Top End Squad named..(12/6)
scores and reports are also available via www.cricket.com.au

News - Top End Series 2007

New Zealand wins last match to make the series 3-2 to Australia.

New Zealand won by 4 wickets with 31 balls to spare.

Australia made one change to their side - Kate Blackwell replaced Sarah Edwards.

The New Zealand White Ferns made two changes - Rowan Milburn and Beth McNeill replaced Amy Satterthwaite and Sarah Burke.

Finally captain Karen Rolton won a toss and elected to bat.

Australia made their best start of the series, putting on 84 before a collapse of 5/36 (including 4/6 at one stage) reduced them to 5/121.

Shelley Nitschke (47 off 78) was first to go, stumped by Rachel Priest off Sarah Tsukigawa.

Melissa Bulow and captain Karen Rolton added 31 before Bulow (51 off 90) was caught by McNeill off Mason.

Then the major collapse - Rolton (17 off 26) was run out by Tiffen, Kate Blackwell was caught behind first ball off Mason then Kris Britt (1 off 14) was caught by McNeill off Helen Watson.

Alex Blackwell and Jodie Purves steadied the ship, adding 20, before Purves (15 off 25) was caught by Nicola Browne off Tsukigawa. Ellyse Perry was dismissed 7 runs later for a duck, caught by Watson off Sophie Devine.

Blackwell and Sarah Andrews added a quick fire 21 before Andrews (10 off 15) was bowled by Devine. Blackwell (27 off 37) was run out off the last ball of the innings. Rene Farrell remained unbeaten on 3 as Australia reached 9/180.

New Zealand again got off to a bad start with Mason (1 off 2) bowled by Andrews to be 1/4.

Milburn was promoted to 3 but only made 5 off 24 when she was well caught by Rolton off Andrews.

Maria Fahey and Tiffen added 36 for the 3rd wicket before Fahey (35 off 59) was bowled by Farrell.

Sara McGlashan (10* off 11) was batting well with Tiffen when she injured her right knee hitting a boundary off Nitschke and had to retire hurt with the score on 75. Tsukigawa fell next ball caught behind by Purves and at 4/75 the match could go either way.

However two solid partnerships put paid to any thought of an Australian victory.

Tiffen and Browne added 45 before Browne (16 off 27) was caught by Purves off Perry. Then Tiffen and Priest added 57 before Priest (39 off 44) was bowled by Sampson.

McNeill (4* off 6) hit the winning boundary with 31 balls remaining as Tiffen remained unbeaten on 66 off 95.

Browne was named Player of the Series.

New Zealand's focus will now switch to their tour of England while Australia's will be domestically with the Women's National Cricket League starting in October.

28 July - Match Report: Australia squeaks home by 2 as debutant takes 3.

The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars took an unassailable 3-1 lead to retain the Rose Bowl.

Australia made two changes to their side - Rene Farrell and Sarah Edwards replaced the injured pair of Lisa Sthalekar (finger) and Clea Smith (back). Farrell became the 180th player to represent Australia and the 110th to play ODIs.

The New Zealand White Ferns made one change - Sara McGlashan replaced Beth McNeill.

For the fourth time Haidee Tiffen won the toss but this time elected to field.

Australia made a steady start before Shelley Nitschke (9 off 19) was well caught and bowled by Aimee Mason.

Melissa Bulow and captain Karen Rolton shared a stand of 63 off 65 balls before Bulow (41 off 62) was run out by a direct hit from Helen Watson. Kris Britt (15 off 44) then added 58 with Rolton before she was caught by Amy Satterthwaite off Watson.

Australia were well placed to score in excess of 200 runs but New Zealand's bowlers, lead by Sarah Tsukigawa (10-1-4-43), restricted the Southern Stars to 63 off 66 balls.

Sarah Edwards (6 off 15), Alex Blackwell (4 off 7) and Jodie Purves (0 off 3) fell for the addition of only 23 runs. Ellyse Perry (8 off 9) and Sarah Andrews (11* off 10) upped the ante at the end and allowed Australia to finish on 7/198.

Rolton remained unbeaten on 81 off 131 and during her innings became the second highest run scorer in women's cricket when she moved past Debbie Hockley (4064) of New Zealand.

