Australia thump Ireland to seal series

Australia Women 131 for 6 (Perry 39, Harris 19, Garth 3-17) beat Ireland Women 76 for 7 (Jonassen 2-8, Osborne 2-10) by 55 runs
Scorecard

A 32-ball 39 from Ellyse Perry, followed by two wickets apiece from the spin of Jess Jonassen and Erin Osborne powered Australia Women to a 55-run win against Ireland Women in Dublin. The victory also meant that the visitors secured the three-match T20 series.

Australia, opting to bat, began brightly with the opener Elyse Villani striking three fours in the second over, but Kim Garth fought back for Ireland, dismissing Villani and Jonassen off successive deliveries in the third. The double-blow helped Ireland wrest the momentum, as Garth returned in her next over to also remove Alyssa Healy. With even captain Meg Lanning falling cheaply, Australia found themselves in a spot of bother at 38 for 4, but Jess Cameron and Perry steadied the innings with small, but crucial knocks.

Cameron fell for a slow 20, but Perry and Alex Blackwell counterattacked by adding a 44-run partnership for the sixth wicket off just 38 balls. Perry, too, was dismissed towards the end of the innings, but the No.8 batsman Grace Harris provided a late thrust, drilling 19 off seven balls with four fours to lift her team to 131 for 6.

Her blitz left Ireland needing more than six an over from the off, and the hosts never really got going, losing wickets at regular intervals. Ireland's opener Isabel Joyce top-scored with 24, but was run out in the sixth over, as the team struggled to string together any meaningful partnership. With Australia's spinners ensuring a firm grip on the game, the hosts struggled to find the boundaries; Perry and Harris hit eight fours between them, while the entire Ireland team could muster just six.

Medium-pacer Sarah Coyte was the only Australia bowler to go at more than six an over, as the visitors restricted Ireland to just 76 for 7. Osborne picked up 2 for 10 from her three overs, while Jonassen finished with figures of 4-0-8-2.