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.
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