Australia proved to be too good for their New Zealand counterparts in their Women’s World Cup opener as despite being 128/5, they found a way to get to a score of 326, which was always going to be a tough ask for the White Ferns, riding on Ash Gardner’s 77-ball century.
The defending champions Australia proved to be too good for their trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in their Women’s World Cup opener in Indore on Wednesday, October 1. Like India on Tuesday, Australia also found themselves in trouble at one point at 128/5, with Amelia Kerr running riot, however, Australia did what Australia do, fight back out of tough situations to still be able to post a total of 326 runs and defend it later, rather comfortably in the end.
Australia rode on Ashleigh Gardner’s maiden World Cup century as despite losing wickets in clumps in the middle, they kept the run rate in excess of six and the all-rounder utilised the good wicket to the fullest, completing a 77-ball ton. Gardner became the first player in Women’s World Cup history to score a century at No 6 or lower, breaking her compatriot Alex Blackwell’s record of 90 against India in the 2017 World Cup.
Highest individual score in Women’s World Cup at No 6
115 (83) – Ash Gardner (AUS vs NZ) – Indore, 2025
90 (56) – Alex Blackwell (AUS vs IND) – Derby, 2017
74* (63) – Ally Kuylaars (SA vs PAK) – Vadodara, 1997
73* (94) – Maria Fahey (NZ vs IND) – Potchefstroom, 2005
70 (45) – Veda Krishnamurthy (IND vs NZ) – Derby, 2017
Gardner stitched 64-run partnership with Tahlia McGrath, 47 with Sophie Molineux and 69 with Kim Garth as the lower order chipped in with important contributions for Australia to lift them to a strong score of 326. New Zealand started slow but got better, especially when Brooke Halliday started smashing the Australian batters, giving confidence to her captain Sophie Devine at the other end.
Devine scored a century but ran out of partners and eventually the White Ferns fell 89 runs short. It was a fighting performance with both bat and ball in phases for the White Ferns, but they will hope that they can build on this to compete better in the next few games and get results in their favour.