Australia beat rain to gain 2-0 lead

Australia 6 for 111 (Nitschke 38, Blackwell 34, Satterthwaite 3-18) beat New Zealand 142 (Lind 33) by 4 wickets on D/L
Scorecard

The captain Alex Blackwell followed her half-century in the opening game with an important 34 as Australia gained a 2-0 advantage over New Zealand on a disrupted day in Adelaide. Australia began chasing New Zealand's subdued 142 but their assignment was cut to 110 from 32 overs by rain.

The hosts resumed at 1 for 34 after the break, having lost Rachael Haynes a ball before the weather intervened, and Blackwell and Shelley Nitschke moved comfortably towards victory. However, there were some nervous moments during a mini-collapse, with Nitschke exiting for 38 and Amy Satterthwaite removing Sarah Elliott and Lisa Sthalekar in consecutive balls.

Blackwell helped her side away from the discomfort of 4 for 79 and departed an over before the end when lbw to Sophie Devine. Alyssa Healy gave Satterthwaite a third wicket as the drizzle returned and the game was ended next ball with five wides. The teams head to Melbourne to conclude the five-match series and Australia can wrap up the trophy with another win on Sunday.

New Zealand suffered regular losses after winning the toss and lasted only 37.3 overs in their second disappointing batting display following the 115-run defeat on Wednesday. Victoria Lind top scored with 33 from No. 3 but the wicketkeeper Katey Martin was the only other one to pass 20.

Sarah Andrews started well by removing both openers in the first six overs while Ellyse Perry finished off the innings with two wickets at the end. The spinners Sthalekar and Nitschke also made life hard and had two victims each, with Nitschke giving away only a run an over in seven overs.