Australia roll to thumping win in U19 World Cup opener

Australia have beaten the rain to storm to a dominant win to kick off their ICC Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup campaign in Malaysia.

After bowling out Scotland for 48, the Aussies chased it down in a mere 6.4 overs, giving a strong display of the talent and experience they boast despite their age.

After electing to bowl at the UKM YSD Oval, Australia's bowling attack were clinical and didn't allow their opposition to get any partnerships going.

Their effort to bowl out Scotland within 16 overs came without requiring the services of captain Lucy Hamilton, who opens the bowling for Brisbane Heat in the Weber WBBL. Meanwhile, WBBL|10 Young Gun Chloe Ainsworth was required to bowl only half her quota of four overs.

Fifteen-year-old Caoimhe Bray was sensational, taking three wickets for just a solitary run in her 3.1 overs, two of which were maidens. The Sydney Sixers emerging star also took an excellent diving catch in the outfield to dismiss Maisie Maceira.

Bray, Eleanor Larosa (3-7) and Hasrat Gill (2-10) all found themselves on hat-trick opportunities.

The work done by the pace quartet early to put Scotland on the back foot was carried on by their three leggies – Gill, Tegan Williamson (1-6) and Juliette Morton (1-8) – to wrap up the Scottish innings in no time, with all bowlers used by Hamilton taking a wicket.

Emma Walsingham was the highest contributor for Scotland with her 12 off 31, though she could have been dismissed on just one if Kate Pelle had held on to an edge off Ainsworth's bowling at slip.

Pelle, however, did not let go of any chances offered to her by the Scotland bowlers when she opened the batting, taking Mollie Parker for three sixes in the first over of the chase.

Ines McKeon too cleared the rope from the other end as the Aussies raced towards their target. The Western Australia and Melbourne Stars batter was, however, stumped by Scottish wicketkeeper Pippa Sproul in her attempt to finish the game with another big hit down the ground after a rain break, giving leggie Nayma Sheikh the only wicket of the Australian innings.

But with just four runs left to score, Pelle and her skipper were able to get the job done with easy singles.

While admitting that she had some nerves in the middle, Bray – who was named the Player of the Match – credited her WBBL experience for her performance.

"Being in the WBBL with all those experienced players, it's definitely helped me a lot as a cricketer and as a person,” said the allrounder, who had an instant impact for the Sixers in WBBL|10 by hitting the winnings runs on debut.

"I've learnt a lot with my skills and just how to be around people (from) different countries, you get to meet a lot of new people.

"I think it's really helped me become a better cricketer and I hope I can show that as my cricket goes on."

Australia's captain was all praise for Bray's efforts after the match.

"It was pretty crazy. She still had five balls left, so I wonder what she could do with them," Hamilton said.

"It was great to see all the girls get lots of wickets, and it was a great start for everyone."

Asked why she did not take the ball herself, Hamilton was happy to point towards Australia's bowling riches.

"I think we've got so many bowling options in our team and so many variations that we can go with, so it was great to see that everyone put their hand up," she said on the broadcast.

The Queenslander was proud of the assertive fashion of her side's win in their tournament opener.

"Going from our bowling performance and then straight into our batting, I think we showed a great power and great pressure in the field," she said.

"We won both of our practice games. It's great to get points on the board this time.

"It's really exciting to see everyone's up and about in the change rooms, hopefully (we can) take that into the next game."

Australia next face Bangladesh, while Scotland will meet Nepal. Both games are scheduled on January 20 at the same venue.

2025 ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup

Australia squad: Chloe Ainsworth, Lily Bassingthwaighte, Caoimhe Bray, Ella Briscoe, Maggie Clark, Hasrat Gill, Lucy Hamilton, Amy Hunter, Sara Kennedy, Eleanor Larosa, Grace Lyons, Ines McKeon, Juliette Morton, Kate Pelle, Tegan Williamson

Australia's Group D fixtures

January 18: Australia beat Scotland by nine wickets

January 20: v Bangladesh, UKM YSD Oval, Selangor, 10.30am AEDT

January 22: v Nepal, UKM YSD Oval, Selangor, 2.30pm AEDT

Super Sixes:

January 25-29: Two groups of six, top two in each group advance to semi-finals

Finals

January 31: Semi-final 1, Bayuemas Oval, Kuala Lumpur, 10.30am AEDT

January 31: Semi-final 2, Bayuemas Oval, Kuala Lumpur, 2.30pm AEDT

February 2: Final, Bayuemas Oval, Kuala Lumpur, 2.30pm AEDT

For the full list of fixtures click here. All matches live and exclusive on Prime Video.