Plimmer's career-best 85 not out nearly carries new-look White Ferns past Australia
Georgia Plimmer's career-best 85 not out off 68 balls wasn't enough as Australia beat New Zealand by two wickets with seven balls to spare at North Sydney Oval on Sunday, chasing 163 to go 1-0 up in the three-match Rose Bowl series.
This was New Zealand's first international since Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates and Lea Tahuhu retired. All three left after a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign in the UK, AAP reported. It was also the first match under interim coach Dean Brownlie.
Plimmer went into the match averaging 16 with a strike rate of 104, and her previous best T20I score was 63. The 22-year-old was named player of the match, and this was her fourth half-century in 54 T20Is.
She had some luck. Australian keeper Beth Mooney missed a stumping chance on 15 and dropped a catch on 39, cricket.com.au reported. Plimmer then survived an lbw review on 51.
Maddy Green made 56 off 37, bringing up her fifty from 33 balls. The pair put on an unbeaten 127 for the third wicket in 80 balls to take New Zealand to 2-162. Between them they hit 18 of New Zealand's 19 boundaries, and New Zealand took 40 runs from overs 17 to 19.
Captain Melie Kerr didn't last. She made 9 off 12 before Lucy Hamilton caught her with a full-length dive.
Bree Illing struck with the second ball of the reply, trapping Georgia Voll lbw. Then Mooney and Ellyse Perry put on 86, with Perry top-scoring with 52 from 30 balls, and Australia were cruising at 2-102 after 10 overs.
Flora Devonshire's direct hit ran out Mooney, and the chase came apart. Jess Kerr took 3-25, removing Perry, Ashleigh Gardner and Annabel Sutherland. When Melie Kerr ran out Nicola Carey after a mix-up between the batters, Australia were 7-145. They still needed 18.
They got there for the loss of one more wicket, finishing on 8-165.
Perry put the wobble down to a lack of match practice. "There's probably an element of not being clinical tonight," she told AAP. "A lot of our batters haven't batted in the last 10 days."
Australia were missing Phoebe Litchfield with a hip complaint, cricket.com.au reported, while Sophie Molineux returned as captain after her own hip injury.
It was Australia's 10th straight win over New Zealand and their 11th T20 win in a row. The White Ferns have now lost six of their past nine. They haven't beaten Australia on Australian soil since 2020, and their only win in Sydney came in 2012.
They get two more chances this week. The second and third T20Is are at North Sydney Oval tonight (Tuesday 20 October) and on Thursday 22 October, both starting at 7:15pm AEDT.
Eden Carson, Bella James, Molly Penfold and Hannah Rowe are all in the 15-player squad, but none made the XI for the opener.