Australia A’s Smith and Knott tie-up series

The spin pair Australia A crushed England A by 125 runs in Sydney, giving them an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match 50-over series. Charli Knott and Amy Smith claimed seven wickets between them.

In pursuit of Australia A’s total of 262, England A collapsed from 81 for 1 to be bowled out for 136, with Smith taking 3 for 13 with her legbreaks and Knott taking 4 for 14 with her offspin.

Earlier, Hannah Darlington hammered 26 not out from 14 balls to end the innings and help post a competitive 261 for 8, while opener Tahlia Wilson scored 68 for the hosts. Five other Australia A batters scored between 22 and 35.

Australia A maintained the momentum throughout with a string of partnerships of 40 or more, beginning with Wilson and Georgia Voll and concluding with Smith and Darlington clubbing an undefeated 43 from the last 21 balls of the innings. England A took wickets at regular intervals, with Kirstie Gordon and Issy Wong taking three each.

England With Grace Scrivens hitting six boundaries to reach 45 and sharing 35 and 46-run partnerships with Seren Smale and Hollie Armitage, A’s chase got off to a strong start. In the 18th over, the visitors were 81 for 1. However, Smith caused a massive collapse by eliminating Alice Capsey and Scrivens in back-to-back balls. Before Knott took the final four, Hayward and Tess Flintoff each contributed a wicket. As England A lost 9 for 55, Armitage was the only batter other than Scrivens to reach 20.

After England won the only Twenty20 International, Australia A had already won the first match in the series because to a century from Voll. Prior to the start of the unofficial four-day Test on April 12, the third 50-over match is scheduled for Monday.