New Zealand again got off to a bad start and was 2/8 in the 4th over. Aimee Mason (0 off 7) and Maria Fahey (5 off 13) were bowled by Emma Sampson and Andrews respectively.

Andrews also removed Satterthwaite (12 off 28) caught by a diving Alex Blackwell. Debutant Farrell then chipped in with two wickets in her first two overs - McGlashan (11 off 23) caught by Edwards and Tiffen (11 off 47) caught by Purves.

After 30 overs, they were only 6/81 with no one reaching more than 17. 118 was required from 120 balls.

Nicola Browne and Rachel Priest added 74 off 75 balls before Priest (33 off 37) was run out via a direct hit from Britt at midwicket.

Browne (61 off 76) fell 16 runs and 20 balls later when she was well caught by Edwards on the midwicket boundary off Farrell. 28 was required off 25.

Watson (16 off 19), caught by Andrews on the midwicket boundary off Sampson fell with 9 balls remaining and 15 runs required.

Sophie Devine (11* off 11) and Sarah Burke (6* off 5) managed to add 11 off 8 balls and thus 4 was required off the last.

Devine could only managed a single to Rolton at midwicket and the Southern Stars were home!

Farrell starred with 3/36 off 9 and was well supported by Sampson (2/30 off 10) and Andrews (2/34 off 10).

25 July - Match Report: The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars ease to 6 wicket win with 25 balls to spare to take a 2-1 lead.

This was ODI #200 for the Australians. The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars made two changes to their side with Kris Britt and Alex Blackwell coming in for Kate Blackwell and Sarah Edwards. The New Zealand White Ferns also made two changes - Rachel Priest and Helen Watson coming in for Rowan Milburn and Sara McGlashan.

For the third time in the series, New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat.

Australia's bowlers applied the squeeze from the start with Sarah Andrews (2/3) leading the way with 5 maidens in her six over spell.

Last match centurion, Aimee Mason fell for a duck in the second over caught by 'keeper Jodie Purves off Andrews. Sarah Tsukigawa (1 off 19) was stumped by Purves, again off Andrews.

When captain Haidee Tiffen fell lbw to Ellyse Perry, New Zealand were 3/13. At the first drinks they were 3/42 off 16.

Andrews continued her good match when she ran out Amy Satterthwaite (25 off 36) with a direct hit as New Zealand fell to 4/57.

Opener Maria Fahey (45 off 82) was next to go with the score on 80 when Emma Sampson took an excellent overhead catch jumping at mid off from the bowling of Shelley Nitschke.

Nicola Browne and Rachel Priest then combined for 65 off 96 balls before Purves made her third dismissal of the innings when she caught Priest off Nitschke.

43 runs were added off the remaining 40 balls for the loss of two more wickets. Browne (50 off 81) brought up her 3rd ODI 50 off the last ball of the innings with a boundary.

Andrews finished with 3/23 off 10 while Nitschke also took 3/34 of her 10. Perry (1/25 off 5) was the only other wicket-taker. Impressively, Australia's bowlers only conceded one sundry (a no ball).

The only downside for Australia was a couple of dropped catches, one of which resulted in a fractured finger for Lisa Sthalekar.

Australia's reply stumbled initially with Nitschke (5 off 5) run out via a direct hit from Sophie Devine - 1/7 in the 2nd over.

Melissa Bulow and captain Karen Rolton added 51 off 75. When Rolton reached 23 she became the 3rd player and 2nd Australian to reach 4000 ODI runs (after Debbie Hockley and Belinda Clark).

Rolton (27 off 39) was the second wicket to fall when she hit a catch straight to Mason off the bowling of Browne.

Kris Britt, batting at 4 due to Sthalekar's injury, made only 5 off 11 before she fell LBW to Browne.

Consecutive 50 partnerships between Bulow (51 off 93) and Blackwell (44* off 84) - 51 off 90 - and between Blackwell and Purves (36* off 44) - 71 off 82 - saw the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars home with 6 wickets and 25 balls to spare. This was a PB for Purves (her previous highest score being 33 twice against New Zealand).

22 July - Match Report: Outstanding all-round performance seals victory for New Zealand White Ferns.

Once again, New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat.

