Molineux, Mooney impress as Australia take warm-up win

FULL SCORECARD: AUSTRALIA v NEW ZEALAND

Australia and New Zealand have tuned up for their upcoming T20 and ODI series with an entertaining 40-over affair in Brisbane, with the hosts emerging 11-run winners off the back of standout performances from Sophie Molineux and Beth Mooney.

Molineux particularly had a day out at Allan Border Field, the allrounder hitting a fine 57 rom 60 balls before taking 5-29 with her left-arm finger spin.

After captain Meg Lanning won the toss and chose to bat in the 13-a-side fixture, the Aussies wobbled early, with Kiwi pacer Holly Huddleston (2-23) capturing the prized pair of Alyssa Healy (0) and Lanning (9) early.

Left-handers Rachael Haynes and Mooney soon got going, scampering between the wickets and finding the boundary regularly to push the run rate towards six in the opening 10 overs.

Haynes departed for a well-made 54 in the 17th over, caught at deep midwicket from the spin of Maddy Green.

Another left-hander in Molineux was quick to find her feet, a sumptuous straight drive for four the pick of her initial contributions as the Aussies reached 3-108 after 20 overs.

Molineux and Mooney then cut loose against the spinners through the middle overs, the latter particularly impressive in going over her favoured extra cover zone against the slow bowling.

After cruising to 80 from 86 deliveries, Mooney was retired by her skipper to end the decisive partnership of the innings – a fine 103 between for the fourth wicket. Molineux departed four overs later, edging one behind down the leg-side as she looked to flick the ball back of square, but her biggest contribution was still to come.

There was a flurry of late wickets as Annabel Sutherland, Tahlia McGrath and Erin Burns offered only modest contributions – the latter bowled around her legs by gun White Ferns leggie Amelia Kerr (2-36) – but with Ash Gardner (18no) showing off her power game by repeatedly taking the leg-side aerial route to the boundary in the closing overs, the home side were still able to take the score to a formidable one.

In response, the New Zealand innings mirrored that of Australia's, with two wickets falling early including the dangerous Suzie Bates for 16. Hurricanes pacer Belinda Vakawera claimed both openers, and was the standout among an inexperienced pace attack as she toiled relentlessly from the northern end and employed her slower ball to good effect.

The tone of the innings changed when WBBL superstar Sophie Devine teamed up with new mum Amy Satterthwaite, as the veteran pair capitalised on some friendly batting conditions and some errant pace bowling to begin piloting their side towards the target of 248.

The pair put on 90 at almost a run a ball before Molineux struck with the wicket of Satterthwaite (48), and when the impressive Georgia Wareham had Green out for five skying to mid-on, the game tilted back in Australia's favour.

Green's exit appeared to be the cue for Devine to unleash, with the new Scorchers signing hitting her former Strikers teammate Tahlia McGrath for a six and four from consecutive balls, then clearing the rope again over long on from Wareham in the following over.

Vakawera returned with an eye to stemming the flow but she too found herself carted over the ropes, this time beyond midwicket and almost into the Matthew Hayden Stand that overlooks the western side of the ground.

Image Id: 0BB0D418A84F4A0B9A84DDB911BE974B Image Caption: Sophie Devine struck four sixes // Getty

Prior to that onslaught, the equation had stood at 115 runs required from 90 balls; after, it was at a much tighter 78 from 72.

Fittingly it was Molineux who landed the key blow with the dismissal of Devine (89 off 73), before Molly Strano reminded everyone of Australia's abundance of spin options by chipping in with the wicket of Katey Martin (15).

New Zealand continued to fight and at one point looked like stealing the match as Amelia Kerr (24) and Hayley Jensen (24) added 51 for the seventh wicket to take the score to within 28 of their target.

Again however, it was the decisive hand of Molineux that intervened, the spinner removing both batters to claim her five-fer and effectively end the contest.

With game one of six (three T20Is, three ODIs) less than 48 hours away, the Australians will have been heartened to have seen their superstar allrounder Ellyse Perry training on the adjacent ground.

After undergoing surgery on her right hamstring, Perry has been in a race against time to be ready for this series, and today's session included a stint of bowling off her regular run-up.

"If I'm playing, I want to be fully fit and be able to play in the way I always play," she said earlier this month.

"It's more just about managing the frequency of matches that I play in this series because … it's quite condensed and games are fairly close together.

"It might not be possible or sensible to play all those games, but hopefully there's an opportunity where I'm able to play in some of them."

CommBank T20I and ODI series

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Maitlan Brown, Erin Burns, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Belinda Vakarewa

New Zealand squad: Sophie Devine (c), Suzie Bates, Natalie Dodd, Deanna Doughty, Lauren Down, Maddy Green, Holly Huddleston, Hayley Jenson, Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Katey Martin, Hannah Rowe, Amy Satterthwaite, Lea Tahuhu, Jess Watkin

All matches to be played at Brisbane's Allan Border Field

September 26: First T20, 1:50pm AEST

September 27: Second T20, 1:45pm AEST

September 30: Third T20, 1:45pm AEST

October 3: First ODI, 10:10am AEST

October 5: Second ODI, 10:10am AEST (11:10 AEDT)

October 7: Third ODI, 10:10am AEST (11:10 AEDT)

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