Women’s World Cup: Australia’s stand-in skipper McGrath hails ‘world class’ Gardner and Sutherland

Indore, Oct 22 Australia’s stand-in captain Tahlia McGrath praised the ‘world-class’ duo of Ashleigh Gardner and Annabel Sutherland for their spectacular 180-run stand after securing a six-wicket win over England in the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup clash at the Holkar Stadium on Wednesday.

The unbeaten 180-run partnership between Ashleigh, who hit 16 boundaries in her 104 not out, and Annabel, who slammed nine fours and six in an unbeaten 98, lifted Australia from a precarious 68/4 to completing the chase of 245 with 57 balls to spare.

"Very happy. Spinners did a fantastic job with the ball. A little bit of a shaky start with the bat, but then Bells and Ash were just world-class. So good to watch them. It was clinical, and I feel for Bells a bit, not getting a hundred. She thoroughly deserved it," said Tahlia at the conclusion of the game.

She also lauded leg-spinner Alana King’s impact through the middle overs and highlighted her match-up value against England’s line-up. "I knew she was our key match-up. She's got a really good record against England and matches up really well to pretty much their whole batting line-up.”

“So at one stage I was tossing up whether it was 10 straight because she was on fire (but) we decided to pull her back for some new batters. But she was so good today. Hit her length was relentless and found a bit of turn."

On Annabel’s all-round brilliance, Tahlia said, "She is such a gun, and I think it's scary how young she still is. She's one of our hardest trainers. Her planning is meticulous, and whenever we're in trouble, you sort of just turn to Bells. She's that good."

Asked about Alyssa Healy’s fitness and availability for their clash against South Africa on October 25, Tahlia said, "A bit day by day, I'll leave that in the hands of the physio."

England skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt admitted her side fell short with the bat and couldn’t recover from the pressure applied by Australia’s spinners. "We didn't have enough runs. Alana King bowled very well in the middle overs and really restricted us. It made it very difficult to get a partnership together. Tammy played very well for her score."

She also noted the shift in conditions under lights and the decisive nature of the Annabel-Ashleigh stand. "With the lights coming on, I think the conditions did change a little bit, although I guess we bowled well in patches. But it just showed the partnership that Ash and Belsey had there; it just took the game away from us."

Reflecting on how to counter Alana’s threat in the future, Nat said, "I guess being really clear on what shots you did want to play. So, probably playing off the back foot would be more useful.”

“Then working out how to get her to bowl the length that you want to play off the back foot. So, either using her feet or little paddles or something like that. That would be something that I would be reflecting on myself."

Asked whether England could still beat Australia in an ODI game, Nat signed off by saying, "Yeah, definitely." England will now face New Zealand in their final league match in Visakhapatnam on Sunday morning.

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