Cricket: White Ferns avenge ODI pasting

White Ferns captain Aimee Watkins. Photo / Hawke's Bay Today

SYDNEY - New Zealand's women avenged their Rose Bowl one-day cricket mauling by Australia in emphatic style yesterday, a five-wicket win securing the Twenty20 series in Tasmania with a game to spare.

New Zealand's tour of Australia has been transformed by the switch to the shortest form of the game, a tense two-run victory at Bellerive Oval on Sunday superseded by a compelling performance at the same venue.

The White Ferns comfortably overhauled Australia's 115 for seven as Sophie Devine and captain Aimee Watkins made the chase a formality by posting 75 for the third wicket from just 50 balls.

Devine capped another fine all-round performance with a career best 48 from 31 deliveries - her eight boundaries equalling the number Australia managed in their entire innings.

Joining Watkins at a potentially vulnerable 18 for two, Devine extinguished any prospect of today's finale being a decider as she took toll of a wayward bowling attack.

Watkins also started expansively before being content to play a supporting role to Devine.

The pair were separated having advanced the score to 93 in the 13th over; Watkins departed seven balls later for a vital 36 from 38 balls but Amy Satterthwaite and Erin Bermingham ensured Australia could not rally by calmly ticking off the shortfall with 19 balls to spare.

New Zealand closed on 116 for five, their target again curbed by a stingy bowling performance.

Medium pacer Kate Broadmore set the tone by conceding just 15 from her four over allocation after openers Leah Poulton and Shelley Nitschke made a bright start.

Devine then removed the dangerous duo in consecutive overs for 15 and 24 respectively, leaving the experienced Alex Blackwell to anchor the innings with 40 from 38 balls that featured just two boundaries.

Devine ended with three for 24 from her four overs while Suzie Bates (2-20) was denied a hattrick by taking wickets with the last two balls of her final over.

Thrashed 5-0 in the one-day series, New Zealand are eyeing a fourth successive Twenty20 win over their transtasman rivals - a streak that started at last year's ICC World Twenty20 in England.

- NZPA