings and Australia posted the highest total against New Zealand in a Women’s World Cup game, bettering England’s 284 for nine in 2017.
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Gardner had scored 50 off 43 balls, then accelerated further – her next 50 came off only 34 balls. It was the third fastest hundred in a women’s World Cup – off 77 balls.
In reply, New Zealand lost two wickets in nine balls without a run on the board. Georgia Plimmer was run out and Molineux bowled Suzie Bates — both out for ducks. Devine and Amelia Kerr then added 75 for the third wicket to rescue the innings. Kerr scored 33 off 56 balls, before falling to Alana King.
The innings gained momentum in the middle overs as Devine put on vital partnerships — first, 53 off 65 balls with Brooke Halliday (28) then 54 off 35 balls with Isabella Gaze. Gaze hit six fours as she scored 28 off 18 balls to up the scoring rate, before she was out in the 41st over at 218 for six.
New Zealand then lost their last four wickets for 19 runs as Devine’s 100 off 107 balls went in vain. She is the third oldest batter to score a century in women’s ODI World Cups — at 36 years, 30 days. It was Australia’s 16th consecutive ODI victory against New Zealand.