Ellyse Perry became Australia's 179th representative and 109th at ODI level. She was presented with her cap before the start by former Australian captain Belinda Clark. Kris Britt was the unlucky player to miss out.

New Zealand also made one change with Sarah Burke coming in for Helen Watson.

New Zealand got off to a much steadier start as the openers added 41 before Maria Fahey (11 off 46) was bowled by debutant Perry.

Perry could have had a second wicket when Sarah Tsukigawa edged behind before scoring but 'keeper Jodie Purves dropped it.

Mason and Tsukigawa added 44 before Tsukigawa (20 off 39) was caught by Sarah Andrews off the bowling of Shelley Nitschke. Mason added a further 30 with captain Haidee Tiffen before Tiffen (16 off 34) was stumped by Purves off Nitschke.

Mason was starting to flag in the heat after bringing up her 50 but Sara McGlashan helped up the tempo as they added 63 off only 47 balls. New Zealand looked like running up a big total but Australia fought back to take 7 wickets for 31 with New Zealand all out for 209 on the final ball.

McGlashan (28 off 23) was caught by Sampson off Perry. Amy Satterthwaite (1 off 4) was then well caught and bowled by Lisa Sthalekar. Nicola Browne (2 off 13) and Sophie Devine (1 off 2) were respectively bowled by Emma Sampson and Clea Smith.

Mason was the 8th wicket to fall, caught by Meliisa Bulow off Sampson, for her maiden ODI hundred - 102 off 128 (13 4s/1 6).

Rowan Milburn (7 off 7) was run out by a long throw from Perry at long off to Purves as she pushed for a second while Sarah Burke was run out on the last ball via a throw from Purves to bowler Smith.

Sampson finished with 2/23 off 8 while Perry (2/37 off 8) and Nitschke (2/40 off 9) also picked up doubles. Sthalekar took 1/25 off 9 while Smith was expensive with 1/50 off 10.

Australia's reply never really got going as four of the top order made starts but none passed 27. In fact, "sundries" was top score with 39 including 28 wides.

Mason backed up her batting with 3 wickets, bowling her 10 overs straight - Nitschke (24 off 48) caught by 'keeper Milburn, Kate Blackwell (0 off 6) caught by Devine and Sarah Edwards (2 off 21) caught by Browne.

Captain Karen Rolton top-scored with 27 off 64 but was the 6th wicket with the score on 134 when she was well caught by McNeill off Tsukigawa.

The lower order of Purves (14 off 23), Andrews (10 off 16) and Perry (19 off 20) tried to pick up the slack but ultimately the Southern Stars fell 35 runs short with 25 balls remaining.

Tsukigawa also took 3 wickets (for 27 off 5) while Devine took 2/47 off 10 and Burke 1/33 off 7.5.

21 July - Match Report: Australia wins first ODI by 7 wickets

The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars take a 1-0 lead in the five match Rose Bowl series after a convincing victory.

New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat.

Australia's bowlers dominated from the start as New Zealand slump to 5/44 in the 21st over. Sara McGlashan scored 25 of those off 50 before being the 5th wicket to fall, caught by 'keeper Jodie Purves off Clea Smith.

The biggest partnership of the innings then ensued between Sarah Tsukigawa (31 off 58) and Nicola Browne (30 off 59) as they added 61 off 103 balls. Shelley Nitschke made the breakthrough when she had Browne stumped by Purves to leave New Zealand 6/105.

The last 4 wickets added only 27 runs as the White Ferns were all out for 132 in the 47th over.

Clea Smith came on first change and bowled her 10 overs straight to take 2/15 with 5 maidens.

Emma Sampson (2/19 off 8.4), Sarah Andrews (2/22 off 8) and Nitschke (2/29 off 10) all shared the spoils while Kris Britt took 1/20 in her return to the ODI team after an absence of nearly 3 ½ years.

Purves snared 4 dismissals (3 catches & 1 stumping) to equal the Australian record.

Australia made short work of the chase, securing victory with 7 wickets and 102 balls to spare.

The only stutter was when 2 wickets fell on 57 - captain Karen Rolton (11 off 25) was caught by Sophie Devine off Beth McNeill and then 3 balls later Nitschke (27 off 42) was well caught by McGlashan off Browne.

