New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine remarked on the poor batting of the team after Australia trashed hosts by 144 runs at the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup in Wellington.
It was a clinical performance from the six-time World Cup champions as they successfully defended 269/8 by bowling their opponents out for just 128 in the 31st over at Basin Reserve.
"The reason we wanted to bowl first was to contain them and get a few more wickets and put the pressure on them, and guess that shows the quality of the Australian side as even though they were 3-4 down had the run-rate under control and were able to launch in the death overs," said Sophie Devine in the post-match presentation.
"She (Gardner) hit with the wind and was outstanding the way she played. We certainly would have to go back to our plans around how you gonna do it but it's always tough with the wind and credit goes to Australia. We certainly can be better. We know this is a good cricket wicket and if we were able to keep wickets in hand, certainly a chasable target," she added.
The result sees Australia regain their place at the top of tournament standings with three wins from as many matches, while New Zealand drops to fourth and remains in a battle to reach the semi-finals.
"Poor batting performance from us. The way Australians set it up (with the bat), that's the blueprint. Important that we stick away for a day or two and make sure we reflect, obviously we got South Africa on Thursday. It's a huge game and we are looking forward to that," she added.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
