New Zealand sneak home by four runs

New Zealand Women 115 (Bates 38, Sthalekar 3-12, Farrell 3-13) beat Australia Women 6 for 111 (Rolton 36, Ruck 2-13) by 4 runs
Scorecard

Suzie Bates helped New Zealand score a narrow win over Australia in their Twenty20 international in Brisbane as the sides gear up for the ICC Women's World Twenty20. In the first of a three match series, Australia's chase failed when they reached 6 for 111 from their 20 overs - four short of New Zealand's total.

Their response began terribly when Sian Ruck and her team-mates cut Australia to 4 for 15 in the sixth over but a recovery from Karen Rolton (36) and Jodie Fields, who remained unbeaten on 32, put things back on course. However, the loss of Rolton to a run-out halted their momentum.

The New Zealand card had a similarly lopsided appearance after Bates made 38 with only two colleagues reaching double figures. Renee Farrell grabbed three cheap wickets each to help skittle New Zealand for 115 but they will need more from their top-order team-mates in the remaining games.