1st T20I – Australia v New Zealand
Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay, 19 September
Australia 145/5 (18.4) beat New Zealand 143/7 (20.0) by 5 wickets
video scorecard | video highlights
1 – With the Women’s T20 World Cup a fortnight away (these sides will meet in a Group A encounter at Sharjah on 8th October), Australia and New Zealand’s preparation began with game at Great Barrier Reef Arena. This was the first women’s T20I to be played at Mackay.
168 – Australia were playing heir first match in all formats since a tour of Bangladesh in April. That 168 day interval was the longest between games for Australia since March 2021.
2018 – Until the end of 2017, New Zealand had a winning record in the format against Australia (19-15). In recent years however, Australia have completely turned the tables, winning eleven and losing just two of the games between the sides since 2018.
8 – This result consigned New Zealand women to their longest losing streak in the format (8). Their previous longest was a run of seven consecutive games from June to November 2018. The White Ferns’ T20I win loss ratio of 0.100 in 2024 (one win and ten defeats) is their worst for any calendar year in which they have played more than one match.
10 – Australia have now won their last seven consecutive T20I run chases, and their last ten at home. Their last defeat when batting 2nd in the format on home soil was against India at Sydney Showground in the opening match of the 2020 T20 World Cup.
The last time New Zealand successfully defended a T20I total against Australia was at Adelaide Oval in February 2017.
64* – Player of the match, Phoebe Litchfield made her highest score in the format, and her first half-century in a T20I run chase.
21 – At 21 years 154 days, Litchfield became the second youngest Australian woman to bring up two 50+ scores in their T20I career. Only the legendary Meg Lanning has been younger:
- 20y 303d Meg Lanning
- 21y 154d Phoebe Litchfield
- 21y 364d Alyssa Healy
158.38 – Litchfield’s T20I batting strike rate is currently the second highest by any woman to have scored 250+ runs in their career.
56 – Georgia Wareham (3-0-22-1) is now Australia women’s sixth highest wicket-taker in T20Is, overtaking Rene Farrell.
26 – In the chase, Wareham made the third highest score of her T20I career (26), and in doing so became the fourth Australian woman to both score 25+ runs from #6 in the order and take a wicket in the same T20I. The others are Ellyse Perry, Lisa Sthalekar and Ash Gardner.
4.31 – Sophie Molineux (4-0-19-1) has been Australia women’s most economical bowler in the format since the 2023 World Cup.
2021 – Having overcome a spate of injuries, Tayla Vlaeminck (4-0-36-1) played her first international match at home since since an Ashes T20I against England at Adelaide in January 2022. The wicket of Georgia Plimmer was Vlaeminck’s first at home for Australia since dismissing India’s Shafali Verma in a T20I at Carrara Oval in October 2021.
1 – Substituting at the last minute after Ash Gardner was injured warming up, Heather Graham (2-0-13-1) took her first wicket for Australia since December 2022, and her first in a T20I on home soil.
6 – Australia’s six different wicket takers (Graham, Vlaeminck, Molineux, Wareham, Schutt, Sutherland) were their joint second most in a T20I innings, and their most at home.
2 – Molly Penfold (4-0-24-2) delivered her full quota of overs for the first time in her T20I career. Penfold’s figures were the best by a White Ferns pace bowler in Australia since Sophie Devine’s 3-18 at Allan Border Field in 2020.
1,002 – Suzie Bates (33) became the first player in T20I history to score 1,000 runs against a single opposition team.
Stats derived from ESPNcricinfo statsguru.
