Australia won their first women’s Twenty20 World Cup warm-up match, beating India by 43 runs. Pace bowler Darcie Brown took 4-17 in three overs as the bowlers made up for a disappointing batting display, dismissing India for 86 with five overs to spare.
The South Australian took three wickets in her first two overs to leave India reeling at 22-4 as they chased Australia’s 129-8 in Cape Town. Ash Gardner (2-16), Kim Garth (1-12), Ellyse Perry (1-22) and Jess Jonassen (1-2) were also in the wickets while Annabel Sutherland bowled two overs for five runs and Meg Lanning effected a run-out.
India, who were variously also 12-3, 44-6 and 61-9, were never in the hunt with only Deepti Sharma (19no) and Harleen Deol (12) making double figures. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur chose not to bat.
Australia’s innings was indebted to a late flurry from No 9 Georgia Wareham, who top-scored with an unbeaten 32 off 17 balls, and No 10 Jonassen (22no off 14). Their unbroken ninth-wicket partnership of 50 off the last 26 balls gave the bowlers enough to defend.
With each side using 15-player squads, with 11 players allowed to bat and 11 to field, Monday’s outing was not an official match, but it was a useful exercise in gaining experience of the conditions in South Africa, and examining form.
That was a test Australia largely failed with the bat. Having elected to have first dig, Australia made a disastrous start, reeling at 10-3 off four overs. They also suffered a mid-innings collapse losing 25-5.
In the second over Lanning was caught behind for a third-ball duck, part of a 14-ball spell without a run off the bat. Two overs later Tahlia McGrath and Perry were sent back to the sheds in the space of three balls. McGrath was caught and bowled for a seven-ball two, then Perry run out for one as Mooney attempted a single.
Mooney (28) and Gardner (22) rebuilt the innings while also picking up the pace but in the 10th over their 44-run, 34-ball partnership ended when Gardner was caught. That prompted another clatter of wickets with Mooney going in the next over followed by Grace Harris (four), Sutherland (four) and Heather Graham (eight) as Australia slid to 8-79 before the late recovery.
Batters dominated a far more high-scoring warm-up in Stellenbosch with England and South Africa scoring 476 runs between them in a match of 24 sixes. England battered the tournament hosts, racking up 247-7 in their 20 overs.
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Opener Sophia Dunkley smashed 59 in 19 balls with Alice Capsey (61 off 33) and Nat Sciver (51 off 25) also making rapid half-centuries. South Africa responded in kind hitting 229-9 with Chloe Tyron (65 off 23 balls), and Nadine de Klerk (50 off 27) adding 98 in 38 balls mid-innings.
Elsewhere New Zealand defeated West Indies by 32 runs, Maddy Green making an unbeaten 47; Pakistan beat Bangladesh by six wickets with four overs to spare; and Sri Lanka edged past Ireland by two runs. Australia now play Ireland on Wednesday in Stellenbosch, where they will expect to score much more heavily.
The 10-team tournament begins on 10 February. In the group stage Australia face New Zealand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and South Africa.