Megan Schutt has become the fourth Australian woman to take a five-wicket haul in a Twenty20 international as she helped set up her side’s eight-wicket win over Pakistan.
Schutt claimed 5-15 to help have Pakistan all out for 118, before Ellyse Perry drove and cut her way to 57 not out from 40 balls as Australia chased down the target in 13.4 overs.
Ashleigh Gardner also whacked 30 not out from 19 in the chase, as she put aside two days of headlines following her statement about January 26 to dominate the Pakistan attack.
The win marks the start of Australia’s final preparations for next month’s Twenty20 World Cup, with the three-match series the last before the tournament.
Australia couldn’t have been more dominant in the series opener at North Sydney Oval.
Schutt’s figures were the third best of all time by an Australian woman in a T20 international, as she joined Molly Strano, Jess Jonassen and Julie Hunter in taking a five-wicket haul.
The seamer got the key wicket of Bismah Mahroof when she had her caught behind down the legside on review, before Sadaf Shamas followed later in the same over.
Schutt then returned at the death to remove Pakistan’s top-scorer Omaima Sohail at mid-off for 30, along with Fatima Sana at cover and Tuba Hassan at mid-off.
Perry also claimed 2-3 from two overs to go with her runs, in her best bowling return in T20 cricket since her injury woes began in 2020.
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She claimed the scalps of both openers, including a brilliant yorker to go through Javeria Khan on 16 and take her middle stump.
Perry was dropped from Australia’s T20 team last January, and a squeeze looms in the middle order, with Alyssa Healy set to return from a calf injury at the top.
But after a big series in India last month with the bat, Perry is making an insurmountable case to be in Australia’s first-choice XI for the World Cup.
Asked to open as Beth Mooney battled soreness after long stints in the middle, Perry hit seven boundaries and pulled a bouncer from quick Fatima Sana for six over mid-on.
Alana King (2-16) provided the other highlight of the day for Australia with a superb one-handed caught-and-bowled after Nida Dar hit a full-blooded drive back at her.
The leg-spinner also bowled Ayesha Naseem for 24 after the right-hander had slog-swept her for six and also dispatched Darcie Brown over midwicket with a powerful pull shot.
Clear as mud
Guest
Great analysis and a great example of how too many options can be a curse. I was kinda serious suggestion T20 could be 9 a side, and Australia would easily cope They picked a weird squad. The wrong Harris - Laura made 83 from 33 the other day O think. Nobody goes from ball one like her. I would have gone Burns for Grace, she blew her away in the WBBL, their bowling is equally putrid and irrelevant, and Burns is the best fielder in the world. Pez had made it difficult for them. Nowhere near best XI until this late career re-imagining of herself. Her bowling is elite at times (yesterday - should have been POTM in a procession ); other times it’s juicy as. And her pace works against her. So yeah it might be Sutherland who goes. She’s got unlimited potential, a limited WBBL record and a career of cameos only at international level - mostly not her fault. Should focus on ODI especially batting - could see her and Litchfield opening long term. Darc will keep getting picked while she keeps getting wickets I guess. The overall propensity for wides - needs attention asap. This week. It will cost us otherwise. We have 8 batters and 8 bowlers and that’s great until it’s not!
JohnB
Roar Rookie
So who goes when Healy comes back in? She gets out cheaply a lot but can point to having made big scores in big games so is a risk worth taking. Having her keep also lots Mooney concentrate on batting. Others get more publicity, but Mooney has been in the top 2 batters in the side for a long time (and mostly has been the best). With Mooney and Healy opening, do they need both Lanning and Perry there? Certainly not in the top 4 (if you ask me). One of them, fine, but having the second just risks clogging things up. Have the second as a "floater" in case you lose early wickets? Again, fine, but to have both in there means having to drop the only other specialist batter (Harris - Litchfield isn't in the squad at this point. And noting that Harris has far more ability than most to come in and start scoring immediately, making her a highly valuable commodity in T20), one of the batting all-rounders (Gardner, McGrath, Sutherland. Gardner and McGrath are locks you would think; Sutherland might be vulnerable, but is Perry's bowling better than hers? That's what it might come down to) or one of the bowlers (Jonassen, King, Schutt, Brown. Brown could be vulnerable especially if she keeps bowling wides. But she does provide a bit of pace that no-one else in the squad does. Schutt you'd think was a lock. Nice to have a leggie so you'd think one of King or Wareham would be chosen. Jonassen hasn't been at her best lately - but do you toss aside her experience bowling the hard overs? Not something to do lightly - and in women's cricket 2 spinners often isn't enough, so going with just say King and Gardner would be a risk in itself). And that's without factoring in the claims of the other 3 squad members who didn't play yesterday - Graham, Garth and Wareham. Tough decisions to come. To me, start off with your top side being the one yesterday but with Healy coming in for Sutherland, Perry told to be prepared to bat anywhere between 4 and 8 depending on what happens, Lanning reminded it's T20 and Brown told to aim for top of off.