Litchfield fifty leads Australia to comfortable win in Mackay

A chaotic start to Australia’s 2024-25 home summer has ended in clinical fashion, with a composed Phoebe Litchfield steering her team to a five-wicket win over New Zealand in the opening T20I in Mackay.

Ashleigh Gardner was ruled out at the last minute following a bizarre warm-up mishap at the Great Barrier Reef Arena, but despite the late change Australia restricted the White Ferns to 7-143.

Litchfield then arrived at the crease with Australia wobbly having lost two wickets in three balls, but the level-headed left-hander swiftly took control, producing a career-high unbeaten 64 from 43 deliveries to guide the hosts to victory with eight balls to spare.

Australia now hold a 1-0 lead in the three-game series that is serving as preparation for next month’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, with the second game to be played at the same venue on Sunday.

Openers Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy had started their chase brightly hitting two boundaries off Fran Jonas’s first over, but the White Ferns hit back to put the hosts under pressure.

Mooney (13 from 10) was dropped on 12 but only added one to her tally before edging a short-pitched delivery from Molly Penfold behind.

Healy (17 from 18) followed her opener partner back to the dugout when she holed out off the bowling of spinner Leigh Kasperek, and Ellyse Perry (8 from 8) was bowled by Lea Tahuhu two balls later, leaving Australia 3-44 in the seventh.

Then, Litchfield entered the fray and swiftly swung the momentum back in Australia’s favour.

Her first boundary came via a thick edge, but her second saw her bring out her scoop to the pace of Tahuhu, before she dispatched the veteran quick for another four over cover two balls later.

It was the near-complete Litchfield exhibition, as the 21-year-old reverse swept, pulled and drove her way to a half-century – her second in T20Is – from 32 deliveries.

The left-hander found the boundary 11 times in total – sealing the win with an empathic reverse sweep to the boundary – and she was ably assisted by Georgia Wareham (26 from 20), who hit three fours of her own in their 50-run stand.

Earlier, the toss was briefly delayed after Gardner was hit on the jaw in a collision with teammate Georgia Wareham during a warm-up game.

Given her history of head knocks, the allrounder was pulled from the game as a precaution and replaced by Heather Graham.

New Zealand had to contend with a change of their own, with Sophie Devine deemed to have not yet sufficiently recovered from the ankle injury she suffered during The Hundred and replaced as skipper by Suzie Bates for the series opener.

After Bates called correctly at the toss and opted to set a target, Australia’s six bowlers shared the wickets as they restricted the tourists to 7-143.

Quick Tayla Vlaeminck, who bowled with impressive pace despite being expensive going for 1-36 from her four, struck the first blow to remove Georgia Plimmer (11 from 11).

Sophie Molineux claimed the key wicket of Amelia Kerr (7 from 5) with her first delivery, and Wareham achieved the same with her first ball, trapping Booke Halliday (5 from 9) to leave the White Ferns 3-44 in the eighth over.

Opener Bates found the boundary five times and loomed as key for the tourists but was brought undone by the in-form Annabel Sutherland, top-edging a short-pitched deliveries that ballooned up, with Healy doing the rest of the work with the gloves.

Maddy Green (35 from 33) looked to provide the counterpunch alongside Izzy Gaze, but after they hit four fours in seven balls the 12th and 13th overs, New Zealand did not find the rope again through the remaining 7.4 overs.

Gardner’s late omission added to Australia’s injury list, with Grace Harris and Kim Garth already ruled out of the series as they recover from calf and knee injuries respectively.

In positive news, Australia coach Shelley Nitschke told Channel Seven during the game Gardner had not failed a concussion test but sat out as a precaution.

"She's in concussion protocols at the moment and given we've got a fair bit of cricket ahead of us we ruled her out of the game … she’s had a test and she passed, but you've got to stay in those protocols for a certain amount of time," Nitschke said.

Gardner will be assessed ahead of Sunday’s second T20I, while Australia are optimistic both Harris and Garth will be fit in time for their T20 World Cup campaign starting October 5.

Garth remains on the recovery trail from an injury to her left knee sustained at the back end of The Hundred, while Harris sustained a very low-grade right calf strain earlier in the week.

CommBank T20I Series v New Zealand   

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ash Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

New Zealand squad: Sophie Devine (c), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Fran Jonas, Leigh Kasperek, Jess Kerr, Melie Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu 

First T20: Australia defeated New Zealand by five wickets

Second T20: September 22, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay, 7.10pm

Third T20: September 24, Allan Border Field, Brisbane, 7.10pm