The Australian women's cricket team have retained the Rose Bowl series by beating the White Ferns by nine wickets in the third one-dayer in Sydney today.
The White Ferns now trail 2-1 in the four-match series but needed to win outright to take the title from the holders.
The visitors were dismissed for 177 in the first innings, with Nicola Browne's 42 the top score for her side. In reply Australia's opener Meg Lanning smashed 103 from 50 deliveries to lead the hosts to victory after 21.2 overs.
Lanning made her intentions clear from the start of the Australian pursuit, finding the boundary off the fourth ball of the innings. As she began to pick up momentum her aggression increased, hitting 18 off the fifth over.
After bringing up her century off 46 balls, Lanning fell three runs later to end a first wicket stand worth 146, but the damage was done as Australia went on to wrap up the game and the series.
Earlier, Frances Mackay and Suzie Bates had put on 53 for the opening partnership, before a big collapse restricted the White Ferns to below 200 for the first time in the tour.
Nicola Browne (42) and Erin Bermingham (25) were the only other two to make a serious contribution, as regular wickets gave the home side the upper-hand.
The fourth and final ODI is on Wednesday.
