Darcie Brown and Annabel Sutherland dismantled Pakistan with swing and bounce to set the scene for another sparkling innings by teenager Phoebe Litchfield, as Australia romped to a second and deciding victory in Meg Lanning’s return series in Brisbane.
Having won by eight wickets in the opener on Monday, the hosts stretched the margin by not losing a single batter this time around – Australia’s first 10-wicket margin in ODIs since 2010.
Darcie Brown nipped out three Pakistani wickets in game two of the ODI series in Brisbane.Credit:Getty
On her return from a six-month sabbatical and not even needed to take strike, captain Meg Lanning could hardly have asked for a more concerted performance from the world’s top-ranked side.
Litchfield, 19, broke more fresh ground for a team that has become accustomed to breaking records, becoming the first Australian woman to make consecutive ODI 50s in her first two international innings.
She did so with plenty of verve, outpacing fellow left-hander Beth Mooney (57 from 55 balls) even though Litchfield (67, 61 balls) has cited the 29-year-old as one of several teammates to provide inspiration for her technical and mental approaches to batting.
Australia were never likely to be stretched by a target of just 126, and as it was Litchfield and Mooney surged to the win with 30.4 overs to spare.
Phoebe Litchfield scored her second half century in as many matches.Credit:Getty Images
Choosing to bat first on a sunny day at Allan Border Field, the Pakistanis laid a sound enough platform at 1-43 in the 13th over of the morning.
But the speedy Brown (3-32), who had opened the day by swerving an away swinger into Mooney’s gloves via the outside edge of Sidra Ameen in the second over of the match, was waiting in the wings in the vent of a breakthrough or two.
They arrived when Ash Gardiner’s off-break looped tantalisingly short of Muneeba Ali, forcing a sliced drive into the covers, where Ellyse Perry ran back for an excellent catch, and then Sutherland (2-13) won a critical lbw verdict against Bismah Maroof with her second ball.
Brown duly returned to seam one back and bowl Omaima Sohail, and then move the ball the other way to coax another outside edge from Aliya Riaz. At 5-88, Pakistan’s innings was in tatters after a promising start, and Alana King (2-25) helped to tidy up the tail.
“I like to keep it very simple, but I tried to rip it a bit more and get my hand behind the ball as much as I could, unlike I did last game,” Brown said. “It didn’t swing as much, I felt like I had a bit more control this game, there weren’t as many clouds overhead and it was nice and hot.”
Where conditions for the first game had been damp, overcast and tricky for batting, clear skies made for ideal climes in which Mooney (after being out for one in the opener) and Litchfield could get into fluent touch.
Pakistan’s bowlers pitched hopefully full in search of edges and stumps in the early overs, allowing Litchfield to unfurl drives for all of her first five boundaries.
Mooney worked the ball around with typical efficiency in the meantime, having got off the mark by flicking the first ball of the innings to the rope through square leg.
Scarcely a chance was offered by either Litchfield or Mooney, as Australia wrapped up an 11th consecutive ODI series or tournament victory against all comers since they were knocked out in the semi-finals of the 2017 World Cup in England.
“She’s awesome, she’s a big bundle of energy,” Brown said of Litchfield. “I’ve played a lot of underage cricket against her and done a few Aussie camps with her. She’s awesome to play with and she’s good at everything, so there’s no surprise she’s been dominating.”
The final game of the series is at North Sydney Oval on Saturday, before a three-match Twenty20 encounter ahead of the World Cup in South Africa in February.
