White Fern seeks to outdo Kumar

New Zealand allrounder Amy Satterthwaite will be aiming to go where no player – male or female – has gone before in the second Rose Bowl one-day international against Australia on Thursday.

Satterthwaite brought up her fourth consecutive ODI century in Sunday’s five-wicket win over the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars, matching the record held by Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara.

Her golden run started in November last year, when she scored an unbeaten 137 against Pakistan in Lincoln, and continued with 115no against the same opposition at the same venue two days later.

Her services with the bat weren’t required in the following match, but in the final ODI of the series she plundered 123 off just 99 deliveries in Nelson.

Those efforts against Pakistan saw her become the first woman to score three centuries in a row, before her match-winning 101no against Australia at Eden Park equalled Sangakkara’s four tons, scored during the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

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Given a handy foundation by White Ferns openers Suzie Bates and Rachel Priest, Australia had no answers for Satterthwaite, who easily pushed singles and twos and then escalated with a series of boundaries late in the innings to see her team home with five balls to spare.

It’s a remarkable run of form for the veteran batter, who has six centuries overall from her 93 ODI appearances for New Zealand, alongside 14 half-centuries.

Now, the 30-year-old has an opportunity to go one better and make it an incredible five on the trot when the White Ferns look to seal a series win over Australia at Mt Maunganui’s Bay Oval on Thursday.

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“I think scoring 100 in any game is huge and to get it chasing that total against a classy Australia team is very special,” Satterthwaite reflected after Sunday’s victory.

“I would have liked to go faster during the first half of the innings but I was happy to get it done in the end.”

Finding a way to stop Satterthwaite will be crucial if Australia want to continue their 17-year grip on the Rose Bowl, Southern Stars opener Beth Mooney said following Sunday’s loss.

“She just seems to churn out hundreds lately,” Mooney said. “She’s been underrated for a long time.

“So the goal will be to get her out nice and early.”

Seven players have scored three consecutive ODI centuries – Pakistan trio Babar Azam, Zaheer Abbas and Saeed Anwar, South Africans Herschelle Gibbs, AB de Villiers and Quinton de Kock and New Zealand’s Ross Taylor.

Australia skipper Meg Lanning is one of two Southern Stars and among five women overall to have posted back-to-back tons, having scored centuries in both of her team’s victories at Mt Maunganui’s Bay Oval last February.