Australia beat Netherlands by 98 runs: Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 - as it happened

Key events

Summary

Megan Maurice

Well, what a fascinating match! These are two very different teams – one coming from a very amateur set up where they’re having to negotiate time off work and even quit jobs to be able to be at this World Cup and the other at the opposite end of the professionalism spectrum, with all players as full-time cricketers. Australia showed their batting dominance to basically put the game out of reach in the first innings, but their bowling wasn’t where they would want it to be at this stage of the tournament.

Netherlands captain Babette de Leede was delighted with her team’s performance.

“It’s a massive opportunity for us,” she said. “To be able to play against and learn from them and see how they go about an innings, it’s amazing for us.”

Australian captain Sophie Molineux was full of praise for the opposition.

“It was a good win, but I thought the Netherlands played really well, especially Sterre and Babette – full credit to them,” she said.

It was a match that other teams will have watched with interest – a bit of a chink in Australia’s armour as they have failed to bowl out both Bangladesh and the Netherlands in successive matches. They used eight bowlers today – perhaps too many to allow anyone to settle into a rhythm? They will take on Pakistan next and there will be plenty of keen eyes on that match to see how they adapt their bowling plan.

The Netherlands will come up against South Africa in their next match and will be brimming with confidence after this performance – it will be very interesting to see if they can go close to causing a huge upset.

I might leave the word to a lovely email I received from a young boy having his first day out at the cricket.

double quotation markHi Megan, my toddler is enjoying his first ever day at live sport. So far he’s had an ice cream the size of his head, clapped when everyone else has, and inquired whether there are dragons hiding in the celebratory flamethrowers - please can you investigate this?

Tom and Ollie aged 2 1/2

If anyone does know about these alleged dragons, please get in contact so we can clear this up for young Ollie.

Thanks everyone for joining me – I hope you enjoyed the game!

Share

Player of the Match: Beth Mooney

I almost forgot Mooney was in this game, so much has happened since we saw her last. She accepts the award with typical humility and pragmatism.

“As an opening batter, your job is to score runs and I just did my job pretty well today,” she said. “I thought we were very comprehensive and the bowlers did a good job to restrict them to 120.”

Share

Australia win by 98 runs

A comprehensive victory for Australia, but not one they will be overly happy with. They would have expected to take a lot more wickets and close this match out much sooner than they did. They seemed unprepared for the fight that the Netherlands brought. Garth bowled well, but none of the other bowlers really stood up to take the game on.

A huge innings from de Leede, who became the first player from an associate nation to score a 50 against Australia – in either ODIs or T201s.

Share

20th over: Netherlands 121-3 (de Leede 56, Rijke 2)

Sutherland takes the last over for Australia and she starts it well with a wicket. Rijke comes to the crease to bring the two playing in their 100th T20Is together. Rijke gets de Leede back on strike and she immediately smashes one for four. There’s an appeal for lbw on the final ball of the innings, but the umpire shakes her head. It’s a good win for Australia, but a very impressive fight from the Netherlands.

Share

WICKET! Kalis b Sutherland 44 (Netherlands 113-3)

Finally Australia has the breakthrough they were looking for – Sutherland goes full and straight with a change of pace and it goes right through Kalis.

Share

19th over: Netherlands 113-2 (de Leede 51, Kalis 44)

Hamilton starts her final over well, getting Kalis playing and missing. The next ball is a bit wild and is ruled a wide. She tightens up and has managed to find a length that is quite uncomfortable for the batters. Her change ups are keeping them guessing and they’re not able to get bat on ball easily.

Share

18th over: Netherlands 109-2 (de Leede 50, Kalis 42)

Garth’s final over of the day starts with de Leede bringing up her half century – this will be a moment she’ll remember for a long time. Scoring a 50 against the dominant Australians in her 100th T20I – what a day out. Garth throws in a bouncer to try to unsettle de Leede – she doesn’t look overly comfortable, but she ducks under it well. A very good over from Garth with just the two runs from it.

Share

Updated at 09.01 EDT

17th over: Netherlands 107-2 (de Leede 49, Kalis 41)

Hamilton returns for her third over. The first ball is a good one, cramping Kalis up. Next ball she nearly has the wicket, but the ball goes straight through the hands of a diving Sutherland. de Leede pulls out a very nice back cut and it looks like it will go for four, but superb fielding from sub fielder Megan Schutt cuts it off on the boundary.

