Credit: X
On Saturday, February 17, the Australian women’s cricket team secured a dominant win by an innings and 284 runs against South Africa on Day 3 of the one-off Test match. Annabel Sutherland was the star for Australia, scoring a double hundred and picking up five wickets across both the South African innings in Perth.
The Australian captain, Alyssa Healy, won the toss and chose to field first on Day 1 of the contest on a spicy pitch at the Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) ground. South Africa’s batting lineup were humbled in the first half of the day’s play, getting bundled out for just 76 within 32 overs in their first innings, with Darcie Brown and Annabel Sutherland sharing eight wickets.
In response, Australia were reduced to 12/3 in the first five overs of their first innings, with Masabata Klaas picking up the wickets of Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, and Tahlia McGrath cheaply. But, the batting lineup of Australia started to dictate terms to the South African bowlers right throughout their innings.
Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy, who was dismissed for 99, shared a 155-run stand for the fourth wicket, completing their respective fifties, to put Australia in control of the match. From that point onwards, Annabel Sutherland put on a batting masterclass at the WACA in Perth, finishing her innings on 210 off just 256, which included 27 fours and two maximums.
The effort from the 22-year-old led to Australia declaring their innings at 575/9 within 126 overs, securing a massive lead of 499 runs. South Africa’s batting lineup tried to reduce the deficit in their second innings, but despite the fifties from Delmi Tucker and Chloe Tyron, they were bundled out for just 215 runs within 98 overs.
Annabel Sutherland was also declared the Player of the Match for her all-round heroics in Australian colours. Meanwhile, Beth Mooney was given the Player of the Series award for her top-quality batting performances in all formats against South Africa.