Vice-captain Sthalekar remained unbeaten on 45 off 57 and shared an unbroken stand of 76 with Kate Blackwell (15 off 56).

Beth McNeill (1/14 off 5), Helen Watson (1/17 off 5) and Nicola Browne (1/23 off 4) were the only wicket-takers. Of concern to the White Ferns will be the number of wides conceded - 28 to Australia's 3.

20 July - Match Report: Australia wins Twenty20 by 1 run.

The New Zealand White Ferns won the toss and elected to field.

Kris Britt, Emma Sampson and Clea Smith made their Twenty20 debuts with this being Britt’s first appearance in Aussie colours since February 2004.

New Zealand’s decision looked vindicated with Australia struggling a 6/53 in the 12th over. Only one of the top six batters reached double figures – Shelly Nitschke with 12 off 8) as Nicola Browne (3/14 off 3) and Helen Watson (2/18 off 4) proved hard to get away.

However Britt (39 off 36) and Jodie Purves (16 off 16) ensured Australia had a total to defend as they add 44 in 39 balls. The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars finished with 9/108.

The New Zealand White Ferns made a good start with Maria Fahey and Aimee Mason opening with 39 off 38 balls before Mason (24 off 15) went for one too many big shots and was cleaned bowled by Smith (1/10 off 4).

New Zealand lost wickets steadily with the target creeping well above a run a ball before some lusty hitting from Amy Satterthwaite (25 off 18) brought them right back into the match. Her dismissal with 10 balls to go saw the target reduced to 15.

It came down to the last ball – New Zealand need 3 to win. Browne (9 off 7) drove Sarah Andrews to deep midwicket – Britt fielded the ball and threw to Andrews who ran out Sarah Tsugikawa as they went for the second!

The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars have now played three Twenty20s for three wins.

The next match in the Top End series takes place on Saturday with the first of five ODIs.

19 July - Top End Series starts today

The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars have completed preparations ahead of the opening match of the Top End Series against New Zealand in Darwin tomorrow.

The series at Gardens Oval contains a Twenty20 international and five-match Rose Bowl Series and will be the first time the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars have played in Darwin.

After arriving on Sunday, the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars have spent their time acclimatising to the Darwin winter, with today’s centre wicket hit-out the last chance for new coach Lisa Keightley to make final adjustments before tomorrow’s opening Twenty20 international.

“Tomorrow will only be our third Twenty20 international so we are still finding our way in this format of the game. The match will enable us to set a platform leading into the 50-over games,” Keightley said.

“We’ll approach the match with the intention of having some time in the middle, enjoying the game and seeing what skills we can produce at this time of the year.

“Overall, I’m really keen to walk away from this series knowing where all the girls are at.

“We’ve obviously lost Cathryn Fitzpatrick, so we’re looking for a new opening bowler who will spearhead our innings and with the bat, we’ll be trying to get some new combinations there as well and establish some players in different positions.”

While Australia is confident and injury-free, New Zealand’s chances have been dealt a huge blow with fast bowler Louise Milliken ruled out of the series after suffering a knee injury at training yesterday.

The 23-year-old was injured while bowling in a practice match against a Northern Territory junior team and will depart for New Zealand tonight where she will have a MRI scan to determine the extent of the damage.

Milliken will be replaced by Sarah Burke in the New Zealand squad. Burke will join the White Ferns in Darwin tomorrow afternoon.

Based on previous results, Australia enters the Top End Series as strong favourites. Last year’s corresponding Twenty20 international resulted in a thrilling ‘bowl-off’ victory for the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars, but the Rose Bowl Series was not as close.

Australia’s 5-0 victory in Brisbane was the first sweep in a series of more than three matches. What made it more impressive was they won without the services of captain Karen Rolton for the majority of the series. However the reigning ICC Women’s Player of the Year is fit and ready to lead the world champions in Darwin.

Live scoring for all matches will be available on Cricket Australia’s website, www.cricket.com.au.

---

This page is produced in co-ordination with Cricket Australia 60 Jolimont Street Jolimont VIC 3002 Phone (03) 9653 9999 Fax (03) 9653 9911 Email: womens cricket