Share

16th over: Netherlands 102-2 (de Leede 46, Kalis 40)

Sutherland takes her second over and the batters rotate the strike well at the start of the over. She uses her change of pace to keep them from settling and she gets de Leede hitting uppishly, but it falls safely. The Netherlands bring up their 100 runs and the crowd absolutely love it.

Share

15th over: Netherlands 96-2 (de Leede 42, Kalis 38)

Molineux brings herself back after drinks – let’s see what plan they may have concocted in the break and whether she can execute it to take these wickets. She starts with two dots before Kalis manages to dash through for a single. de Leede pulls out her sweep shot and the Australians yell out to catch it, but it falls between fielders and runs over the boundary for four.

Share

14th over: Netherlands 90-2 (de Leede 37, Kalis 38)

Gardner returns to take us back to spin town. She starts with a single and a dot, but then Kalis plays another beautiful cut shot to find the boundary once again. Her footwork is spot on and she’s creating a lot of space for herself. The Australians really want a breakthrough here, but these two batters are very comfortable and aren’t giving away opportunities. Drinks are on the field now.

Share

13th over: Netherlands 82-2 (de Leede 34, Kalis 33)

Australia brings in their 8th bowler for the game – Nicola Carey gets her first opportunity. At this stage, Voll will be handing over the gloves for an over before too long. Carey finds a good line and length to restrict the batters to singles, but she can’t get the wicket that Australia so desperately wants.

Share

12th over: Netherlands 78-2 (de Leede 32, Kalis 31)

Wareham takes the ball for a second over and she starts well with two dots, but Kalis then finds a gap and brings up 2000 T20I career runs with a four. Netherlands are putting up a great fight here.

Share

11th over: Netherlands 73-2 (de Leede 32, Kalis 26)

Molineux has decided it’s time to take a break from spin and brings Sutherland on. Kalis quite likes that as well though and clips the first ball off her pads for a well run two. Then Sutherland bowls a wide – there’s a little bit of frustration creeping in for Australia that they’re not taking these wickets as quickly as they would have liked. There’s a chance for a catch, but a diving King can’t quite get there and the ball flies past her to the boundary.

Share

10th over: Netherlands 63-2 (de Leede 31, Kalis 18)

Another new bowler for Australia with Gardner coming in and starting with two dots. These overs are rapid with so many spinners bowling, it’s challenging to jeep up! However, the batters are having no such trouble keeping up with the spinners, giving Gardner a taste of her own medicine by hitting her for two consecutive fours in the over.

Share

9th over: Netherlands 53-2 (de Leede 30, Kalis 9)

I have a very excited leg spinner next to me now because Alana King is on to bowl. The first ball is a dot, but then Kalis decides she wants her first boundary in style and absolutely smashes a six. King pulls it back and settles into the over, but it’s still a good over for the Dutch.

Share

8th over: Netherlands 43-2 (de Leede 27, Kalis 2)

Molineux returns and de Leede goes after her with a big sweep shot, but it can’t quite find the boundary. She’s batting very comfortably and at a good strike rate, but not good enough at the moment to chase down the huge total in front of her team. Just as I say that, she ups the ante by smoking a cover drive down the ground for four.

Share

7th over: Netherlands 35-2 (de Leede 19, Kalis 2)

Wareham comes into the attack for the first time today and de Leede welcomes her by hitting her for a four immediately. She tightens up her line and only gives away three singles for the rest of the over.

Share

6th over: Netherlands 28-2 (de Leede 13, Kalis 1)

A third consecutive over from Garth – Molineux is clearly hoping for another wicket or two from her before this powerplay is over. de Leede finds a gap with a lovely cut shot on the second ball of the over and guides it to the boundary for four. It’s a good over for the Netherlands who are finding a bit of rhythm now. Drinks are on the field.

Share

5th over: Netherlands 20-2 (de Leede 6, Kalis 0)

Hamilton bowls her second over now and de Leede hands the strike over to Kalis early. Hamilton loses her line a little and bowls a wide, but tidies up well next ball. It’s a tight over from her.

Share

4th over: Netherlands 17-2 (de Leede 5, Kalis 0)

Garth returns for her second over. de Leede goes for a ramp early in the over and doesn’t quite nail it, but picks up a run nonetheless. Siegers picks the first boundary for the Netherlands with a cracking shot down the ground. Garth does not look happy about it. So a couple of balls later she takes a wicket.

Share

WICKET! H.Siegers lbw Garth 9 (Netherlands 17-2)

Garth is unhappy about being hit for a boundary and she takes it out on Siegers by sending one crashing into her pads. Siegers reviews, but no luck – ball tracking shows it’s going on to hit the stumps.

