Rejuvenated Kiwis eyeing off Aussie upset in Sharjah

Australia and New Zealand last played just 13 days ago, but expect both teams to have an additional trick or two up their sleeves when they meet in a blockbuster T20 World Cup clash in Sharjah.

The two undefeated teams in Group A will do battle at Sharjah Cricket Ground on Tuesday (1am Wednesday AEDT) with the victor to take a significant step towards securing a semi-final berth.

The White Ferns will go in with renewed confidence after they shook off a 10-game losing streak in style, pummelling India by 58 runs in their opening game of the tournament.

Australia won last month’s trans-Tasman T20I series 3-0, but playing in neutral territory on the low and slow Sharjah pitch is set to produce a significantly different style of contest.

"I thought we competed pretty well in those games (last month)," New Zealand opener Suzie Bates told media on Monday.

"After the start we've had this tournament, if we can (reproduce the) performance we put together against India against Australia, we're going to go really well.

"Those games that happened before don't really matter in a World Cup, but we know Australia really well in terms of our planning and preparation.

"We probably didn't show all our cards (last month), and they probably didn't show all their cards.

"But at the end of the day, when the teams have already played a game, you know what you're probably going to be up against, and it's really about the balance of seam and spin."

New Zealand only played two of their four spinners against India, on a flatter surface at Dubai International Stadium.

But it is likely at least one of, if not both, spinners Fran Jonas and Leigh Kasperek will come in for the Sharjah game – the White Ferns' first at the venue since 2017.

Off-spinner Kasperek in particular has a knack of troubling Australia, having claimed 17 wickets in nine games at 12.64 against the world’s top-ranked team.

For their part, Australia are prepared for Kasperek’s name to appear on Tuesday’s team sheet, with coaching staff mimicking her ultra-slow variety of spin in the nets on Monday evening.

"(Kasperek) just bowls a lot slower than what we're used to, and in these conditions, I would not be surprised if she does play against us - to be honest, we saw that slow spin is really effective in these conditions," Australia allrounder Ashleigh Gardner said on Monday.

"For us, it's being able to come up with plans really quickly (because) we know what she's likely to throw up against us, so it's being able to adapt to that.

"The Kiwis will come in with a lot of confidence, and so they should, they beat a very good side in India and scored quite a few runs, albeit in different conditions.

"Hopefully we have the upper hand having played at Sharjah (already in this tournament)."

Australia also have the option of bringing in an additional spinner in leg-spinner Alana King or allrounder Grace Harris.

Final calls on playing XIs were set to be made after Monday night’s Group B clash between England and South Africa, which was played on the same pitch that will be used on Tuesday.

As it happened, it was England’s spinners who did the bulk of the damage in their seven-wicket win, taking five wickets between them to restrict the Proteas to 6-124.

Last Friday, New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine revealed the win over India was something the team's brains trust had been plotting for the better part of a year.

It was a call made knowing that three group stage wins would likely be required to progress to semi-finals – but with that goal ticked off, the White Ferns are eyeing an even bigger fish.

"We looked at the schedule, and we knew Australia and India were in our pool and that we were going to have to try and win at least one of those matches," Bates said.

"We haven't been that successful against Australia in recent times, but that first match (against India), I think we knew that we had to put one of our best performances, and we were able to do that under a lot of pressure, so that was really pleasing.

"But we played Australia in Mackay so there's already been a lot of thought in how we match up and how we need to take them on ... it's just who can put that performance together in different conditions."

2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup

Australia's Group A fixtures

October 5: beat Sri Lanka by six wickets

October 8: v New Zealand, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 9 AEDT

October 11: v Pakistan, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 12 AEDT

October 13: v India, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 14 AEDT

Finals

October 17: Semi-final 1, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 18 AEDT

October 18: Semi-final 2, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 19 AEDT

October 20: Final, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, 1am Oct 21 AEDT

For the full list of fixtures click here. All matches live and exclusive on Prime Video. Sign up here for a 30-day free trial