Southern Stars lose to New Zealand in second Twenty20 in rainy Geelong
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The Southern Stars fall eight runs short of New Zealand's revised total after the Aussies lose three wickets in the final over of their Twenty20 chase at a rain-soaked Kardinia Park.
New Zealand had initially scored 101 from their 20 overs and rain during Australia's chase saw it revised down to 70 off 13 overs, but Australia's women could only reach 9-61.
Needing 11 off the final over to win the second game of the series, the hosts would have fancied their chances with stars Jess Jonassen and Alyssa Healy at the crease.
But things went awry immediately as spinner Anna Peterson — bowling her first over of the match — had Jonassen caught at cover, Healy caught at mid-wicket, and then Megan Schutt holed out in the deep on the leg side.
Suddenly it was left to Amanda-Jade Wellington and Molly Strano, both playing in their second T20, to get the Stars over the line with 11 off three balls.
But they could only manage two runs and Strano was run out on the final ball of the innings.
Elyse Villani's knock of 19, which ended in the penultimate over of the match, was the highest Australian score on the day, with Alex Blackwell (14) the only other Star to get out of single digits.
Topics: twenty20, cricket, sport, geelong-3220, vic, australia
