Australia shatter England’s spirit in six-wicket rout

A consummate unbeaten century partnership between Annabel Sutherland and Ash Gardner has steered Australia to another World Cup triumph, the two masterful all-rounders shattering England’s spirits once again in a six-wicket rout.

The dynamic duo enjoyed sensational days at Indore’s Holkar Stadium on Wednesday, Gardner adding her second century of the tournament (104 not out) to her earlier two wickets, while player-of-the-match Sutherland finished 98 not out after taking three scalps.

Their only disappointment on yet another day which demonstrated both the champions’ extraordinary strength-in-depth and their resilience to rebound from a real predicament was that Sutherland and Gardner couldn’t quite contrive a finish in which they both got hundreds.

“I’m very happy. The spinners did a fantastic job with the ball, we had a little bit of a shaky start with the bat, but then Bels and Ash were just world-class,” said Tahlia McGrath, who filled in as captain for the injured Alyssa Healy.

“So good to watch them. It was clinical and I feel for Bels a bit, not getting a hundred. She thoroughly deserved it.”

The other star of unbeaten Australia’s fifth victory of the tournament, which puts them back atop the league table, was leg-spinner Alana King, who grabbed 1-20 off 10 immaculate overs that thoroughly strangled England mid-innings, enabling them to be held to 9-244.

In reply, Australia had another stuttering start as they slumped to 4-68. Again, though, it was “crisis, what crisis?” as Sutherland and Gardner put on 180 off 151 balls, reaching their target on 4-248 in an eventual canter with 9.3 overs to spare.

It was Australia’s highest fifth-wicket partnership in women’s ODIs, Gardner having scored a similar ton at No.6 at this ground when they were struggling against New Zealand at the start of the tournament.

She was so dominant against a deflated England attack by the end that she raced past Sutherland, blitzed her way to a ton off 69 balls and then blocked the next three deliveries to attempt to allow her partner, on 95, to get to three figures too.

Alas, it didn’t quite work, a weary Sutherland managing to eke out three more runs at the start of the next over, before losing the strike and telling Gardner she should finish the job.

“I’m happy she got it done,” said the young champion, whose 98 off 112 balls had her hailed as “such a gun” by admiring captain McGrath.

Earlier, it had been King who suffocated England in familiar fashion, aided by three more scalps for the tournament’s leading wicket-taker Sutherland (3-60) and a couple each for spinners Sophie Molineux (2-52) and Gardner (2-39).

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With Healy sidelined as a precaution with a “minor calf strain”, McGrath elected to field first and led her troops with fine tactical aplomb after a tough start when Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones led off with a half-century partnership for England in the power play.

Sutherland, who’s now taken a tournament-high 15 wickets, made the breakthrough with her outswinger clipping the top of Jones’s off-stump.

King hypnotised the England batters from the start and made the key breakthrough by tempting captain Nat Sciver-Brunt to slice one sky-high into the safe hands of Sutherland at mid-off.

“She’s a special player, a big wicket. I was happy to see the back of her, we know how damaging she can be. She’s got us many times in the past before,” said King of Sciver-Brunt’s dismissal.

“I kept it really simple, kept the stumps in play as much as possible and tried to extract as much spin as I can.”

It was a combination that proved too much for the English batters.

Beaumont, their mainstay, battled to a fine 78 off 105 balls, but trying to push on amid King’s strangulation of England’s middle-order, it was Sutherland who got her caught on the boundary by an off-balance Georgia Voll, who had to throw the ball up and re-catch it to avoid giving away a six.

Alice Capsey (38 off 32) and Charlie Dean (26 off 27) provided a bit of late impetus and England dreamed briefly when Phoebe Litchfield (one), Voll (six), Ellyse Perry (13) and Beth Mooney (20) all fell cheaply.

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