Georgia Plimmer smashed an unbeaten 85 off her own bat, yet the new-look White Ferns still absorbed a narrow two-wicket defeat against Australia in the opening Twenty20 international in Sydney. Plimmer and Maddy Green finished with New Zealand reaching 162 for 2, while Sutherland finished with 1 for 28 and Garth claimed 1 for 34.
Plimmer and Green Drive New Zealand to 162
Plimmer’s unbeaten 85 marked her highest T20 international score in her 55th appearance, pushing her batting average up to 20. Green supported her with an unbeaten 56 off 33 balls, putting the foot down in the back-end to help post a total of 162 for six. Following the retirement of legends Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates, and Lea Tahuhu, the White Ferns are trying to find their own identity under the leadership of captain Amelia Kerr. To be out there with someone like Maddy [Green], who has that experience and was able to calm me down out there and create a partnership was a pretty cool moment,
Plimmer said after the match. When I started [opening the innings] I got to do it with Suzie Bates and tried to learn as much as I could from her and now it’s an opportunity for young players to try and step up.
Hopefully that [innings] can push me forward and get some more confidence as well,
she added. She mentioned, There have been a lot of tough conversations and work behind the scenes to get me to where this is.
Perry’s Rapid Half-Century Secures Win
Australia lost regular wickets during the middle of their innings and slipped to 145 for seven at one stage, but a rapid half-century from Ellyse Perry proved the difference as Australia overcame a plucky new-look New Zealand to draw first blood in the three-match series. Perry smashed 52 off 30 balls and combined with Beth Mooney in a quick 86-run partnership to snuff out New Zealand’s momentum through consistent boundaries mixed with hard-running. Jess Kerr finished with 3 for 25 off 4 overs for the White Ferns, while Illing was dangerous with the new ball in her 16th T20I, and Amelia Kerr conceded 50 runs in four overs in the worst figures of her career, leaving her disappointed. Game two of the three-match series takes place at North Sydney Oval on Tuesday night.
Selection Dilemmas and Experimental Deployments
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