Three in an over for King, but rain washes out opener

Legspinner Alana King took three wickets in an over but rain had the final say in the opening tri-series match against Pakistan in Bready with the game called off after eight overs.

The contest had initially been trimmed to 19 overs per side due to a delayed start on a damp, grey day and after Pakistan made a promising start, reaching 29 without loss in three overs, wickets tumbled with spin doing most of the damage.

Megan Schutt had made the first breakthrough, bending one back through Iram Javed, then Ashleigh Gardner twice skiddled deliveries through Bismah Maroof and Muneeba Ali.

In what became the penultimate over of the match, King then earned three lbws in three legal balls, but they were broken up by a wide down the leg side. She removed Kainat Imtiaz, Ayesha Naseem and Aliya Riaz who could not combat King's skiddy deliveries, although there appeared some doubt over the latter two decisions.

All eight runs King conceded came from wides which was a pattern in Australia's brief bowling display as they looked to shake off some rust in their first outing for more than three months. In all, Pakistan's total of 56 included 21 from wides with Darcie Brown also struggling for line in her two overs.

At the toss, Grace Harris had been named in Australia's XI to fill in for the absent Jess Jonassen who tested positive for Covid before leaving for the tour. She is expected to be available for the latter two matches. Nicola Carey also found a place in the side but, as expected, Ellyse Perry was overlooked.

The second game takes place on Sunday when Australia face hosts Ireland with the forecast looking a little more promising.