Share

3rd over: Netherlands 11-1 (de Leede 5, H. Siegers 4)

Molineux comes into the attack and she immediately strikes Siegers on the pads. The umpire isn’t interested, but the Australians decide to review. She’s safe, but only just – it’s umpire’s call, so Australia retains the review. Molineux keeps the ball on a good length and doesn’t offer many opportunities for runs. She nearly picks up a wicket on the last ball of the over, but the ball doesn’t quite carry to Hamilton.

Share

2nd over: Netherlands 7-1 (de Leede 3, H. Siegers 3)

Garth opens the bowling from the other end and Siegers finds a nice gap for a single to start the over. Next ball the first wicket falls and Voll gets her chance to show her skills behind the stumps. It’s tight bowling from Garth, but eventually de Leede finds a gap and they run well for three.

Share

WICKET! Molkenboer c Voll b Garth 0 (Netherlands 3-1)

Voll is very happy with her first caught behind stat, diving to her right to pick up the edge from Molkenboer.

Share

Updated at 07.48 EDT

1st over: Netherlands 2-0 (Molkenboer 0, H. Siegers 1)

Lucy Hamilton takes the new ball for Australia and we have Voll in wicket keeper – very exciting for me, a person who loves people playing out of position in any sport. Voll picks up the first two balls behind the stumps, which the Australians all find delightful. Hamliton then manages to knock the bails off in her run up and gives away a no ball. Siegers then laps the ball into her own helmet and we take a little break for a concussion test. Fortunately, she’s good to to continue.

Share

Australia sets the Netherlands 220 runs for victory

A big innings for Australia, with some quick scoring and a determination to not let the dot balls stack up. Mooney (74) and Gardner (58) did most of the damage for Australia, but Mooney’s back stiffness will be a concern for Australia. They have Tahlia Wilson available as a travelling reserve, but they can only call on her as a permanent replacement, so can’t just give Mooney a rest for a game or two and bring her in. It shows the value of selecting a second keeper as part of the actual squad, rather than as a reserve.

The Netherlands will be buoyed by their ability to take wickets throughout the innings, despite the large score racked up against them. Zwilling finished with 3-52, while de Lange took 2-39.

A short break now and then we’ll be back to see how the Dutch go about this run chase and also find out whether we get a random player wicket keeping for Australia or if Mooney will push through.

Share

20th over: Australia 219-6 (King 1, Sutherland 11)

Heather Siegers bowls her final over for the match and King gets off strike straight away. Sutherland ups the ante with a powerful cut shot for four midway through the over, then turns around and whacks one behind her that can’t find the boundary, but she darts through for two. Some quick running gets Australia a couple of extra runs to close out their innings.

Share

19th over: Australia 209-6 (King 0, Sutherland 2)

Wareham starts the over with a drive for four to bring up the 200 for Australia, but is out next ball. The captain comes to the crease for the first time this tournament and opens her account with a four, then a very well-run three. Zwilling nearly gets Sutherland, but Molkenboer can’t hold the catch, so she takes matters into her own hands and bowls Molienux next ball.

Share

Updated at 07.06 EDT

WICKET! Molineux b Zwilling 7 (Australia 209-6)

Molineux tries to go big, but she exposes her stumps and Zwilling hits the top of off.

Share

WICKET! Wareham c S. Siegers b Zwilling 41 (Australia 201-5)

Wareham brings up the 200 for Australia, then swings big after one too many and catches a top edge. Siegers catches it comfortably.

Share

Updated at 07.54 EDT

18th over: Australia 197-4 (Wareham 37, Sutherland 1)

Carey is out at the start of the over and brings Sutherland to the crease. She rotates the strike to Wareham, who is absolutely on one an smacks two consecutive fours from the bowling of de Lange. Australia are within touching distance of their 200.

Share

Updated at 07.03 EDT

WICKET! Carey c Rijke b de Lange 7 (Australia 185-4)

Carey plays a very innocuous looking shot for an easy catch to Rijke – she’ll be disappointed to miss out on a chance to score some big runs.

Share

17th over: Australia 185-3 (Wareham 26, Carey 7)

The Australian media manager has confirmed that Mooney retired hurt with back stiffness – currently TBC whether she will keep. Which is concerning because the back up keeper in the squad is Litchfield, who is currently out injured. It might mean we get one of my favourite situations in sport – professional athletes playing out of position. Meanwhile Wareham starts this over against van der Woning with three consecutive fours, before rotating the strike to give Carey a chance to face some balls.

Share

Updated at 06.55 EDT

Click here to read article